Hydrostatic Pressure
What is a Pressure Relief System?
Pressure relief systems, also known as “drainage systems” and “French drains”, are an extremely efficient way to prevent water seepage through the basement floor caused by hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure is the force exerted by water against an item such as a foundation. When the groundwater levels outside the basement rise above the level of the floor, the basement acts like a boat in a pond. If a boat is sitting in water, water will leak in through any open cracks, holes or porous areas. Similarly, hydrostatic pressure can push water through hairline cracks. Symptoms of this are water coming up through the basement floor or water coming in at multiple locations.
Properly installed systems will remove the water before it has a chance to rise above the level of the basement floor. This water is then diverted to a sump well recessed in the floor where a pump discharges it to a safe and legal location. Two popular methods of installation on today’s market are the top of footer method and the deep system method.
