Reply to basement or no basement-- help us settle the argument

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The only reason not to get a basement is if you live in an area where the water table is too high to have one. Northern Virginia does not have this problem.

Team husband.[/quote]

Not a high water table but springs cause problems.  Many houses do not have basements in these areas because those who built years ago understood springs cannot be stopped.  Newer builders ignored the springs and tore down old houses without basements and built new houses with basements and multiple sump pumps which never stop running because they are trying to drain springs.  In the winter we have problems on  our street because the constant flow of water being discharged from new houses creates a wide band if ice along the gutters.  The County is trying to come up with a solution and the owners of those houses are royally annoyed. [/quote]

Springs are effectively the same thing as the water table.  A 'spring' is generally just a spot where the water table intersects the ground surface.  You can also have springs where a confined aquifer meets the surface, but since most folks aren't generally familiar with the distinction between a confined and unconfined aquifer it may not be necessary to get into the weeds like that.[/quote]

We hope Arlington County does get into the weeds with the two houses because whether it is springs, as their hydrologist described it, or a confined aquifer, the problem persists.  Of interest most of the area was settled as dairy farms because of the presence of springs whether the cows could find water.[/quote]

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