wet spots???

[GYPSY]

hi y'all, no laughing at the title of my thread but here goes. i have 2 distinct wetspots in between my 2 barns. for no reason at all, there would appear 2 spots that are wet about 10 feet from one another. the radius of the spots is 1, about 10ft and the 2nd, bout 5 foot, or half. the site is on a hill and these are not low spots. its puzzling, when it rains, the last spots to dry are these 2 spots and it takes days for them to completely dry, this summer being wet, they are constantly there to one extent or another. its truly puzzling??? as i mentioned, the buildings are on the highest point of the property, this area used to be grass covered/pasture but after the new barn build and keeping the area gravel/dirt clean, no grass, the wet area is very evident. any thoughts would be apreciatted, all my family/friends/neighbors cant figure it out either. pictures would be great but imagine an area approx. 1 1/2 acres clean and level with 2 building on it on the highest part of the property and whole surrounding area as a matter of fact. thanks

gypsy

 

[SPIKER]

Perhaps a leaking waterline under ground there or a tile off of a eves spout some place?

Could also just be the low spot that collects water or a bit of a spring under there.

Mark

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I am with Spiker and do let us know when you solve the riddle.

 

[Sysop]

Assuming your posted location is accurate, anywhere in or around the Mason Dixon region is currently having billions of gallons of extra fluids pumped into hundreds of thousands of new breaks in the earth from the thousands of new gas wells that's been installed and new wet spots are popping up all over, even miles away from where any well activity is taking place. I have a barn and carriage shed that have been standing since 1850 (not a typo, I do mean pre-civil war) and never had a wet spot anywhere near them and in the past decade has went from being so dry grass wouldn't grow well to being so wet you sink a half inch in ground and the sod comes off and sticks to your shoes. The use and traffic on the property hasn't changed for 30 years, so there really is no direct reason for it. The "swampy" area that has always existed on the other side of the property went from an area 10 feet wide and 60 feet long up to an area 40 feet wide and 150 feet long. Using the average creek level as an indicator of the groundwater level, the swampy area has always been about 15' above the creek level and the area between the barn and carriage shed is about 30 feet above the creek level.

 

[dave1949]

Water seeps are not unusual around here, I have a couple and they can be on high ground too. There was an old hand-dug well on my lot that was never dry, and it was on the highest part of the lot. Across the road from that well, a neighbor cleared a spot for a house. It turned out to be a fairly wet area even though the ground falls away on three sides and is level to it on the fourth.

Over all, my lot sits about midway down a long slope from a range of low hills. I guess water goes where it will underground. No gas wells around here either.

 

[Sysop]

Agreed water goes pretty much where it wants (/me thinks Grand Canyon), but if a place has been dry for long periods and just started seeping, there is something underground that has changed for some reason or another even if it's something as grand as a shift of the tectonic plates causing underground rock and chasms to shift and change. Springs and other seeps don't start or stop for no reason. A geological survey would be needed to find an exact cause (assuming the cause is evident enough to be identified). I was basing my guess solely on the geology and current events of the region.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Water goes where it wants to but it is most always down hill that it wants to go. Perhaps you are not quite as flat or on the top as your lot appears to you. A topo. map with contour lines showing elevation might help. There is probably some charge area somewhere within a few miles of you where rainwater soaks into the ground and gets into a permeable layer, sand, gravel. fractured rock, or sand stone and moves along the layer pushed by gravity until that layer pokes out at your wet spots. As it is not bubbling out under pressure the charge area is probably just a couple of feet higher then your lot. And yes water can follow a seam down and back up a dip in the ground if the ground above it is leak proof enough, just like water in a garden hose, as long as the outlet is lower then the charge point water pushing in on the high end will push the water on your end up and out.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Rising water table is an issue locally.

 

[gwdixon]

I'd go with the rising water table as well - especially since you have a very wet season. Springs can "spring" up on high ground as well. Little cracks and fissures in the substrata will cause the wet seepage you describe.

You could dig a test hole with a PHD and see what is going on about 5 feet down. If the hole fills a bit with water then you'll have the answer.

If you are looking for a solution, you might consider dragging a subsoiler over the wet spot and then downhill for quite a ways. While that will not stop the water, it will spread it out to the point that maybe the surrounding ground can soak up a portion of the wetness. On the other hand, if the water table is quite high in the test hole using a subsoiler may just make the wet spot larger.

 

[GYPSY]

some great ideas y'all, gas, heck, could be,but why only there??? neighbors are all good, and 1 neighbor is approx. 30 ft below my grade and he bone dry. my well water has not changed, quality/quantity/smell??? everything is norm other than these 2 spots, i dont know, i will sure post on my finding when i solve this enigma. baffling