Serving West Covina
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in West Covina, 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
How much of this ground is fill?
A great deal of it, and which part matters more than the proportion. Grading in this era cut the ridges and filled the hollows, so a lot can be entirely on original ground, entirely on fill, or straddling the line between them. The last is the situation that produces movement. City records from the original grading show which, and they are worth looking at before any significant work.
The back of the house is solid and the front has dropped.
That is the signature of a pad that straddles cut and fill. The cut end sits on original ground and stays put; the fill end settles as it takes on water. It shows as diagonal cracking and doors that stick at one end only. The water consequence is that drains and slabs fail at joints as it moves, so a repeated failure in one run usually has movement behind it.
Where does water go in an old canyon that was filled?
Along the bottom of it, still, because filling a hollow raises the surface without changing where the low ground is beneath. Water working down through the fill collects along that old line and travels it. That is why a wet spot can appear in a place with no surface explanation, and why the original grading plans are the most useful document there is here.
Read it with the local conditions on the West Covina page.