Yard drainage in Woodville and south Leon County
Drainage help for the flat, sandy karst country south of Tallahassee.
Woodville is an unincorporated community just south of Tallahassee, at roughly 30 feet of elevation. It grew from 2,978 residents in 2010 to 4,097 in 2020. Head south from the city and you come down the Cody Scarp onto the Woodville Karst Plain, a flatter landscape where limestone lies at or near the surface under thin sands and clays.
Flat land, few outlets
On the karst plain the trouble usually isn't water rushing downhill. It's water with nowhere to go. A yard can be nearly level for long stretches, so a French drain or buried line may not find enough fall to reach a ditch or road. Raising the grade around the house, shaping a broad swale, or spreading roof water over a larger area of sandy lawn often works better than a long pipe.
Sinkholes and springs
Sinkholes are common on the plain, and surface streams here sink underground and resurface at springs. Dye traces have shown water entering Ames Sink coming out at Wakulla Spring about ten days later. About six miles from Woodville, the St. Marks River drops into a sinkhole at Natural Bridge and comes back up downstream. Because surface water can reach the aquifer so directly here, never direct runoff into a sinkhole, and keep fuel, fertilizer and debris out of any drainage path.
Typical south-county jobs
- Building up grade around slab homes on level lots
- Wide grassed swales to roadside ditches
- Spreading downspout water through emitters
- Crawl space water on older raised-floor homes
Common questions
Why don't French drains always work in Woodville?
A French drain needs a lower outlet. On very flat lots there may not be enough fall, so regrading or swales can be a better fit.
Who issues permits in Woodville?
Woodville is unincorporated, so Leon County, through Development Support and Environmental Management, handles development review rather than the City.
Services in Woodville
- French drainsGravel-and-pipe trenches that dry out soggy lawns and catch water seeping off a slope.
- Downspout drain linesBuried solid pipe that carries roof water away from the slab to a safe outlet.
- Regrading and swalesReshape the ground so runoff flows around the house to a safe spot.
- Sump pumps and crawl space waterPump out water that collects under raised floors and fix what's feeding it.
- Channel drains and dry wellsCatch sheet flow at driveways and patios, or hold water on lots with no outlet.
Nearby areas
Yard turning into a pond after every summer storm?
Call and a local drainage contractor will come look at where the water starts and where it can safely go.