Flooding Basements

[berwyn senator]

During the last three years I have noticed flooding that never occurred before.30 years never a drop of water, 2 years ago my basement flooded along with many others in the neighborhood Why? All the hype about the deep tunnel,flooding is worse!

[Ted]

  Same thing has happened to me. No water in my basement until 2010 and now it seems like once per year I get some water in my basement after a big rain.  It may be just more houses putting water into a system that can't handle it any longer.

[berwyn senator]

Another deep tunnel?

[berwynson]

What is the "deep tunnel"?   berwynson

[berwyn senator]

 Tunnel dug from the north all the way south running along the Desplaines River,the tunnel was used to fill with excess water during heavy rains.This was to eliminate the reversing of the locks,so to keep all the pollution from Lake Michigan.Two years ago had the worse flooding so we were told they need more tunnels,and locks were not closed and were damaged.Bull Shit!!!!! The tunnel is huge.

[Ted]

Tunnel dug from the north all the way south running along the Desplaines River,the tunnel was used to fill with excess water during heavy rains.This was to eliminate the reversing of the locks,so to keep all the pollution from Lake Michigan.Two years ago had the worse flooding so we were told they need more tunnels,and locks were not closed and were damaged.Bull Shit!!!!! The tunnel is huge.

  The deep tunnel was never finished. They built the tunnel but not the reservoirs for water to flow into or hold the water. 

[berwynson]

Too late to add to this? One summer, around 4th. of July, I'll guess about 1956, huge lightning storm, torrential rain, lightning struck the transformer feeding the entire block, 18th. St. to 19th., Lombard to Harvey, evidently burned it out. Con Ed replaced the transformer I think the next day. It was very interesting to a lad having by then quite a bit of electrical savvy. The transformer looked much bigger when standing on the ground, after they lowered it down from it's perch up on the power pole, located midway down the block, in the alley, of course.

We had 30" high standpipes which screwed into the basement sewers, when a storm seemed imminent. That time, and only that time, the water rose up in those pipes clear to the tops, and overflowed into the basement. Wound up with about of 2 feet in the basement; lots of stuff ruined which could not be raised up in time. Stank like hell, too, since storm runoff was carried by the same street sewer as waste.    berwynson

[Toria]

Are standpipes legal in Berwyn?  Anyone know where to buy one?

[berwyn senator]

Your drains are threaded,measure them the go to either Algor Plumbing in Cicero,North side of Cermack just east of Laramie ave.They should be able to cut and thread the stand pipes just tell them what the pipes are for and give them the inside diameter of your drains.Be careful I have run into drains with no threads a different fitting may be needed.One last thing when using stand pipes during a heavy rain pressure may build up in the system causing major problems.I would not recommend them,look for the real cause of the flooding,dirty catch basin,tree roots clogging the main drain.I would call in a few plumbers for estimates,be careful some are crooks!

[berwynson]

Our basement floor drains, there were 3, one in the entry under the back porch, one in the laundry area, and one towards the front, outside the area of the old "coal bin". The concrete had sockets set into it which accepted a large, "twist-in" fitting, about 4 inches in diameter. The twist-in plug was a cast-iron part having 3 prongs which mated with the female counterparts in the floor. The center of the plugs were threaded for 2-inch pipe, the "stand-pipe", which could be as high as desired. Thus, the stand-pipes were UN-twisted out of the floor drains, and stored away, to be inserted when heavy rains were predicted.

The Senator is correct: High standpipes allowed pressure build-up beneath the concrete floor, a result of decades-old drain piping which allowed back-up leakage under the floor slab, when street drains were over-full, and backing up into folks' basements. Tales were told of buckled floors, heaved upwards by the water pressure beneath them. I never saw one, but do not discount the possibility. Our own floor was riddled with cracks, some quite wide, through which back-up water poured upwards into the basement in streams sometimes several inches high. This, I pictured, alleviated the possibility of a buckled floor slab, but did fill the basement with shit, pure and simple.    berwynson

[berwyn senator]

I have seen floors damaged from the pressure of the water,some pretty bad,then again others were fine.As of recent I have not heard of many people using stand pipes,back water valves a more common.Most of the water that comes into the basement could be seepage if clear,stinky water is a backup from the catch basin.

[berwyn senator]

These areas were built on wetlands,Cicero,Stickney,Forest View,and South Berwyn.Look up Mud lake!

[berwyn senator]

Two years ago Stickney, Forest View and the south half of Mt.Alburn Cemetery flooded,Mud Lake came back! This was the first time in 30Yrs. that I am aware of.Was blamed on the levies failing?Had nothing to do with the removal the dam in Riverside? Basements were filled,boats were used to remove people from some of the homes.

[Toria]

Thanks