Austin land surveyors can assess the drainage state of your land and offer advice on the infrastructure you’ll need to prevent flooding. If you’re looking to build in an area with heavy annual precipitation, having the land assessed for drainage issues will be essential during the surveying process. As an example, clay soils—and other soils with heavy particles—tend to retain water and slow down the drainage process. These soils also have fewer air spaces, and thus water percolation (to underlying layers) is significantly reduced. Such soils are a recipe for flooding, and they can also create large amounts of surface runoff. There are also cases wherein the property has a fully impermeable surface (such as concrete or solid rocks), runoff water may cause extensive flooding in a short period of time. This runoff is also an environmental hazard, as it can contaminate nearby water bodies. These can be identified through drainage surveys.