French Drains in Jenks, OK
Jenks has the newest housing of any town around Tulsa, and most of it sits in HOA-run additions with platted swales. If your side yard never dries out or the back of the lot ponds after rain, describe it once and independent local drainage companies can send free quotes.
Get Free QuotesJenks in five numbers
| Measure | Jenks |
|---|---|
| Population, July 2025 (Census PEP) | 28,175, up 8.5% since 2020, all in Tulsa County |
| Median year built (ACS 2020 to 2024) | 2006, the newest in the Tulsa area |
| Homes built since 2000 | About 67%, including 35% from the 2010s |
| Owner-occupied | 77.5%, the highest in the area |
| Distance from downtown Tulsa | About 9 miles south, straight line |
Put together, Jenks is a town of young, owner-occupied homes on lots that were graded by builders in the last two decades. That is a different drainage picture from midtown Tulsa, where many homes date from before 1980.
The usual Jenks request
Most calls from Jenks are not about broken old pipe. They are about water that never had a clear path. A side yard between two houses is often only a few feet wide and almost flat. Downspouts from both homes may empty into it. If the swale at the back was later crossed by a fence footing, a raised bed or a patio, water backs up and the lawn stays soft for days.
Newer sod over compacted clay makes it worse. Tulsa averages about 41 inches of rain a year, and the ground in much of the county takes it in slowly. The typical options are restoring the swale and grade, running downspouts underground to a pop-up emitter or street outlet, or a shallow French drain where the yard cannot be regraded.
HOA, easements and your neighbors
Because so much of Jenks is platted, drainage work here often touches someone else's rules before it touches the ground.
- Check your HOA covenants and plat for drainage easements before regrading or trenching.
- Ask whether your HOA needs to approve landscaping or grading changes, and get that approval in writing before work starts.
- Water has to leave your lot without causing damage to adjoining properties. A plan that just moves the puddle next door is not a fix.
- Jenks has its own permitting, separate from Tulsa. Ask the contractor you choose whether your job needs a permit.
- Oklahoma law requires anyone digging for hire to contact OKIE811 at least 48 hours ahead (excluding weekends and holidays). It's free. Sprinkler lines and other private lines aren't marked, so your contractor should plan for them.
About the levee
Jenks sits behind a levee of about 7.8 miles along the Arkansas River. After the May 2019 high water, when Jenks issued mandatory evacuations for some areas, Tulsa County approved a $1.3 million project to raise parts of it, according to local news reports. That is river protection. French drains handle yard and roof runoff and don't protect a home from creek or river flooding.
Jenks drainage questions
My Jenks HOA owns the swale behind my house. Can I put a drain in it?
Only with permission. Swales in platted Jenks additions usually sit in drainage easements, and changing them can affect the lots upstream and downstream. Read your covenants and plat, ask the HOA in writing, and have the contractor show you where the water will go before you sign.
Does the Jenks levee mean my yard drainage is handled?
No. The levee is there to keep the Arkansas River out of the city during high water. Rain that falls on your lot still has to drain across your yard to the street or an approved easement, and that is the part a French drain or regrade addresses.
Is a pop-up emitter a good outlet for a Jenks yard?
Often it is the simplest legal outlet on a small lot, but it has to sit lower than the drain inlet and somewhere the water can keep moving away from houses. In heavy clay, water from an emitter can sit on the surface, so ask the contractor how they will avoid creating a new soggy spot.
Free drainage quotes for Jenks homes
Tulsa French Drain Pros is a free matching service, not a drainage contractor. Mention your HOA and whether there is a swale behind the lot, and independent local companies reply to you directly. If you sign at home, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule generally gives you three business days to cancel, and Oklahoma law gives a similar right for financed home-solicitation sales.
Near Jenks
Jenks borders south Tulsa, with Bixby across the river to the east and Glenpool to the southwest.
Nearby towns
Services Jenks owners ask about
Standing water after every storm? Get free quotes.
Describe the problem once and independent Tulsa-area drainage companies can reply with no-obligation quotes.