Excavation in Goodyear, AZ
Pool digs, retention basins, drywells, custom-lot grading, trenching and compacted pads, built to Goodyear's engineering standards. Request an excavation quote.
- West Valley homes, lots and small commercial sites
- Work planned around the city's stormwater rules
- Quote requests are free
Excavation services in Goodyear
Goodyear publishes detailed engineering standards for how ground is shaped and how stormwater is held. These are the jobs they touch most.
Pool excavation
The dig, the spoil and the drainage around a new pool.
Retention basins
Holding the 100-year, 6-hour storm, 3 feet deep on average.
Drywells
Shafts through 10 feet of permeable soil, or 75 feet down.
Custom lot grading
1% lot slopes, 12% driveways and walls up to 6 feet.
Trenching
Utility and irrigation trenches, after Arizona 811 marks.
Compaction and pads
Building pads and bases that don't settle.
A city built on farmland and the Gila
Goodyear began in 1917, when the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company bought 16,000 acres to grow cotton for tire cords. It became a town in 1946 and a city in 1985. Today it covers about 191 square miles, the Gila River passes through it, and the Estrella master-planned community lies south of the river near the Estrella Mountains.
The city went from 95,294 people in 2020 to an estimated 125,359 in 2025, per the Census Bureau. That growth is why Goodyear's engineering standards matter to almost every excavation job here, from a backyard pool to a custom home pad.
What Goodyear owners ask
What will it cost?
Phoenix-area and national prices for digging, grading, compaction and trenches.
Do I need a grading permit?
What the city's manual says about grading permits, drainage reports and dust.
What's a drywell?
How Goodyear wants them built and where they can't go.
Who marks buried lines?
Arizona 811 is free and required for everyone.
Goodyear's standards, in brief
Retention
The city's stormwater manual calls for on-site retention holding 100% of the 100-year, 6-hour storm. Average high-water depth stays at 3 feet or less, 1.5 feet within 10 feet of the right-of-way unless the basin is fenced, and retained water has to drain within 36 hours. Retention basins.
Drywells
Drywells go through 10 continuous feet of permeable material, or down to 75 feet, are designed at 0.25 cubic feet per second each unless the manufacturer says less, and can't be placed in city right-of-way. Drywells.
Custom lots
The custom-lot checklist sets a 1% minimum lot slope, driveways no steeper than 12%, cut and fill slopes no steeper than 3:1, and retaining walls up to 6 feet, terraced. Custom lot grading.
Floors above water
Finished floors sit at least 18 inches above the lot's low outfall and 12 inches above the high-water elevation, so pad height is set by the drainage plan.
Planning a dig in Goodyear
- Find the drainage plan.For a new home or addition, the grading and drainage plan sets pad height, slopes and where the water goes.
- Check the grading permit.The city's manual ties grading permits to a final drainage report, and to a SWPPP and NOI if an acre or more is disturbed.
- Line up the dust permit.Maricopa County requires one for disturbing 0.10 acre or more.
- Request Arizona 811.Utilities have up to two working days to mark lines.
- Plan compaction.Fill under a pad or slab has to be compacted, not just spread.
Goodyear by the numbers
Goodyear borders Avondale, Litchfield Park, Tolleson and Buckeye, and reaches north to Glendale. See Goodyear, Avondale, Buckeye and Litchfield Park.
Not in the West Valley? Scottsdale has its own referral site for excavation, as does Casa Grande at casagrandeexcavation.com. In Florida, Fort Myers-area excavation requests go through a separate site, and the Orlando area has sites in St. Cloud (stcloudexcavation.com), Apopka (apopkaexcavation.com) and Sanford (sanfordexcavation.com).
Questions and answers
Is Goodyear Excavation a contractor?
No. Goodyear Excavation is an independent referral service. A local excavation contractor quotes and does the work, and we can't guarantee anyone's work.
Does it cost anything to ask for a quote?
No. Sending a request is free for owners; the contractors pay for referrals.
How big does a retention basin have to be in Goodyear?
Goodyear's stormwater manual asks for on-site retention holding 100% of the 100-year, 6-hour storm, an average high-water depth of no more than 3 feet, and disposal within 36 hours. See retention basins.
Can I have on-lot retention on my custom lot?
Goodyear's custom-lot checklist says no on-lot retention on lots under one acre. See custom lot grading.
What does excavation cost in Goodyear?
Angi's Phoenix-area figures put a typical job at $1,844 to $6,083. See costs.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Goodyear, Arizona
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Goodyear city, Arizona
- City of Goodyear: Engineering Design Standards and Policies Manual, Chapter 3, Stormwater Management (2017)
- City of Goodyear: Grading & Drainage, Custom Lots review checklist (revised July 23, 2018)
- Maricopa County Air Quality: Dust Sources, Control, and Training
- Angi: Excavation costs in Phoenix, AZ (updated June 16, 2026)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 40-360.22: Excavations; determining location of underground facilities
Reviewed October 20, 2026. Rules, prices and contacts change, so check the source before relying on it.
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