Serving Federal Way
Groundwater & Basement Water Intrusion in Federal Way, WA
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 pond at the bottom of the street has no outlet at all.
A great many of them here do not, and that is a feature of the landscape rather than a construction failure. Ice left behind hollows with no stream connection, so water collects in them and leaves only by soaking into the ground or evaporating. The consequence is that the level responds to a whole season rather than to one storm, and it can keep rising through February on rain that fell in November.
The house has been dry for thirty years and now it is not.
Around a closed depression that is a real possibility rather than a sign that something changed at the property. The level in these basins reflects a long accumulation, so a run of wetter years lifts it beyond anything in recent memory and it stays there. It is also affected by how much of the surrounding ground has been built on. Neither has anything to do with the house itself.
Can the water be drained away somewhere?
Usually not, and that is the hard part of this landscape. A drain needs somewhere lower that will accept water, and around a closed depression there is by definition no outlet. What is left is keeping the building above the level and keeping water from arriving: roof discharge carried clear, the ground falling away from the wall, and a pump for what still gets in.
This FAQ belongs to the Federal Way page; it is repeated here.