Removal and drying for water that reached a home or business from a full detention pond in southeast Champaign.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Detention pond overflow damage is water that left a stormwater pond and reached a nearby building. Detention ponds near Windsor Road and U.S. Route 45 in southeastern Champaign hold upper Embarras River water. Champaign Water Damage Restoration answers calls around the clock, sends a local crew as soon as one is free, and dries the building to measured readings.
A detention pond is built to hold storm water for a while and release it slowly. In southeastern Champaign, several of these ponds sit near Windsor Road and U.S. Route 45, and the upper Embarras River runs through that part of the city. When a storm arrives faster than the pond can release it, the water has to go somewhere, and a building beside the pond or downslope from it can be where it goes.
The detail that matters for a homeowner is the ground between the pond and the house. A berm, a fence line, a grade that falls toward the lot, or a swale that ends at a foundation can all carry the water across the property. The pond itself does not need to be breached for water to reach a building. It can spill over its edge or move along a drainage path that was not designed for the flow.
A call about a pond overflow starts the same way as any water call: is the water still coming in, is the power to the wet area off, and where is the water entering? The answers tell the crew whether the water is clean-looking surface water or has come up through a drain, and the crew treats it accordingly.
Stay out of fast-moving storm water near a pond edge, a culvert or a drain, since the current and the debris can be stronger than they look. Keep away from standing water near outlets and the electrical panel. Do not clear a drain or a culvert by hand while water is rising. Do not run a generator in a garage or near an open window of the house.
The crew checks whether the water is still moving and whether the power to the wet area is off. Pond overflow often comes with fast water and debris, so a technician will not enter a flooded area that is still moving.
The route the water took across the lot is followed to the building. Entry points such as a window well, a garage threshold or a crawl space vent are noted and, where possible, blocked or cleared.
Standing water is pumped or extracted, and debris is cleared as it falls. Silt that was carried in is removed before drying starts, because it holds moisture against the floor.
Readings are taken at the wall base, the sill and the framing. Where the readings stay high, a small opening is made so the cavity can be checked and dried.
Drying equipment runs until the readings reach the dry goal. The same points are read on each visit and the results are recorded for the owner and for any insurer.
A detention pond can overflow its low point or a drainage path even when most of its capacity is still free. Water takes the route of least resistance across the lot, and a blocked swale or a low corner can send it toward a building while the rest of the pond is still empty.
Ponds are shaped to take water at one or more points, and the rest of the bank may hold it back. When the water rises at the wrong point, it crosses the lot somewhere else. A house downslope of that point can take the flow even though the pond itself looks fine from the road.
The technician looks at the route the water took, not only the pond. That route is what tells the crew which entry needs sealing and which drain needs clearing.
Stormwater ponds and their outlets are maintained by the owner of the land, a developer's association or a public authority, depending on the site. This company does not maintain them and cannot change how they work.
If a pond or a drain near your property is blocked, damaged or overflowing, report it to the authority that maintains it and keep a record of the date and the condition. A crew can note the water route and give you that record for the report.
Changes to a pond or to the grade of a lot can need a permit. The City of Champaign's building department answers permit questions for repairs to a building, and the crew will tell you which office to ask about the land.
Check the lowest rooms, the crawl space and the garage, and look at the walls and the sill for a damp line or swelling. Check the sump if there is one, and listen for any drain that gurgles, since that can mean water is coming back up.
A visible wet line is the first sign, but water can travel up inside a wall and show later. Smell, the feel of a floor and a rise in humidity in a closed room are also useful. Note what you see and when, because the technician will ask.
Do not seal a window well or a vent while water is still moving toward it. Wait until the crew has seen the route, so the sealing does not trap water inside.
Storm water that has crossed a lot is treated as contaminated from the first step. The crew uses protective equipment, removes silt and debris, and dries the structure only after the water is out and the wet materials that cannot be dried are removed.
Storm water carries sediment, leaves, litter and whatever the lot held. It can also carry contamination from the ground, so it is handled with care and not treated as clean water. Carpet pad, insulation and drywall that have taken it up are removed where they cannot be brought back.
The crew records the material it removed and the readings it took. That log is what shows the work was done to a standard the insurer and the owner can check.
It can be. A pond overflow often involves the outside ground and the route across the lot as well as the building, and it can reach more than one room. The price is set by the scope in the building and is explained and approved before any equipment runs.
The size of the affected area, the number of rooms, the amount of finished material and the access to the wet area all change the scope. A flooded crawl space with insulation to remove is a different job from a wet garage floor.
No figure is given on the phone or on this site, because a number before the crew has seen the water would be a guess. You approve the scope before the equipment is set up.
When the water level in the pond rises above the edge, the surplus crosses the bank and runs toward the lowest ground. The houses nearest the edge are the first to see it, and the water usually arrives across the lot rather than through the foundation.
A storm drain that feeds or drains the pond can back up when the pond is full. The water can then come up through a yard drain or a catch basin, and the crew checks the drain before it decides the drying route.
A swale that was graded to carry water away can end at a foundation if the grade is not as designed or if debris blocks the path. The water collects against the house and moves along the wall base into the lower room.
Detention ponds near Windsor Road and U.S. Route 45 in southeastern Champaign hold upper Embarras River water. A building next to one of those ponds, or downslope from its edge, may be the first to see an overflow. The crew asks where the water left the pond, because the route defines the work.
Southeastern Champaign is where several of these ponds sit, and it is a different part of the city from south Urbana or the campus. The water that reaches a house there comes from storm runoff and a river that flows through the area, and the route across the lot is the first thing the crew reads.
A pond overflow does not require a flood on a river to happen. A storm that delivers water faster than the pond can release it is enough. That is why a call about a pond can come on a night when the river itself is not in the news.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent detention pond overflow damage, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
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If water from the Embarras River or the ground around it has reached your home in Champaign or Urbana, first keep people out of the water, switch off power to the wet area only if you can do it safely, photograph the damage and call the line.
The Embarras River rises inside Champaign County, and its upper reaches run through detention ponds, the southern part of the University of Illinois campus and Meadowbrook Park in south Urbana.
Yes, indirectly. A pond that overflows at a low point or a blocked drainage path can send water across a lot and into a foundation, a window well or a crawl space vent. The route, not the pond alone, decides whether a building is reached.
The pond's owner, the developer's association or a public authority maintains the pond, depending on the site. Report a problem to that authority and keep a dated record of what you saw.
Call this line for water in the building, since it needs to be removed and dried. Report a blocked or overflowing pond or drain to the authority that maintains it, and keep a note of the report.
Only where the readings stay high. The crew reads the wall base, the sill and the framing first, and it opens a small test area only if the readings require it.
Not in itself, but storm water that has crossed a lot can carry contamination from the ground and from debris. It is treated as contaminated from the first visit, and the crew uses protective equipment and disposal rules.
Tell the line that the water is still rising and where it is coming from. Move valuables upward and keep children and pets away. A local crew is sent as soon as one is free.