Serving Mount Vernon
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Mount Vernon, NY
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 storm was short and the street was under water.
With almost no open ground, essentially everything that falls becomes runoff within minutes and arrives at the inlets all at once. The system was sized for a lesser degree of paving than exists now, and there is nowhere for the excess to be stored while it waits. That is why intensity matters here far more than the total, and why a brief cell can do what an all-day rain does not.
Where is all the extra water in the sewer coming from?
Largely from private property rather than the street: downspouts piped into house drains, footing drains connected to the same line, and old laterals with joints open enough to take groundwater. In housing of this age a great many were done that way originally. Disconnecting a downspout is one of the few things a single owner can do that also helps everyone downstream.
It came from next door rather than from the sky.
On lots this close together that is common, and it is usually a downspout, a paved side yard or a grade that has been built up over the years. It is worth raising early rather than after it has become a dispute, because the practical fix generally requires both sides. Dated photographs taken during rain turn it into a discussion about facts.
The Mount Vernon overview carries this FAQ with the city research.