With record breaking winter snowpack and spring runoff in Utah this year, controlling stormwater flows is especially top-of-mind. A conversation with Tui Siliva, a CAD Designer at FOCUS specializing in residential grading plans, offers some professional insight into how a residential grading plan can control and facilitate proper drainage and help avoid flooding.

Grading Plan Certification

“Since I joined FOCUS over six years ago, the number of cities requiring residential grading plan approvals has grown significantly,” says Siliva. “Codes can vary city by city, but generally, final grading needs to be a minimum 5% slope for at least 10 feet away from a structure, and window wells need to be a minimum of 3” above grade. Also, owners and contractors need to be aware to maintain the proper grading requirements as final landscaping is installed,” he said.

Benefits of Managing Stormwater

Tui points to numerous projects he has completed and the difference a proper grading plan can make. For example, the Daybreak Cascade Village master-planned community for Ivory Homes in South Jordan, has a thorough grading plan where numerous swales are well defined resulting in little or no pooling of stormwater throughout the entire community. “With increased growth and development, cities are increasingly motivated to manage and protect stormwater flows for safety, property protection, and for water resources management,” said Tui.

Civil Engineering Services in Utah and Idaho

The civil engineering and CAD services teams at FOCUS perform grading and drainage plans for numerous residential and commercial developments. In addition, FOCUS engineers provide design and construction management of municipal stormwater structures and facilities for numerous local government clients throughout Utah and Idaho. For more information on grading plans, stormwater control, or other civil engineering services, contact FOCUS at info@focus-es.com.