Serving Arlington
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Arlington, VA
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
A much larger building replaced the one next door.
On ground that already sheds heavily, a bigger footprint and more paving genuinely change where water goes. Document it during rain rather than describing it afterward: photographs and video with dates showing where water now enters your property. County stormwater requirements for new construction are also worth reading, since they set what the replacement site was supposed to do.
The stream was over its banks and back down before evening.
A steep short valley draining a developed catchment does exactly that. There is very little room to spread, so the level rises sharply rather than the flood widening, and it falls just as fast. That leaves no useful interval in which to move anything, which means protection for property near the valley has to be permanent rather than deployed on the day.
Where does water usually get into a basement here?
Most often a window well or an areaway rather than through the foundation. Both have drains that fill with leaves and silt within a season or two, and once blocked the well is a container that fills and pours through the window. Clearing those drains before the summer storm season is among the cheapest and most effective maintenance available on this housing.
This FAQ belongs to the Arlington page; it is repeated here.