Basement flooding is now being recognized as a potentially serious
problem. There are many negative consequences associated with basement
flooding, above and beyond the inconvenient mess and disruption of
household routine. Research cites the following impacts:
Before appropriate measures can be taken, it is important to identify
the causes of basement flooding. These range from problems originating
in the individual dwelling to problems associated with the municipal
sewer systems that serve entire communities.
Water can enter your basement for a number of reasons. Water in your
basement is most likely to occur during periods of heavy rainfall, or
when snow is melting rapidly during a spring thaw. In these cases, your
basement can be wet because of:
Basement flooding may also occur because of:
Basements are also vulnerable to natural river flooding disasters, but these cannot be addressed by individual homeowners.
Municipalities attempt to prevent flooding by maintaining the public
sewer system. Homeowners with private sewage systems (septic tank and
field bed) can appreciate the need for regular maintenance, but
unforeseen or accidental problems can occur in any type of system. Here
is some municipal infrastructure terminology you should know:
A sanitary sewer is a pipe buried beneath the street that is designed
to transport wastewater from your home. This consists of water from
sanitary fixtures (toilets, sinks, etc.) and floor drains inside your
house, and in some areas includes groundwater from weeping tiles around
the foundation of your home.
A storm sewer is a pipe buried beneath the street that is designed to
carry storm-related water runoff. Storm sewers are normally much
larger than sanitary sewers because they are designed to carry much
larger amounts of flow.
Extra storm-related water (from sources other than wastewater and
groundwater) should flow into the storm sewer or soak slowly into the
ground without entering the sanitary sewer. If excess storm water does
enter the sanitary sewer system, it can overload this kind of system.
When the sewers are overloaded, the water level in the system rises
above normal design levels, and this condition is referred to as
“surcharge.” Basement flooding can occur if the home has sanitary
fixtures or floor drains below the surcharge level
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