Can you provide as-built drawings after construction is complete?

Yes. Civil as-built drawings reflecting constructed grading, pipe inverts, and structure locations are prepared, formatted for the reviewing agency's final certification and project closeout.

What information do you need to start a grading and drainage plan?

A topographic survey of the site, the proposed site layout or building footprint, and the applicable county's drainage criteria manual or design standard.

Grading And Drainage Plan Services

Grading and Drainage Plans For Civil Engineers

Q: Do you provide grading and drainage plans for county approval, or only design drawings?

The complete package a county reviewer expects is prepared, including the grading plan, drainage plan, stormwater management report, and any SWPPP documentation the jurisdiction requires for submittal.

Q: Can you provide PE-stamped civil engineering plans?

Yes. The in-house team prepares the grading, drainage, and stormwater design, with seal and signature coordinated through licensed Professional Engineer partners for jurisdictions that require a stamped submittal.

Q: Do you prepare SWPPP documents for NPDES construction permit compliance?

Yes. Erosion and sediment control drawings, narrative, and inspection documentation are prepared for NPDES Construction General Permit compliance on sites disturbing one acre or more.

Every site slopes somewhere, and every drop of rain that falls on it has to go somewhere too. CAD Drafter’s grading and drainage plan services turn your site’s topography, soil data, and rainfall record into a graded surface and a storm system that moves water off the property without flooding the parcel next door or your own finished floor.

Our civil drafting team prepares grading and drainage plans for county approval, coordinated with a licensed Professional Engineer for jurisdictions that require a stamped submittal.

About Us Get A Quote

What Our Civil Engineering Drainage Plan Services Actually Cover

CAD Drafter prepares the grading plan, the drainage design, and the calculations behind both. Developers, builders, and civil engineers send us a survey and a site layout; we return a graded site, a storm drainage system, and the hydrology report that justifies every pipe size and pond dimension on the sheet.

Why Developers Outsource Grading and Drainage Drafting

A drainage plan that satisfies a county reviewer on the first submittal is worth more than a fast one that comes back with three rounds of comments. Outsourcing to a team that already knows how a given county’s drainage criteria manual reads tends to produce the first outcome, not the second.

Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services Include

Site Grading Plan Design
Stormwater Management Plan Design
Hydrology and Hydraulics Study Services
Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP)
Detention & Retention Pond Design
SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan)
Runoff Calculation & Watershed Analysis
Civil As-Built Drawings Services

Sample Upload Plan

Get Your Grading and Drainage Plans Started

Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services

A site’s grading and its drainage design are two sides of the same drawing. While our Civil 3d samples are enough to help you make an informed decision, it is necessary to briefly explain our range of services. Here’s how we approach the scopes that make up a complete grading and drainage package.

Site Grading Plan Design

Existing and proposed elevations, cut and fill balancing, finished floor elevation, and drainage slope layout that moves runoff toward the intended inlet without ponding across a parking lot or building pad.

Stormwater Management Plan Design

Storm sewer piping, catch basin and inlet placement, and water quality treatment layout sized to the site’s post-development runoff volume and the county’s release rate requirement.

Hydrology and Hydraulics Study Services

Watershed delineation, time of concentration, and peak flow calculations using the Rational Method or TR-55 methodology, paired with hydraulic sizing for pipes, culverts, and pond outlet structures.

Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP)

Silt fence, construction entrance, inlet protection, and sediment basin layout sequenced with the project’s construction phasing to keep sediment from leaving the site during grading.

Detention & Retention Pond Design

Pond sizing, outlet structure design, and freeboard calculations that hold peak runoff on-site and release it at or below the pre-development rate the downstream system was built for.

SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan)

The full construction-phase pollution prevention narrative and drawing set required under NPDES permitting, covering temporary and permanent stabilization measures alongside inspection and maintenance requirements.

Grading and Drainage Plans for County Approval, Handled Start to Finish

Stormwater management plan design and erosion and sediment control plans are the two scopes we take on most, alongside county review response packages for projects stuck on a second-round comment letter.

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Standard-Referenced Design

Every Drainage Plan Checked Against The Standard That Governs Its Watershed

Grading and drainage plans answer to a stack of federal, state, and county requirements at once, and a plan that misses one usually comes back from review. We check against all of them before your plan goes out the door.

NPDES Construction General Permit

EPA stormwater discharge permitting requirements triggered once a project disturbs one acre or more, governing SWPPP content and construction-phase inspection frequency.

County / Local Drainage Criteria Manual

Jurisdiction-specific runoff coefficients, detention release rates, and pipe sizing methodology that a submittal must follow to pass first review.

NRCS TR-55 (Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds)

Curve number and time of concentration methodology used to calculate peak runoff for small to mid-sized watersheds on developed sites.

