A channel that can carry 44,000 cubic feet of water per second at its outlet tells you something about how this metro treats rain. The North Diversion Channel drains northeast Albuquerque, and it is one piece of a flood control system that includes dozens of dams and many miles of improved channel. Industrial owners building paved yards and large roofs add runoff to that system, and the system expects them to handle their share before the water leaves the property.
We build the detention basins, storm sewers, inlets, swales, outfalls and erosion controls that make that possible. On a desert site the design goal is simple to state and demanding to achieve: hold the peak of a storm on the parcel, release it at a rate the downstream system can take and keep it away from your buildings, docks and equipment while it is there. Because the climate delivers rain in short, intense bursts, the structures have to work the first time they are needed, which is often before anyone has had a chance to maintain them.
Drainage shapes the whole site, so we treat it as the first design decision and the first construction package. The building pad elevation, truck court slopes, dock depression and parking grades all follow from where the water goes. Fix the drainage path early and the rest of the layout falls into place; leave it late and every other trade pays for it.
The Albuquerque area's flood control authority reports that it owns and maintains 35 flood control dams and more than 77 miles of improved and natural channels. That infrastructure is the receiving system for most industrial drainage in the valley, which means connections, discharge rates and easements are negotiated with a real agency that will inspect what you build. Owners near the north I-25 corridor, where the diversion channel works, should expect especially close attention.
The river valley adds another layer. Communities along the Rio Grande, such as Corrales, still maintain acequias and canals that carry water to fields, with help from federal and conservancy district partners. A drainage plan near that system has to respect existing ditches, outfalls and rights, and we identify them during site investigation instead of after a complaint.
We build drainage first and protect it throughout. The detention basin is excavated early, which gives the earthwork crew a ready source of fill and provides temporary storage during construction. Outfall structures and energy dissipation are built before the basin sees flow, and inlets are protected until pavement is in so that sediment does not fill the system.
Compaction and testing matter around structures. Pipe bedding, backfill, headwalls and concrete outfalls need the same attention as foundations, because a drainage failure under a truck court is among the most expensive repairs on any industrial site. We coordinate with the site clearing and grading crew so subgrades, pipe elevations and pavement sections are consistent.
Typical scope includes detention and retention basins, storm drain piping and manholes, curb and gutter, drop inlets and grated inlets, concrete channels and swales, riprap and energy dissipators, water quality features such as filter strips and sediment forebays, and the outfall connection to the public system. We also install the erosion and sediment controls that the permit requires during construction.
Large truck yards add a particular challenge, because acres of impervious paving shed water quickly. Our work on truck courts and trailer yards integrates inlets and trench drains into the pavement design so water leaves the surface without ponding where trailers park. In a cold snap, standing water becomes ice, which is a safety problem we plan to avoid.
Stormwater approvals involve more than one reviewer. The drainage plan is generally reviewed against the municipality's rules, any downstream agency that receives the discharge and the state or federal construction stormwater requirements. The sooner a discharge rate and an outfall location are agreed on, the sooner grading can begin, so we tie the drainage work into permitting and entitlements coordination from the start.
Neighbors matter as well. Changing the way water leaves your parcel can send it onto someone else's land, and approval will not forgive that. We survey adjacent grades, document the existing flow paths and design to preserve or improve them. Where an easement is needed, we help prepare the exhibits.
The biggest cost levers are the required detention volume, the depth and length of the outfall, the number of structures and whether pumping is needed. Dedicated basins use land that could otherwise be building or yard, so the choice between a large surface basin and an underground system is also a land-value decision. We price both where the site allows and show you the tradeoff.
For owners in utilities and power and similar sectors that operate large open yards and substations, drainage often drives site layout. Warehouse and distribution owners see it as paving cost, since a warehouse building site with a large truck apron may need more inlets and a bigger basin than the building would suggest.
Tell us where the parcel sits and what you plan to pave, and we will outline the drainage approach and the approvals it will need. If the site lies along the north I-25 corridor, bring the flood control questions to us on day one.
Not always, but most sites that add significant pavement and roof area do. The requirement depends on the jurisdiction, the downstream capacity and the change in runoff. Your civil engineer determines the volume, and we build it. In a few cases, an agreement to contribute to a regional facility replaces an on-site basin.
By building it for maintenance: gentle slopes, access ramps for equipment, stabilized inlets and outfalls, and vegetation suited to the climate. We provide an operations note on inspection, sediment removal and erosion repair after storms. Basins fail because nobody looks at them, so we make looking easy.
That is why temporary controls come first. Basins act as sediment traps, inlets are protected and exposed areas are stabilized or covered. We inspect after rainfall and repair damage promptly. We also schedule risky earthwork for periods when the forecast allows.
Yes, because the outfall and basin often gate grading. If the discharge approval or an easement is delayed, the site cannot be released. We flag the drainage critical path in the first schedule and press the approvals early.
Your civil engineer designs it, or we assemble the team if you prefer design-build. We review the plans for constructability and cost, suggest changes that simplify construction without changing performance and build to the approved drawings.
Tell us about the property, the building and the schedule.
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