How to determine water levels?

Determining the level of groundwater is a compulsory study in densely populated areas near water bodies, rivers, lakes, seas. Anyone who buys a plot of land for the construction of a dwelling house or economic buildings, should know about the depth of groundwater on the site. On this depends the way of building the foundation, the choice of materials, the magnitude of costs and even human life.

What are groundwater levels?

Before determining the water levels, you should know what it is. Groundwater is the first aquifer underground layer that is above the clay soil (it does not allow water to seep, delay it). There is a source of groundwater. As a rule, these are nearby water bodies, as well as precipitation, melted snow. The rise in water level is directly dependent on the season, the capacity of the ground resources, that is, their volume. These factors contribute to changing the depth and distance to the ground surface of groundwater. In spring, their level rises due to the melting of snow, heavy rains, abundant water intake from other sources. In the summer it drops, and the lowest water level is fixed in the winter.

Method for determining the water level

In order to correctly determine the water level on the site, the surveyors will need help, but this procedure can be performed independently. Previously, it was determined by digging wells. Today, there are several methods available. The first one is the most modern. Use it will help tools: a garden drill (its length should be at least two meters), a metal long rod (it should make marks that indicate centimeters).

Drill one well for the entire length of the drill and do not touch it for a day. For twenty-four hours in the well should appear water. Then lower the rod in the hole, which will serve as a measure. A mark will show the depth of the liquid location. If the rod has become wet at a point of ten centimeters and below, then, knowing the depth of the well, it is possible to calculate the distance of occurrence of groundwater. For example, from two hundred centimeters take ten (measurements by a rod). The final number is the distance to the groundwater. The fluid level should be checked during the following days. If the result does not change, it will be considered a ground mirror. If the depth is more than two meters, use a spoon drill. Specialists advise to determine the level of soil water in the spring.

Folk methods

Previously, the method of monitoring vegetation, which prevails in a certain area, was used to determine the water level. If the soil is wet, then on the site grows moth, alder, reed, willow, currant, tamolga vyazolistnaya, sorrel. These plants indicate excessive soil moisture and high bedding. Pay attention to the slope of bushes and trees. If the crowns are bent in one direction, it means that next to a high ground layer. The peculiarity is that the grass and vegetation in this territory is abundant, has a juicy green color.

What is it for

Determine the water levels before laying the foundation is an important stage of any construction. If the groundwater table is high - this means increased soil moisture, which has low bearing capacity. Objectively, it is impossible to build a house on such a site. If the water levels are high, it can fill the excavated trenches and trenches. In this case, to build a foundation is not recommended: first you need to pump out excess water and make a waterproofing. But such measures are considered temporary, because a high level of groundwater causes flooding. If the house is built without taking into account these factors, then in the basement there will always be water, and in the house itself there will be mold and fungus. In addition, high marks in populated areas cause spring floods and floods. For example, water levels in Veliky Ustyug are often elevated, which is why the threat of floods in this territory is always present.

Depth

High water levels are considered if they lie two meters or less. Such levels are typical for wetlands, low-lying slopes, river banks, lakes. A low level of occurrence is the occurrence of groundwater at a depth of more than two meters. This is the normal level of occurrence for building a house. The depth of water flow means the upper subterranean layer, the formation of which contributes to the precipitation of annual precipitation, rivers and lakes located nearby. From the depth of groundwater depends not only the construction of residential buildings, but also the organization of the landscape, the planting of plants and trees. If the site is located in a high-lying area, care should be taken to fully drainage. Before the construction, laying the foundation, carry out an investigation of the depth.

Floods in Veliky Ustyug

High water level and, as a consequence, threatening floods, floods haunt the city of Veliky Ustyug in the Vologda region since the sixteenth century. It was then that the Veliky Ustyug chronicle first mentioned the destruction that water brought.

The most famous flood occurred in 1998. High water levels in Veliky Ustyug led to disastrous consequences. In the spring, a sharp rise in the water level began in the Sukhona River , to which the intensive ice drift contributed, leading to congestion. Then the flood zone was the city of Veliky Ustyug and twenty-four more settlements.

In the spring of 2016, more than 1,500 houses were flooded in the Vologda region. The water level in the river increased for a day by fifty centimeters.

In the XX century in the Great Ustyug was recorded twenty-one emergency situation associated with rising water levels.