Civil Engineering

Civil engineering for Arizona land development

MES does site civil engineering for Arizona land development. We prepare site plans, grading and drainage plans, and utility plans for water and sewer service. Then we take the plans through review and answer the comments that come back.

The water and sewer connections are drawn in the same plan set, so the site plan and the utility plan match.

How site review works in Arizona

The city or town reviews site plans, grading and drainage inside its limits. The county reviews them in unincorporated areas. Each one has its own submittal list, so we check it before drawing starts.

Work in a mapped floodplain needs a floodplain use permit. The Flood Control District of Maricopa County and the Pima County Regional Flood Control District issue them in their areas, and some cities issue their own.

In Maricopa County, a site that disturbs 0.1 acre or more needs a dust control permit from the county's Air Quality Department under Rule 310.

A site that disturbs one acre or more also needs coverage under ADEQ's AZPDES Construction General Permit. A stormwater pollution prevention plan comes first, then a Notice of Intent filed in ADEQ's myDEQ portal.

New water and sewer lines go to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) or a delegated agency. In Maricopa County, that is the county's Environmental Services Department.

Our civil work in Arizona

Most of our Arizona projects are small commercial sites. A typical plan set has a site plan and a utility plan, built on the site survey.

We have finished sites in Phoenix, Glendale, Buckeye, Casa Grande, Kingman, Fort Mohave and Yuma through a drive-up water kiosk site program, with more under way in Mesa, Tempe, Tucson and nearby cities.

An ice vending site program has sites in Phoenix, Tempe, Peoria, Glendale and Gilbert. Many of those sites start with records research: as-built drawings, zoning codes and GIS data. For one Tempe site, we turned the city's submittal requirements into a checklist.

Common questions

Does a small site in Maricopa County need a dust control permit?

If it disturbs 0.1 acre (4,356 square feet) or more, yes. The permit and its dust control plan must stay on site during the work. Other counties have their own air quality rules.

When does a site need the AZPDES Construction General Permit?

When construction disturbs one acre or more, or is part of a larger plan that will, and stormwater can reach a protected surface water or a municipal storm sewer.

Can MES do the site plan and the water and sewer design?

Yes. We do site civil, water and wastewater engineering in house, so one team owns the plan set. Call (214) 833-6748.