City of Fargo Offers Free Grading Survey Service

City engineers will stop by your property and mark in the dirt exactly how the yard should be graded for proper drainage, free of charge.

FARGO, N.D. – The City of Fargo is letting residents – especially new homeowners – know about a free service they provide that could save your yard from a lot of damage.

Before a homeowner plants grass or lays sod on their yard, the city will survey the lot for grading purposes.

The proper grade ensures correct drainage in residents’ back yards.

Drainage prevents the accumulation of standing water and possible damage to the grass or even the foundation of the home.

“As part of the overall design of the neighborhood, we design the grades in the rear yards to make sure that ponding water doesn’t occur,” explained Assistant City Engineer Nathan Boerboom.

“We want to make sure that everyone’s aware that we as a city will come out and survey and specify those grades for free for those property owners as they’re preparing to get their landscaping companies out on site to grade their rear yards.”

Boerboom says the city assessors already know most plots well, especially in new construction areas, and so the grading survey only takes around a half an hour to complete.