Preventing water intrusion into basements and other subgrade structures has always an engineering
challenge. During periods of heavy rain or snow runoff, the water table rises and water can seep
through the concrete walls and floors of basements, damaging or destroying building contents,
corroding metal fixtures and equipment, and rotting wood. Normally a system involving drains at the
foundation would be considered; but in the case of historic buildings, the structure must be preserved in
its original condition without altering the foundation. Army researchers have developed dewatering
points that are external to the structure and can be used in both existing and new construction. Each
soil dewatering well is a separate unit that uses a controller and a casing equipped with an electroosmotic
pulse (EOP) array that has been designed to act independently on the soil moisture volume
adjacent to the well. The self-contained design minimizes any eddy currents that might interfere with
electronics in the protected structure. Each structure can be targeted with the number of de-watering
points needed to stabilize soil moisture. The intelligent single-well design provides an economic
advantage that allows electro-osmotic pulse technology to be used on facilities where it might not have
been considered cost-effective.
Key words: basement, corrosion, dewatering, electro-osmotic pulse, electro-osmosis, moisture control,
soil, well