I recently had a gas line installed, and now there is water leaking into my basement about six feet below grade. It is not surprising that the 130-year-old fieldstone foundation is porous, but until now the water has been led away from the house, so the basement has been dry. Here is a picture, showing the path of the gas line in yellow:
My theory is that the water is being led from the grassy area along the path of the gas line, where the dirt is less compact and therefore more permeable than before.
What can I do about it? Would running a drainage pipe to the end of the house help? If so, should start where the gas line ends, or does it need to be under the gas line the entire way?
Best Answer
are you sure they haven't damaged a drain or water inlet line in the process of installing the gas? if a water inlet line was damaged and is on the inside of the meter it would spin the meter slowly (over say an hour or two) when you don't use any water in the house for that time. i would call the people that did the gas pipe install and ask them to find and fix. they're covered by insurance..and accidents happen.
[edit] maybe they hit a drain pipe instead. whatever the problem, they should fix it. you can't install a pipe in a way as to create a ditch that would cause moisture problems under normal conditions, which includes normal rain. to cause problems the ditch would need a considerable amount of bedding screenings and wrong slope, to start causing problems straight away just from rain infiltration into soil. or do you get five inches of rain each time?
you can't interfere (change) the bedding material (e.g. pouring in cement) so alternatives like french drain or deep auger holes (only if hydrology of the soil allows) are hard work and expensive.