Serving Fresno
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Fresno, CA
Basement seepage, failed sumps, and hydrostatic pressure against the foundation are extracted and dried, and the path from the ground is identified so the loss does not repeat. Groundwater and basement seepage are extracted and dried only after the path from the soil is identified — a wall, a slab, a drain, or a failed sump. Drying the interior without stopping that path returns the same water to the same floor.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the storm water actually go?
Into basins scattered through the city, where it is held and soaks back into the ground rather than being carried to a river, because there is no river to carry it to. That is why so many neighborhoods have a fenced hollow in them. It also means the system depends on the ground continuing to accept water, which is not something a pipe network would depend on.
The yard drains slowly no matter what is done to it.
There is a cemented layer under a good deal of this ground that water passes through very slowly. A hole dug in it fills and stays full, and a drain laid above it collects far less than the same drain would in open soil. Testing how fast a pit actually empties, before designing anything, is what prevents money going into work that cannot perform here.
Eleven inches a year. Why is drainage a subject at all?
Because the whole of it arrives in a few winter systems onto ground that is baked hard, and because most of the water that gets into a building here never fell from the sky. On this stock the usual sources are supply lines, water heaters and irrigation. The rainfall figure describes the climate and says very little about where the damage comes from.
This FAQ belongs to the Fresno page; it is repeated here.