Serving Phoenix
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Phoenix, 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
How much of the risk here comes from the creek rather than the rain?
Most of it, for the properties near it. Rainfall on the valley floor is modest and the ground handles it; what causes damage is water arriving off the hills through the creek within hours of a storm up there. A gauge at the house is a poor guide. For a property set back from the corridor the picture reverses, and the ordinary questions of roof drainage and grading are what matter.
What should be checked before the wet season starts?
Gutters, downspout discharges, and the ground barrier under the house, in that order. In a dry interior climate all three go most of the year without being tested, so a fault that developed in July is discovered in December when it can no longer dry out. Half an hour in October is worth considerably more here than the same work would be in a climate where problems announce themselves through the summer.
Twenty-four inches of rain is not much. Why plan for it?
Because drainage that is rarely tested tends not to be maintained, and because what does get wet cannot dry. A gutter ignored through nine dry months matters in December, and the inversion means a small failure runs all winter rather than drying between events. The modest total makes problems less frequent rather than less serious.
The same questions, in context, on the Phoenix mold removal page.