The Floods of February got personal on Friday, February 9th, 1996, around noon.
I came home for lunch to find the lower level of my house awash. The level could only get about 2 inches deep before it makes a waterfall out the sliding glass door. Water appears to be entering through faults in the foundation.
In the crawlspace under the mid-level of the house, the water was 12" deep.
Meanwhile, water was 8" deep in the downstairs bathtub, due to underground water filling the septic tank and drain field and backing up. This means I cannot use any of the, ah, er, "facilities" in the house.
In all cases, the source appears to be an elevated water table or an underground spring that has surfaced.
Water still flows into/through the house, so attempts to begin clean-up or repairs are not possible. I held dixie-cup boat races in the hallway.
Damn...
Feb 12th - Water seems to have stopped entering the house so sopping up the water begins in earnest.
Feb 17th - Most water finally removed and heaters/fans drying out the rugs. The septic tank is still flooded.
Feb 18th - It's raining again. The ground water table is rising again. As the film said: "Be afraid -- be very afraid."
Feb 23rd - 0130L - The downstairs started to flood again. Spent 1700-0030 (on the 24th) sopping up the water to little avail. It's like trying to bail out the ocean. I finally surrendered on the 24th, to wait until I am sure water is no longer coming in. The FEMA guy came and splashed through the flooded area to document damage. A check to help make the place livable came a few weeks later.
Feb 27th - 2220L - Over the last two nights I managed to get most of the water out of the downstairs. After all those days of soaking the drywall(!) is soggy and crumbling. The septic system is still non-operational...
Mar 3rd - Rained all day but the local water table has been falling. Just maybe . . . it won't flood again this time.
Mar 17th - It hasn't flooded any more. FEMA has come to inspect the damage and offer condolences. Actually good that it was still soggy inside when he was here. The inside is now pretty dry. Much of the drywall and will have to be replaced -- it's crumbled and molded.
The water table has fallen, but the septic system is still flooded and unusable. Until the septic system is replaced and a foundation drain system is in place I won't begin any inside repair work.
April 24th - After two months the water level dropped enough to allow use of the septic tank. (But it and the drain field still have to be replaced later this summer.) Otherwise life has returned to normal here -- but each time it rains I wonder 'Will it flood again this time???'
August 5th - The diggers and fillers have started to dig:
(1) the diversion drain for the foundation
(2) the diversion drain for the roof water
(3) the hole to pull the old septic tank and replace it
(4) the hole for the new drain field
After excavation, it was discovered that the flood waters had actually crushed the existing septic tank. That makes the flood responsible for the damage.
I had the bad fortune to be taking photos of the work near the edge and the bank gave way under me. Fell about 5' and twisted my ankle. Now I'm on crutches -- déjà vu: 30 years ago.
September 11th - The foundation and roof drains are in place -- Bring On The Rains!
Updated: 29 Jan 2001 15:18L