Posted by: Chris on July 03, 2000 at 20:04:23

In Reply to: Rising Water Table, (With Heavy Rains), Seeps Up Through Basement Floor Posted by: Mark Abbott on July 03, 2000 at 19:17:30

The water table in our area, (central Kansas), has raised dramaticaly in the past 1 1/2 - 2 yrs. When we get a heavy accumulation of rain in a short period of time our basement collects around 2" of water that we are sure is coming up through the floor. Oh by the way, we found out that there has been no drain tile laid around the basement, so there is no outside water coming into the sump hole.
Somebody told us that if we drill 12" holes at each corner of the outside of the basement walls 12 feet deep into the ground alongside the basement walls and fill these with rock and sand after the water has disappeared from these holes that our problems would go away. Is this true?

Answer:
Not as you describe it.. not in my opinion.
In order to make your basement dry, you will need to pump the water out of those holes. The best way to do it, would be to dig all the way around your foundation and install drain tile. If your land is flat, (Kansas right?), you will need to drain that water to a sump where a pump can pump it out. The drain tile has to be below the level of your floor, so as the water table rises it won't rise higher than the drain tile. This should work.. but just digging holes and filling them with rock/sand won't remove the water.