photo by Jim Havard
“Dear PoPville,
Last year we unknowingly bought a rowhouse in a part of NW (Brightwood/Takoma) where the water table is higher because of the spring that flows beneath us and into Silver Spring (apparently the namesake for Rachel Carson’s famous Silent Spring). While doing a gut reno of the basement (PSA: check your pipes in old rowhouses–our plumber was shocked we were drinking the water!) we’ve had water coming up from beneath the house, exacerbated by the recent heavy rains.
Other than extra thick concrete, sump pumps, and drainage pits, what have folks done to mitigate water seepage? How quickly will this escalate with climate change and increased rainfall?”