Drought 2015

[wsushox1]

This rain has made one heck of a dent in the drought our state has been experiencing. Here's a recent comparison from NWS-ICT



Of course we still need the water table recharged so more rain is needed, preferably in a more restrained manner but I'll take what I can get. My family farm ground in Sumner, Harper & Barber counties are still moderate to severe inspite of this rain.

I suspect they will conpletely remove a large area here at the next update.

[DUShock]

I suspect they will conpletely remove a large area here at the next update.

Being west of the turnpike I never thought I would see the day. ;-)

[jocoshock]

Whatever God was pissed off about, he must be over it... or maybe he's not.. hhmm.. drought or flood... ???

And on the 8th day, God created the Big Ditch..

[RoyalShock]

I'm pretty sure the water-logged ground is forcing one of my basement walls to push in, which would explain the weird sounds my house has been making the last few days. These aren't your normal creaks when your house settles. These are fairly loud, sudden pops, as if the wall is shifting underneath the sill plate.

About 12 years ago I had wall anchors installed in that wall due to movement. Once we dry out a little bit I will have to crank on the anchor bolts and hope it realigns.

[Kung Wu]

I'm pretty sure the water-logged ground is forcing one of my basement walls to push in, which would explain the weird sounds my house has been making the last few days. These aren't your normal creaks when your house settles. These are fairly loud, sudden pops, as if the wall is shifting underneath the sill plate.

About 12 years ago I had wall anchors installed in that wall due to movement. Once we dry out a little bit I will have to crank on the anchor bolts and hope it realigns.

Holy smokes! Do you not have good drainage away from your house? Why is water pooling up against that wall?

[wufan]

That happens to some houses, usually old, sometimes new. The drainage, slope, and soil content all play a role. You can't buy a house in Tulsa, OK with a basement as the soil content will not support the structure appropriately. It's a bad deal but not horribly uncommon.

[rrshock]

The clay in the area is severely swollen and will wreak havoc on basements until it can go back to a more normal situation.

I know my house is settling more. I saw water in my crawl space for the first time ever this week.

[RoyalShock]

Holy smokes! Do you not have good drainage away from your house? Why is water pooling up against that wall?

I don't have sloping issues anymore (fixed that years ago), but I have so many large trees on my property that my downspouts clog frequently. I don't notice any pooling against the foundation or gaps between the wall and the soil. In fact, the area of the basement where it seems to get the wettest is under a patio I built a few years ago, and I made sure it sloped away from the house.

My theory is that as the soil saturates moisture is forced between the base of the basement wall and the floor. It's gradual and usually only happens during and after very heavy or prolonged rain. It hasn't been bad enough for me to look into water-proofing yet. I don't want to spend the $$$.

My house was built 60 years ago, so it's going to have issues like this.

[SB Shock]

[SHOCKvalue]

^Happy dance.

How many years has it been since the Wichita area didn't have one of these UNL drought monitor overlays?

[im4wsu]

Here in Great Bend, we've recorded somewhere around 17 inches this calendar year. The normal for five months is around 9.5. We can finally see water in the Arkansas river.

[SB Shock]

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