French drains and yard drainage in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

How it works

1. Call or send a request

   Tell us your address and where the water sits or runs.

2. We connect you

   We hand it to an independent drainage contractor who serves Forrest and Lamar counties.

3. They call you back

   They walk the yard, explain the options and quote you directly.

Who uses this service?

Homeowners in Hattiesburg, Petal, West Hattiesburg, Purvis and the rural roads between them. The calls tend to sound alike. A back yard turns to sponge every time it rains and won't mow for a week. A downspout empties beside the slab and the bed there never dries. Water from the street or the lot uphill crosses the driveway and heads for the garage door. A crawl space under an older house near downtown smells like a wet basement. We also hear from landlords with rentals near the University of Southern Mississippi who want a recurring puddle fixed between leases, and from buyers whose inspection report mentioned grading or gutter discharge.

Why do Hattiesburg yards hold so much water?

Start with the rain. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put Hattiesburg's average precipitation at about 64.4 inches a year, which is more than most of the country gets. A lot of it arrives in heavy bursts from thunderstorms and tropical systems, and soil can only take in water so fast. Whatever it can't absorb runs off or ponds.

Then there's the ground. Hattiesburg grew up where the Leaf and Bouie rivers meet, on old river and marine terraces of the Coastal Plain. The McLaurin soil series, whose official type location is in Forrest County, is typical of the higher ridges: a loamy sand surface over a subsoil that gets heavier with depth, down to loam or sandy clay loam. Rain moves quickly through the sandy top, slows at the denser layer and starts traveling sideways, often toward whatever sits downhill. Some terrace soils elsewhere in Mississippi, like the Prentiss series, go further and have a dense fragipan 20 to 32 inches down with a perched water table in late winter. Either way, the result is the same in a yard: water hangs around in the top couple of feet, and that's the zone a French drain is built to work in.

Is the water coming from my yard or from somewhere else?

Often somewhere else, and that changes the fix. Most of downtown Hattiesburg's stormwater drains into Gordon's Creek and on to the Leaf River, and residents near Bouie Street have described flash flooding there for years. The city has been adding detention capacity, including a grant application approved in 2026 for a pond near Camp Street and South 19th Avenue. If public runoff is crossing your property, report it to the city. If the water starts on your own roof, lawn or driveway, a contractor can usually catch it and move it.

Which fix fits my yard?

• French drains pull water out of saturated soil through a stone-filled trench and perforated pipe, then carry it to a lower outlet.
• Downspout drain lines send roof water underground in solid pipe so it comes out far from the foundation.
• Regrading and swales reshape the surface so runoff slides around the house instead of toward it.
• Catch basins and channel drains grab water at low spots in the lawn and across driveways and patios.
• Sump pumps and crawl space water handle water that has already collected under a raised floor.

Signs your yard needs drainage work

• Standing water in the lawn a full day after the rain stops
• A strip of soggy grass that stays greener than the rest of the yard
• Gutters spilling over, or downspouts emptying right at the slab
• Sand and mulch washed across the driveway or sidewalk
• Damp walls, mildew or a musty smell in the garage or crawl space
• Soil eroding out from under a patio, walk or slab edge

Is a French drain the same as flood protection?

No. Yard drainage deals with rain that falls on and around your lot. It can't stop a river. The Leaf River set its record of 34.03 feet at the USGS gauge at Highway 11 in the 1974 flood, and Forrest County, Hattiesburg, Petal and federal partners publish flood-inundation maps so residents can see what a given river stage would cover. If your property sits in a mapped flood area, talk to the city or county about flood rules before regrading or adding fill.

Do I need a permit?

It depends on where you live. The City of Hattiesburg says a permit is generally required to repair or alter an existing residence and uses the 2018 International Residential Code, so ask its Department of Urban Development before bigger regrading or any work that ties into the house. Petal has its own building department. In unincorporated Lamar County, the county does not enforce structural building codes outside city limits but does require a flood permit for any structure that needs a utility connection. Our Pine Belt drainage guide has details and sources.

Do I have to call Mississippi 811?

For nearly every drainage job, yes. Since a 2023 change to the state dig law, excavators must give Mississippi 811 at least three working days' notice, and the locate request is good for 14 calendar days. The only homeowner exemption covers moving earth by hand less than 12 inches deep on your own property, and French drain trenches go deeper than that. A contractor you hire should put the ticket in its own name.

Are you a drainage company?

No. Hattiesburg French Drains is a referral service. We connect you with an independent drainage contractor who works near your address, and that company quotes the job, does the work and stands behind it. Read the Pine Belt drainage guide and our hiring tips before you sign anything.

Areas we cover

• Hattiesburg
• Petal
• West Hattiesburg
• Purvis and south Lamar County

Planning ahead? Read our Pine Belt drainage guide.