Serving Hammond
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Hammond, IN
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
It came up through the floor drain and the street was clear.
That is a surcharged main rather than groundwater, and the two need entirely different remedies. When the combined pipe fills, the lowest connected opening in the house relieves it, and that is the basement drain. No amount of grading, gutter work or exterior drainage touches it. A valve, or lifting the house's drainage above street level and pumping it out, does.
The river does not run where it used to.
It was straightened and rerouted to make this ground usable, which is why the land is buildable and why the natural drainage that once served it no longer exists. The consequence is that everything depends on the engineered system: the channel, the pipes and the pumps. Where any part of that is at capacity, there is no natural route for the water to fall back on.
Is there warning before a surcharge?
There is warning, though it is in the character of the storm rather than the total. A long steady rain seldom fills the main; a violent twenty minutes regularly does. The forecast worth acting on mentions rates and cells rather than inches per day, and acting on it means nothing more elaborate than getting things off the basement floor before it arrives.
The Hammond overview carries this FAQ with the city research.