Dry Wells in Jacksonville, FL: Infiltration Drainage When There's Nowhere Else for Water to Go

A dry well is a buried chamber that holds stormwater and releases it slowly into the surrounding soil. Done right - sized to your soil and your roof - it makes a drainage system invisible. Done wrong, it overflows and floods exactly the area you were trying to dry out.

Typical Project Sizes and Investment Ranges

The honest answer to "how much" is that dry well pricing in Northeast Florida varies several times over depending on scope. Below is what most residential projects actually run. We quote after an on-site assessment because the diagnostic, not the per-foot rate, is what drives real cost.

Ranges reflect typical Gutter Pro projects in the Jacksonville metro as of 2026. Final pricing depends on site conditions revealed during the assessment - soil type, access, root density, landscape restoration, and discharge requirements all matter. We do not publish per-foot rates because the per-foot rate is almost never the real driver of cost.

When a Dry Well Is the Right Answer

Dry wells are not the default drainage solution. They are what you use when other options are off the table.

You have no daylight outlet

Flat lots in Nocatee, St. Johns, World Golf Village, Bartram Springs, and parts of newer Mandarin developments often have less than 6 inches of fall across the entire property. Underground drainage that depends on gravity discharge can't work. Dry wells hold water in place and let it percolate over hours rather than moving it to a low point.

The lot is in an HOA with surface restrictions

Glen Kernan, Pablo Creek Reserve, Marsh Landing, Sawgrass Players Club, Queens Harbor, and most upscale Ponte Vedra communities prohibit visible drainage features - pop-up emitters, daylight outlets at sod, riprap discharge zones. Dry wells are entirely buried with no surface footprint beyond an inspection port.

You're dealing with high-volume roof runoff on a small lot

A 3,500 sq ft estate roof in Ponte Vedra sheds 2,200 gallons per inch of rain. That volume cannot be daylighted into a typical front-yard swale without erosion. A properly sized dry well system absorbs the surge and releases it to the soil.

City code requires on-site retention

Some St. Johns County development standards require new construction to retain a portion of roof runoff on-site rather than discharging to the public system. Dry wells are the standard compliance method. For older homes adding hardscape (pool, patio, paver driveway expansion), the same rule sometimes applies retroactively.

The discharge would otherwise damage the neighbor

Florida code prohibits creating a drainage problem on adjacent property. If a daylight outlet would dump water onto the neighbor's lot, the alternative is on-site infiltration. Dry wells solve this without inter-property disputes.

The Math: How Dry Wells Get Sized

This is the part most contractors skip. A dry well that is half the right size overflows during peak rain and the system fails. The sizing has three inputs.

Volume of water to retain

For roof runoff: roof area in square feet x design rainfall in inches x 0.623 = gallons. We design for a 1-inch storm on residential lots and a 2-inch storm on large or critical applications.

Soil percolation rate

We dig a test hole and run a percolation test. We fill the hole with water, let it pre-saturate, then time how fast the water level drops. Results vary wildly across our service area:

Available depth before hitting water table or impermeable layer

A dry well needs to sit above the seasonal high water table to actually infiltrate. In coastal Duval the water table can rise to 18 inches in late summer. Chambers buried below that depth are submerged and infiltrate nothing. Probing for the water table is part of design.

What We Build

NDS Flo-Well chambers

Our standard residential dry well. A 24-inch diameter polyethylene chamber with a flat-top inspection port at grade. Each chamber holds 55 gallons of water and has high-flow side ports for connecting to incoming drain lines. Wrapped in non-woven geotextile fabric to prevent fines from migrating in and clogging the surrounding soil.

For higher volume we daisy-chain 2 to 6 chambers in a row, sized to the retention volume needed. This modular approach lets us scale capacity without enormous excavation.

StormTech chambers for high volume

For estate homes and commercial applications, we install StormTech SC-310 or SC-740 plastic infiltration chambers. Each SC-740 holds about 75 cubic feet of water (560 gallons) and sits 30 inches tall. Multiple chambers in an array can absorb thousands of gallons.