NOAA Atlas 14

Current precipitation frequency data used in place of outdated rainfall tables when calculating design storm intensity for a given return period.

FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

Floodplain development regulations and base flood elevation requirements reviewed on any site touching a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.

State DOT Access Management Standards

Driveway and entrance permit criteria, including sight distance and turn lane warrants, referenced on any site requiring a new curb cut onto a state or county road.

Deliverable Types

Grading and Drainage Deliverables We Produce

Every package is broken into the documents your county reviewer needs and the documents your grading contractor needs, all built from one topographic survey.

All

Grading Plan

Proposed contours, spot elevations, and cut/fill volumes referenced to the site’s existing survey and finished floor elevation.

Drainage Plan

Storm pipe alignment, catch basin locations, and rim and invert elevations coordinated with the grading plan’s drainage slopes.

Stormwater Management Report

Narrative and calculation package documenting pre- and post-development runoff, detention sizing, and water quality treatment method.

Hydrology & Hydraulics Report

Watershed delineation, peak flow calculations, and hydraulic capacity checks for every pipe, culvert, and pond structure on the site.

SWPPP Package

Erosion control drawing sheet, narrative, and inspection log formatted for NPDES construction general permit compliance.

Access Permit Drawings

Driveway geometry, curb cut location, and sight distance documentation prepared for DOT or county entrance permit submittal.

Site Development Types We Grade & Drain

Residential Subdivision

Curb & Gutter with Storm Sewer Network
Grading Plan · Stormwater Report

Single-Site Commercial Development

Sheet Flow to On-Site Inlet System
Drainage Plan · Detention Design

Multi-Family / Townhome Site

Storm Sewer with Shared Detention
Grading Plan · SWPPP

ADU / Infill Lot

Lot Grading to Existing Right-of-Way
Site Grading Plan

Industrial & Warehouse Site

Large Roof Area to Detention Pond
Stormwater Report · Pond Design

Institutional Campus

Phased Grading with Regional Detention
Master Drainage Plan

Stormwater & Detention Systems We Design

Detention Pond (Dry)

Peak Rate Control, Infrequent Storage
County Drainage Criteria Manual

Retention Pond (Wet)

Water Quality & Peak Rate Control
NPDES · County Criteria

Underground Detention System

Space-Constrained Commercial Sites
County Drainage Criteria Manual

Dry Well / Infiltration System

Small Sites, Permeable Soil Conditions
Local Infiltration Standards

Water Quality Treatment BMP

First-Flush Pollutant Removal
NPDES Construction General Permit

Storm Sewer & Catch Basin Network

Curb & Gutter Collection Systems
TR-55 · Local Hydraulic Criteria

Civil Permitting & Support Services

Access Permit Drawings

Driveway Geometry & Sight Distance Package
DOT / County Permit Office

County Review Response

Comment-by-Comment Revision Set
County Plan Reviewer

Engineer’s Seal & Signature

Coordination with Licensed PE Partner
Building & Planning Department

As-Built Drawings

Record Drawing Set from Field Data
Agency Closeout File

SWPPP Permit Package

Erosion Control Narrative & Drawings
NPDES Permitting Authority

Final Certification

Completed Construction Certification Letter
County / City Engineer

Our Process

How CAD Drafter Delivers Grading and Drainage Plans

Our drafting workflow exists to get a plan through county review without a wasted round of comments. Here’s the 4-step process our civil drafting team follows:

Survey & Site Data Review

We review your topographic survey, soil data, and the site’s contributing watershed, confirming the applicable drainage criteria manual before drafting starts.

Package Quote & Timeline

You receive a scoped price and a release date broken down by grading plan, drainage plan, and calculation package milestones.

Drafting, Calculations & Internal QC

Our team produces the grading design and runoff calculations, then passes every sheet through an internal elevation and hydraulic check before it reaches your desk.

Release, PE Coordination & Revisions

You receive editable plan files, with PE seal coordination and county review response rounds included per your project’s drafting agreement.

2,600+

Grading & Drainage Plans Released

850+

Detention & Retention Pond Designs Completed

1,400+

SWPPP & ESCP Packages Prepared

24-48 Hrs

Standard Package Release

Developers & Builders Choose CAD Drafter

98%
Permit Approval
First Time

Why Choose Us

Why Developers & Builders Choose CAD Drafter For Grading And Drainage

Site developers, homebuilders, and civil engineers keep sending us their grading and drainage scope for a specific reason. Unlike firms that draft one detention pond template for every site, our team sizes the storm system to the site’s actual watershed, soil, and county criteria.

We Draft, Your PE Confirms

We never alter design intent. Every grading and drainage plan carries the runoff, soil, and site criteria your civil engineer of record or geotechnical report established, ready for review, and coordinated with a licensed Professional Engineer for a stamped submittal where required.

