Serving Hillsboro
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Hillsboro, OR
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 not big and the valley flooded anyway.
That is antecedent conditions. After weeks of continuous December rain the basin is saturated and the river has very little fall to move water away, so an ordinary system produces runoff that the same storm in autumn would not. How wet the preceding month has been predicts flooding here better than the size of any individual forecast does.
Our house is new and the crawl space still smells.
That is usually vapor rather than flooding, and it is the common local problem. Through the wet season the ground under the house stays close to saturated and moisture moves continuously into the framing above, with no standing water at any point. A well-sealed ground vapor barrier addresses it far better than ventilation, since outdoor air in a Willamette Valley winter is not going to dry anything. February is the month to inspect.
Does modern lot drainage solve this?
It solves the lot and not the valley. Engineered grading and drains move water off your property competently, which matters. Where it goes next depends on a basin that empties slowly, so in a wet year the receiving system may have no capacity to accept it. That is why new subdivisions here can be well drained and still sit in standing water during a wet February.
These questions come from the Hillsboro page.