slow the water
spread it, step it, and give it time to soak. wattles, contour roughness, check dams, and cover turn a sheet of runoff into a walk down the hill. the culvert stops being asked to take the whole storm at once.
all services
field services · slow the water and catch the debris
slow the water. catch the debris.
a cleared road is one storm. the next one repeats unless the drainage above the crossing slows the water and holds the mud, the rock, and the wood. that is the work we offer.
slow the water on the slope. catch the debris before it becomes the road.
what we offer
two moves on the drainage above the road. done together, they are why the crossing stays open the next time it rains.
catch the debris
the gully and the slope hold the mud, the rock, and the wood. the road and the pipe are not the catch basin. what the hill releases stays on the hill, where a crew can read it and the next storm meets a hold instead of a bare cut.
what the same hold gives back
recharge, habitat, and soil are not a second contract. they are what water does when it slows, and what a slope does when it is covered.
aquifer recharge
water that pauses has time to sink. the hill stores part of the storm instead of delivering all of it to the crossing in one slug.
habitat
native cover and structure in the drainage. birds, pollinators, and small wildlife use a slope that is growing again, not a raw face.
soil that stays
the mineral soil and the organic layer remain on the hill. that is the stock the next season grows on, and the reason the face does not keep unraveling.
cleaner water below
a ditch, an acequia, or a treatment intake takes less sediment when the debris is caught upstream.
how a crew builds it
heavy equipment and hand crews on the drainage. the pavement can already be open. this is the hill.
structures that slow and catch
check dams, wattles, erosion blanket, and roughness in the gully and on the face. small, repeated, and built from material the drainage already has when that is the right move.
living cover
seed and plants on the slope so the next storm meets roots and cover. bare ground is what turned the last rain into a debris flow.
the approach to the crossing
the inlet, the channel above the pipe, and a private access or low-water crossing. the public crew can have the pavement. we keep the hill from using that pavement as a dump.
a hold you can see later
photo points on the drainage after the crew leaves, so the next storm is a record of water that slowed and debris that stayed.
who hires this
someone already has a road, a hill, or a gully that failed. they need the water slowed and the debris caught before the next storm.
county road & bridge, and emergency management
the graders reopen the pavement. they need a crew for the slope and the gully that will load the crossing again.
town and city public works
access roads, arroyos through town, and storm drains that became creeks. the fix is upstream of the grate.
state highway maintenance
after the lanes are open. slope and drainage work above the road, not a second plow.
a landowner, hoa, or ranch
a private road, a driveway, or a hill that feeds a public crossing. the household still needs the water slowed and the debris caught.
a ditch, acequia, railroad, or water utility
they already pay when sediment arrives. a hold upstream protects the intake, the track, and the ditch.
how a job starts
- 01
name the drainage
which crossing, which hill or gully, and whether the pavement is already open. a photo of the slope helps.
- 02
we walk it
the hill and the crossing, then a plain note on where to slow the water and where to catch the debris. no promise the next boulder stays put.
- 03
share the work
a county, a town, a private road, a ditch, or a landowner who wants in. the people who already pay when the mud arrives can split one hold.
questions before you call
what do you offer above a flooded road?
a crew that slows the water and catches the debris on the drainage above the crossing, so the same road does not take the same mud again. the work is structures, living cover, and the approach to the pipe. aquifer recharge, habitat, and soil that stays on the hill come with those structures.
how does slowing the water keep the debris off the road?
fast water picks up soil, rock, and wood and delivers them to the lowest pavement. slow water drops that load on the slope and in the gully. catch points hold what still moves. the crossing stays a crossing.
what else does the hold do?
the same pause that catches debris lets water soak. that is aquifer recharge. cover and structure are habitat. soil stays on the hill instead of becoming sediment in a ditch or an intake. the road staying open is the reason to hire the crew. the living drainage is what the crew leaves.
who do you call while the road is still closed?
if someone is stranded or water is still on the pavement, call local emergency management or 911. request a basin field visit once the drainage is safe to walk. we do not drive around barricades.
can you work a private road a county will not grade?
yes. a driveway, an hoa lane, or a ranch access is a direct hire. slowing the water and catching the debris matter there for the same reason they matter above a public road.
is this flood insurance?
no. flood insurance pays after a loss. this is the crew and the hold that keep the next storm from repeating the last one. ensurance, when several parties share the drainage, is how that hold stays funded after the crew leaves. it is not a claim check.
who pays for the work?
the people who already pay when the mud arrives: a county, a town, a state maintenance contract, a railroad or ditch, a water utility, and a landowner who wants a share. one drainage can have more than one payer.
if you are still learning the hill
the guides explain a debris flow and who can share the hold. this page is the work.
- what a debris flow actually is
- who pays for landslide mitigation
- when a mudslide starts on private land
if someone is stranded, or water is still on the road, call local emergency management. do not drive through it. this visit is for the drainage after the pavement is passable, and for the private road a county will not maintain.
request a field visit