Standard-Referenced Civil Drafting

Sheets reference NPDES permitting requirements, county drainage criteria manuals, NRCS TR-55, NOAA Atlas 14 rainfall data, and FEMA NFIP floodplain regulations as each applies to your site.

Residential Through Institutional Range

Single-lot grading plans for infill homebuilders, alongside master drainage plans for multi-phase subdivisions and institutional campuses.

Scalable Drafting Capacity

Take on a single access permit drawing or a full stormwater management plan design without adding a civil drafting seat to your own office.

Software Our Civil Drafting Team Works In

AutoCAD Civil 3D

HydroCAD

StormCAD

HEC-RAS

Autodesk InfraWorks

Benefits Of Outsourcing To The Team

Why Firms Outsource Grading and Drainage Plan Drafting

Keeping a civil designer on staff who’s fluent in a dozen different county drainage criteria manuals is a hard hire to justify against a permitting pipeline that moves in bursts. Outsourced civil engineering drainage plan services let developers and builders flex drafting capacity without carrying that specialty as fixed overhead.

Lower Drafting Overhead: A per-package rate instead of a salaried civil designer on staff.

Faster Plan Release: A dedicated civil drafting team means your grading and drainage plans aren’t queued behind someone else’s deadline. Standard packages release in 24-48 hours.

Built-In QC Review: Every plan passes an internal elevation and hydraulic cross-check before it reaches your desk for approval.

Technologies Our Civil Drafting Team Works With

Watershed Delineation & Runoff Modeling
Detention & Retention Pond Routing
Storm Sewer Hydraulic Grade Line Analysis
GIS-Based Topographic & Floodplain Overlay
Cloud-Based Plan Review & Markup
County Portal Submittal & Revision Tracking

Sample contact Us

Our Certificate

1 2 3

Client Feedback on Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Detention pond sizing matched the county’s release rate on the first submittal, which is not something we’ve seen from every consultant we’ve used.

Renee AshfordLand Development Manager

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SWPPP package had every inspection log and stabilization note the inspector asked for, so we never had to stop grading to fix paperwork.

Trevor HallowayGeneral Contractor

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Hydrology report came back organized exactly the way our county’s reviewer likes to see a TR-55 calculation walked through, start to finish.

Monica DelgadoCivil Engineer, P.E.

Frequently Asked Question

Do you provide grading and drainage plans for county approval, or only design drawings?

We prepare the complete package a county reviewer expects, including the grading plan, drainage plan, stormwater management report, and any SWPPP documentation the jurisdiction requires for submittal.

Can you provide PE-stamped civil engineering plans?

Yes. Our in-house team prepares the grading, drainage, and stormwater design, and we coordinate seal and signature through our licensed Professional Engineer partners for jurisdictions that require a stamped submittal.

Do you handle county review comments if our first submittal gets rejected?

Yes. County review response and revision services are part of our standard grading and drainage engagement, addressing reviewer comments and resubmitting until the plan is approved.

What’s the difference between a detention pond and a retention pond?

A detention pond temporarily holds stormwater and releases it at a controlled rate before draining completely, while a retention pond maintains a permanent pool of water and is typically used where water quality treatment is also required.

Do you prepare SWPPP documents for NPDES construction permit compliance?

Yes. We prepare the erosion and sediment control drawings, narrative, and inspection documentation required for NPDES Construction General Permit compliance on sites disturbing one acre or more.

Grading and Drainage Plans For Civil Engineers

What Our Civil Engineering Drainage Plan Services Actually Cover

Why Developers Outsource Grading and Drainage Drafting

Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services Include

Get Your Grading and Drainage Plans Started

Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services

Site Grading Plan Design

Stormwater Management Plan Design

Hydrology and Hydraulics Study Services

Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP)

Detention & Retention Pond Design

SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan)

Grading and Drainage Plans for County Approval, Handled Start to Finish

Every Drainage Plan Checked Against The Standard That Governs Its Watershed

Grading and Drainage Deliverables We Produce

Grading Plan

Drainage Plan

Stormwater Management Report

Hydrology & Hydraulics Report

SWPPP Package

Access Permit Drawings

How CAD Drafter Delivers Grading and Drainage Plans

Survey & Site Data Review

Package Quote & Timeline

Drafting, Calculations & Internal QC

Release, PE Coordination & Revisions

Why Developers & Builders Choose CAD Drafter For Grading And Drainage

Software Our Civil Drafting Team Works In

Why Firms Outsource Grading and Drainage Plan Drafting

Technologies Our Civil Drafting Team Works With

Our Certificate

Client Feedback on Our Grading and Drainage Plan Services

Frequently Asked Question

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