Continual water running thru sump pump. 1

[timboiler]

I built my house with basement 4 years ago. I have always had to deal with water running constantly thru my sump pump. The volume certainly increases with heavy rains, but runs like a open garden hose 24/7. It is a rural area and currently doesn't have natural drainage. I left the basement protruding from the original grade 4' and brought in some 50 loads of soil to grade away from the house in all directions. My soil is heavy with clay (below the topsoil trucked in). My theory is that there is a layer of soil at some depth which isn't allowing the surface water to drain and my sump pump is the path of least resistance. Is this common? I was considering boring 1 or 2 holes off the corner of the house down some depth which is past any problem soil. The hole (possibly using the rig which drills "bucket" well holes, I think 36" dia.) would then be filled with gravel to allow the water to drain past the problem soil. Is this crazy? Has anyone done this?

 

[geodan]

tim

In theory it could work. Practically, I have never seen shallow perched ground water infiltrated to greater depths. If your residence is built directly on a shallow perched ground water table and underlain by a thin confining layer which is underlain by a very permeable layer, THEN it could work in theory. However the above mentioned geologic conditions are not commonly encountered.

Is your property sloped? The most common resolution we encounter is to drain the foundation via a drainage trench which is sloped to gravity flow away from the foundation.

 

[Focht3]

Where is your home? (state, county only)

The rain is likely seeping down through your imported fill until it hits the "heavy" clay - then following the original ground surface. In other words, the water is flowing along the fill/natural soil contact.

This happens a lot.

Your 36 inch holes are a novel, but not unique, solution to your problem. (I've used this approach several times before.) The key to their success depends on the presence of a dry sand below the heavy clay. Use concrete sand, not gravel, to fill them, though. The heavy clay will clog the gravel -

You may need an environmental permit to install these wells; in Texas, you cannot introduce a water of lesser quality into an aquifer - whether it is being used or not. Tread carefully - you don't want to open a REALLY big can of worms...



Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[timboiler]

Thanks for the reply's. My house is in Hendricks County, Indiana. My property (1.8 acre) has slope from the front of the house to the front ditch. Some of the backyard drains to a low spot on one side of the house which is lower than the bottom of the ditch. On the other side of the house is about a 1 acre field in which water stands most of the year (same level as my original grade). There is a field tile running right thru the field next to me and right thru my house. The tile is an old farm tile which doesn't flow properly beyond my house. Last fall I had a backhoe in and we dug-up about 5 foot of the pipe in 2 locations trying to stop any flow from up grade. For the 1st time since the house was built, the water basically stopped for a day or two. After a couple days, the water returned. I am making arrangements (working with the land owner) to extend my ditch and grade the field next to me (pushing hill into hole) in an attempt to reduce the standing water.

Focht3, you mentioned that you have used some type of variation of the vertical drain well in the past. Was it at all successful? Is there any way to get a core sample or something to be able to tell if sand is present at some level?

 

[vicman2]

My feeling is that the old tile drain comning towards your house is the source of the problem. Is it true that the old tiles run under your house? Even if the the tiles do not flow properly, the trench may be allowing water to migrate towards your house and the foundation is acting as a trench dam. Perhaps cutting off the pipe and redireting the water to the road would work. I also wonder what is happening to the discharge from your septic feild.