The combination of a water line and sewage line break have caused basement flooding in over thirty homes in Jersey City, and left the nearby Jersey City University without water for over 24 hours.

The first reports of damage were received by the Jersey City Fire Dept. around 10AM on Saturday morning, with flooding as high as five feet reported in some basements. It took about two hours for the water to be turned off in order to prevent further damage.

Officials cited a 12 inch break in the water main and an 18 inch break in the sewer line, coupled with locally heavy rainfall, as the main causes of the damage. It is not known which line broke first.

Initial attempts at pumping out the water were unsuccessful, but once the water was shut off, water levels began to steadily decrease. One firefighter was injured as a result of the pumping operations but other than that, the restoration efforts have gone smoothly.

Many of the homeowners will be facing considerable water damage to their basements as a result of this leak, and basement water damage can be among the most nefarious and threatening problems for any homeowner to have to deal with.

Basements are natural targets for water damage, due in large part to the fact that they are the single lowest lying area of any property, and that water loves to run downhill. Once the ground has been saturated, excess water will run to the lowest elevation available.

Basement was damage can be particularly bad because of the amount of material that is often stored there. Finished basements can be even worse, because you are then dealing with damage to carpet, drywall, furniture, and electronics.

Studies show that 98% of all basements will suffer from some form of water damage at some point, which makes it a virtual certainty. And since there is no way to completely waterproof a basement, your best bet is to take all possible steps to prevent or minimize damage.

You can do this by being extremely proactive in checking your basement for small problems such as leaks, cracked foundational walls, and broken window seals, basically anything that could allow access to your basement by groundwater. Locating and repairing these problems before they can become a problem will go a long way toward preventing major water damage down the road.

You can also prepare for problems like the one in Jersey City by moving valuables, appliances, and electrical outlets to a higher place. Granted, not much will protect from five feet of flood water, but most flooding is never that high, and moving your outlets about a foot higher on the wall will help keep your electrical circuitry from becoming damaged in the event of a flood.

If you do find major flooding in your basement, you should first locate the source of the flooding and shut it off. Obviously, this prevents any more flood waters from entering the home or business. Next, shut off all utilities to your home at their source. Do this even if the power is out. The electricity will come back on at some point, and you do not want to be standing ankle deep in water when it does. Electricity and water do not mix, even a little bit.

To remove the water from your basement, wet-dry vacs or heavy duty submersible pumps will be required. Which you use depends of course on the severity of the spill. Be careful not to pump the water out too fast; doing so may create uneven pressure, weakening the outside walls and making them prone to collapse. Instead, pump the water out at the rate of about a third a day and you should be safe.

Once the excess is out, you will find that surfaces affected by the water are still wet to the touch, having retained a considerable amount of moisture. You will need to remove all remaining moisture from these surfaces as well as the surrounding air. This is done through the use of high velocity fans, blowers, and dehumidifiers placed at strategic locations around the damaged area. It may require two or three days for everything to be completely dried out.

Remember, the operative word in this operation is “dry”. Everything must be completely dried out, cleaned, and disinfected in order to prevent other long term problems such as mold.

For best results with all your water damage needs, contact your local IICRC water removal and damage restoration company.

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