video from Budget Dry Basement Waterproofing on YouTube

22 February 2018

Today in Pittsburgh it’s raining again and it’s not going to stop until Sunday.  The rivers are rising and so is something else.  The water table!

Whenever it rains some of the water runs into creeks, streams and storm sewers while the rest soaks into the ground.  With an extra 3.22 inches of rain so far this month the ground is saturated (February 1-21).  The excess will double in the next few days as 3 more inches fall.

If you’ve ever dug a hole in wet ground you know it fills with water once it’s below the water table.

What is a basement but a hole in the ground?

In Pittsburgh we have basements and many of them are damp right now.  The video shows why.

So here’s the total precipitation forecast for Thursday Feb 22 through Sunday Feb 25.

Oh no! The water table is rising.

(photo and video credits:
video from YouTube; screenshot from this great educational video about the water table and pollution from Penn State (15:57); map from the National Weather Service; click on the image to see its source)