Is water logged soil considered damage???

[AUSSIE2001]

We had a water logged site which could not be worked on until it dried, and placed an insurance claim. It all gets down to whether the water logged soil = damage
Does water logged soil equate to damage?
Alternatively, has the water damaged the soil by becoming water logged?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Dameon]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "damaged". If you mean has the soil properties changed for the worst. well, if that's the case, the answer could be yes and no. If the flood conditions are a freak one time event then it most likely could temporarily weaken the soil, and if we're talking granual soils and the water level does recede, settlement could become an issue, but as far as soil properties go, in the long run the flood condition would consolidate the soil and make it stronger in time.

hope this helps

 

[MTE85DRM]

Was the saturation of the soil naturally caused or was it the result of some man made situation.

I become involved in a situation where the water from a large storm water management pond infiltrated onto my clients septic field and caused it to fail. The local regulators deemed this to be an adverse effect and laid charges against the owner, operator and designer of the pond. The situation was rectified and settled out of court.

Also, since you posted an insurance claim I assume that there must have been monetary damage such as an extra to a contract, construction delays etc. In this case you'd have to review the geotechnical reports and figure out what the contract was based upon and then try and come to an agreement on how much extra effort the contractor put into the process to get the work completed.

Good Luck

 

[Focht3]

This is an old thread; and [blue]AUSSIE2001[/blue] hasn't logged into [green]Eng-Tips[/green] since December 2001.

Time to let this thread die...



Please see FAQ731-376 by [blue]VPL[/blue] for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.