Serving South Holland
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in South Holland, IL
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
Why does water sit here for days when other suburbs drain overnight?
Gradient. The Calumet basin is close to flat and the river through it moves slowly, so when it is high there is nothing to push the storm system's water into. Elsewhere a storm drains because the receiving water keeps falling; here it does not. That is why duration rather than depth causes most of the damage locally, and why the same rainfall does far more here than a few miles away.
What is realistic to expect from a sump in this ground?
That it runs a great deal and that it needs backup. On old marsh ground with a high table, a sump is not an emergency device but a continuously operating part of the house, and it will run for days after a storm. Plan for pump wear, keep a spare, and put the system on backup power. A pump that fails here does so during the week it was most needed.
Is finishing a basement a mistake in this village?
Not necessarily, but it should follow the water rather than precede it. Install the drainage and the sump, then watch through a full wet season, then finish. Doing it in the other order puts framing and drywall against a wall that is going to weep, and moves the damage from visible concrete to hidden cavities. Where finishing goes ahead, materials that tolerate wetting and a floor that can be lifted change the next event from a rebuild into a cleanup.
These questions come from the South Holland page.