Serving Everett
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Everett, MA
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
The waterfront here has been industrial for a century.
It has, and floodwater crossing that ground should be assumed to have picked up what it found rather than tested first. What changes is the handling rather than the drying: porous material that soaked comes out, gloves and boots are not optional, and a record of what stood where is worth making before anything is cleared.
The river below the city is held back by a structure.
It is, which keeps the tide out of the upper river and means the level above it is managed rather than natural. The catch is the same as with any barrier: while it is closed against a surge, rain falling behind it has to be pumped over. A storm that brings both at once tests the pumps rather than the gates.
The building has never really stopped settling.
On made ground over marsh it will not, because material of that kind keeps compressing under load rather than reaching a resting point. That takes buried lines out of level as it goes, which is why repeat drainage trouble in one spot here usually means movement rather than a blockage that can be cleared.
This FAQ belongs to the Everett page; it is repeated here.