Newbie question: How/Who to Measure Water Table?

[Fat_Al]

Hi there. We are new to this whole process, so apologies in advance for my general ignorance. We just bought a new house (new to us, not new construction) on the Jersey shore, and we picked the property in part because it has a backyard that we thought would be good for an in-ground pool. We are familiar with the zoning rules, and talked to the town, so we should be in okay shape permit-wise, but this is part of the regs:

The bottom of in-ground pools shall be a minimum of two feet above the seasonal high ground water table.​

Assuming this is a specific measurement for our property, how do we measure it? Is this something that a pool builder does, do we need to get an engineer to do it? Our concern is heightened because the house does have a pretty active sump pump from the basement (which is itself dry). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Al

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

Typically you dig a well/pit and see if it fills up with water. One common approach is to use a post hole auger to dig the hole and then line it with perforated pipe, but a simple pit is fine also. Since they say seasonal, you nominally need to wait for the rainy season, as that is when ground water will be highest.

The other option is to find someone with a lot of experience with water table questions in your local area and get their opinion.

 

[woodyp]

Your local county extension service can give you a rough idea.

 

[tim5055]

Check with the town permits section to see what they require for this. While they usually can't "recommend" someone to do the work many places keep a list of trades people who have worked with the town before. The upside is that if they have worked in the town before, they know what letter/certificate is necessary for this requirement.

Contrary to many horror stories on the web,. I have had great luck just admitting my ignorance in an area and asking them what they wanted. They are usually very helpful.