CASE STUDY 7 — El Camino RV Resort 15.9-Acre RV Resort | Full Civil Engineering Design

PROJECT OVERVIEW
JRH Engineering provided complete civil engineering design for a 15.9-acre RV resort in Uhland, Texas, along a TxDOT public road. The site featured a significant elevation change, and the required detention pond presented a design choice: hide it at the back and lose usable land, or make it work harder. JRH chose the latter — placing the retention pond at the front of the property and designing it as an amenity lake that adds visual appeal and guest experience value rather than consuming the site's best land.

AT A GLANCE

Site Civil Design

● Full site civil design including RV pad layout, grading, access roads, and amenity area design

● Retention pond placed at the front of the property — designed as an amenity lake rather than a hidden drainage feature

● Front placement reduced the pond footprint needed elsewhere on the site, freeing interior land for RV pads

● Elevation change addressed efficiently through site grading design — minimizing costly earthwork

Utility Infrastructure

● Water and sanitary sewer connected through existing MUD district infrastructure

● MUD utility coordination completed in parallel with TxDOT and city permitting

Stormwater & Drainage

● Retention pond front-placed and designed as an amenity feature — guests experience it as a lake, not a drainage basin

● Front placement naturally reduced required pond volume elsewhere, compressing the overall drainage footprint

● Storm sewer approved by TxDOT and City of Uhland concurrently

Permitting & Agency Coordination

● TxDOT public road access coordinated concurrently with City of Uhland approval

● MUD utility permit run in parallel with all other agency reviews

● Elevation change resolved in design before submittal — no field conditions requiring mid-review plan changes

THE CHALLENGE
RV resorts live and die by guest experience. A detention pond tucked into the back of the property is just wasted land — it serves a regulatory requirement and nothing else. The front of this site had the best views and the most visual impact for arriving guests, but that was also where the drainage math pointed for pond placement.

JRH's Approach
Rather than fighting the drainage math, JRH leaned into it. The pond was placed at the front — but designed as a retention lake with finished edges, landscaping integration, and a guest-facing aesthetic. The result was a required drainage feature that also became a resort amenity, improving the guest experience and the property's marketability. Front placement also reduced the drainage footprint needed in the interior of the site, freeing more land for RV pads.

The Result
A fully permitted RV resort where a required drainage feature became one of the property's most appealing guest amenities — and where the interior land was maximized for revenue-generating pads.

RESULTS

● Retention pond converted to amenity lake — required drainage feature designed to enhance guest experience and property value

● Interior site area maximized for RV pads — front pond placement reduced drainage footprint in the revenue-generating portion of the site

● TxDOT and City of Uhland approvals completed concurrently — no sequential review delays