Stone-and-pipe pits

For smaller installs or when site access doesn't allow chamber delivery, we build a traditional pit: 4- to 6-foot diameter, 4- to 6-foot deep, lined with non-woven geotextile fabric, filled with #57 washed stone around a perforated PVC distribution line. About 35 percent of the pit volume is actual storage (the void space between stones).

Stone pits cost less per gallon of storage but use more excavation, so the right choice depends on access, lawn restoration cost, and how much volume is needed. For 200 to 400 gallon retention we usually go pit; above that we go chamber.

Inlet line: Schedule 40 PVC or virgin HDPE

The line carrying water from the source (downspout, surface drain, French drain) to the dry well chamber is solid-wall Schedule 40 PVC for most residential installs. For longer runs or sections under hardscape, virgin HDPE dual-wall pipe. Never corrugated drainage pipe on the inlet - it traps silt that then migrates into the chamber and clogs the infiltration surface.

What We Won't Build

How the Install Works

1. Percolation test. Dig the test hole 3 to 4 feet deep at the planned dry well location. Pre-saturate, then measure the rate. This determines whether a dry well is viable and how to size it.
2. Water table check. Probe for seasonal high water. If chambers would sit below it, we either change depth, change location, or change to a different drainage strategy.
3. Volume calculation. Roof area, hardscape area, design rainfall, and percolation rate combined to size the chamber count or pit dimensions.
4. Excavation. Mini-excavator or backhoe depending on access. Chamber installs need a level base; pit installs need full depth and clean walls.
5. Geotextile wrap. Non-woven fabric lining the excavation, with overlap at seams to prevent fines intrusion.
6. Stone base. 4 inches of #57 stone bedding under the chamber or as the bottom of a stone pit.
7. Chamber placement and connection. Chambers set level, side ports aligned for daisy-chain connection. Inlet line from the source (downspout, French drain, surface basin) tied in with Schedule 40 PVC or virgin HDPE.
8. Stone surround. #57 stone backfill around the chambers up to within 6 inches of grade.
9. Fabric closure. Top fabric folded over, sealing the stone matrix.
10. Topsoil and sod restoration. Native topsoil over the fabric, sod replaced. Inspection ports brought to grade and capped.
11. Water test. Run water through the inlet line, verify acceptance and drawdown rate.

How Long They Last

A properly sized dry well with geotextile fabric, clean stone, and verified percolation: 25 to 40 years of service before any reconstruction is needed. The chambers themselves are essentially permanent - the polyethylene does not degrade buried. What ages out is the surrounding soil profile, and that is gradual.

A dry well built without fabric, or sized too small, or in soil that does not actually percolate: 3 to 8 years before the storage volume is saturated and the system fails. The failure is usually invisible until peak rain reveals it.

Inspection and Maintenance

Dry wells need less maintenance than any other drainage component, but "less" is not "none."

• Annual visual inspection through the inspection port - look for sediment buildup or standing water 24+ hours after rain. Sediment in the bottom is normal up to a few inches; deeper than that means upstream filtering has failed.
• Every 5 to 7 years, snake or jet the inlet line from the cleanout to clear any silt buildup before it reaches the chamber.
• If the inspection port shows water sitting 48+ hours after a normal rain event, the system has reached capacity decline. We can scope it, identify the cause, and recommend either rejuvenation or expansion.

Code, Permits, and HOAs

Residential dry wells for roof and surface runoff on private property do not typically require permits in Duval, Clay, St. Johns, or Nassau counties as long as discharge stays on-site. New construction stormwater retention requirements in St. Johns and parts of Nocatee may require permitted dry well systems sized to specific design storm criteria - we work with the local code office when applicable.

HOA approval is almost always required in restricted communities for any excavation work. We file the ARB form with photos and chamber specs as part of the project; most ARB committees approve dry wells quickly because they are fully buried with minimal surface footprint.

Frequently Asked Questions