Elmore and Autauga counties
Millbrook: whose water is it?
A wet crawl space or basement in Millbrook often starts at the road: a ditch, a culvert under a driveway, a low shoulder. Sorting out which side of the property line the water comes from saves paying to fix the city's part.
Follow the water back
Next time it rains hard, put on boots and walk it.
Start at the wet spot
Find where water enters the crawl space or reaches the basement wall. A vent, the hatch, a low corner.
Walk uphill from there
See what is feeding it. A downspout and a sloping bed are yours. A stream of water crossing the lawn from the road is something else.
Check the street side
Look at the roadside ditch and any pipe under the driveway. If they are full, blocked or overflowing toward your lot, take a photo.
The street side belongs to the city
Millbrook's Street Department lists "correcting drainage issues located on city right-of-way" among its jobs, and gives 334-285-3653 for reporting a problem. A blocked ditch or a drain along the road is theirs to clear.
Report it and keep the photo. A waterproofing company can drain and grade your own lot, but it cannot touch the right-of-way, and no yard drain will cope with a ditch emptying into it.
Your side of the line
Everything from the property line to the house is yours: roof water, the fall of the ground, the vents and the hatch. For a crawl space that takes on rain water, read crawl space repair first and encapsulation second. For a basement, begin with the three kinds of wet.
Flood maps
To see whether a creek or low ground puts your lot in a flood hazard area, search the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center or open Alabama's flood map. If it does, raise it with the company and the Building Department before any soil is moved.
Montgomery and nearby towns
Ready to have someone look at it?
Call and describe what you are seeing and when it happens. You will be put through to an independent local waterproofing company, and they arrange the visit with you.
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