Yard drainage in Lafayette, Louisiana
Drainage help across the Hub City, from neighborhoods along the Vermilion to the newer south side.
Lafayette had 121,374 residents at the 2020 census and is the seat of Lafayette Parish. The city and parish governments merged in 1996 into Lafayette Consolidated Government, and since 2018 the city and the parish have had separate councils. For homeowners, that means LCG handles permits, floodplain management and public drainage for the city.
Coulees run through town
The city was built on both sides of the Vermilion River, and natural drainage channels such as Coulee Mine, Coulee des Poches and Isaac Verot Coulee carry runoff to it. LCG maintains a network of concrete coulees; in 2024 it began cleaning about 48,550 linear feet of them, maintenance it typically does every other year. If a coulee near you overflows, that's a public problem to report through 311.
What's typical on Lafayette lots?
Older neighborhoods near downtown and UL Lafayette often have mature trees, shallow lots and buried downspout lines that are decades old. Newer subdivisions on the south side were graded to send water to the street or to shared swales, which homeowners sometimes block with fences, pools and slab extensions. On flat ground, small changes matter.
Common jobs
- French drains in narrow side yards between houses
- Replacing failed downspout lines and adding curb outlets
- Reopening blocked rear and side swales
- Patio and driveway drains on newer homes
Common questions
Is my address in a floodplain?
Check LCG's flood maps or ask its floodplain administrator. It matters if your drainage plan involves bringing in fill.
Do you cover all of Lafayette?
Yes. Call with your address and we'll connect you with a contractor who works there.
Services in Lafayette
- French drainsGravel-and-pipe trenches that drain soggy low spots and saturated side yards.
- Downspout drain linesBuried solid pipe that carries roof water away from the slab to the street or a ditch.
- Yard grading and swalesReshape a flat yard so surface water has a slope to follow to the street or a ditch.
- Catch basins and channel drainsGrated drains that pick up water at patios, driveways and low corners of the yard.
- Driveway culverts and ditchesKeep roadside ditches and the pipe under your driveway moving in neighborhoods without curbs.
Nearby areas
Yard still under water a day after the storm?
Call and a local drainage contractor will help you work out where the water should be going instead.