The soil holds water against the wall
Much of the ground around Fort Wayne is clay. It drains slowly, so after a long rain the soil beside a foundation stays soaked and presses water against the wall.
That pressure finds the weak spots: the floor joint, cracks, and the places where pipes pass through the wall.
Three rivers keep the water table up
The St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers meet here to form the Maumee, and the ground near them is wet for much of the year. A high water table in spring can push water up through the slab.
If your basement leaks in spring but not in fall, this is often the reason.
Downspouts that end at the house
A roof sheds a lot of water in a storm. If the downspout ends beside the foundation, all of that water soaks in right where you do not want it.
Extending each downspout several feet from the wall is one of the cheapest fixes there is.
Ground that slopes toward the house
Over the years, soil settles and mulch builds up. Where the ground slopes back toward the wall, rain runs to the foundation instead of away from it.
A walk around the house after a storm will show you where the water goes.
Older block foundations
Block walls have more joints than poured concrete, and the mortar between them ages. Cracks that follow the mortar lines often start as seepage.
Newer subdivisions are not immune: fill soil around a new foundation settles and can create the same low spots.
