Water under the house. Need opinions/help.

[Arty]

I'll preface this by saying that we are drenched. Snow, rain, ice, etc etc.
So I went under the house today to run a piece of coax for a tv.
I found around the trench around the foundation, about 6 inches of water.

What's everyone's opinion on whether or not this is a problem?

Normal with this type of weather?

It doesn't have water standing all the time. I've been under this house god knows a hundred times in 7 years and only one other time was there water, and that was neglible compared to this.

[BaseballCoach (Rev A)]

Any time there is water under a house it is bad. Excess moisture can cause mold, can cause rot, and could make the joists and flooring buckle. Also, you are much more likely to get termites.

[LJ3]

No sump pump? That's definitely not good.

[Niner]

Water under the house = bad ju ju.

Can surely lead to mold and/or mildew. You need to find a way to get that wetness out of there ASAP, and dry it out. I know it's cold now, but it won't be for much longer. Maybe a big assed fan placed in the opening to the crawl space with the vents open????

In the long run, I think encapsulation might be something you'd like to look into....
These guys are in the Atlanta area, but I'd bet there's a similar outfit near where you are:
http://everdryatlanta.com/crawlspace-waterproofing/

Pics of crawlspace encapsulation.........
https://www.google.com/search?q=crawl+space+encapsulation&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5DwcU6DnMM3qkAe_qoFY&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=595

[Arty]

No - no sump pump. but I believe I'll be putting one in.

Also may place a dehumidifier under there - and drain it in the same drain I run for the sump pump.

I googled this for a while after I asked the question here...turns out - it's not that uncommon in heavy periods of rain. Add compacted red clay that doesn't drain, and it's a perfect combo.

To clarify where the water is... I have about an 8 inch wide by 18 inch deep trench around in the inside perimeter of the house foundation. This is where the water in (on two sides of the house)...there is not water standing in pools under the house. The water is only in the trench.

I sort of look at it like this. Right now our ground is so wet that if I went out in the middle of my yard and dug a hole, within 30 minutes that hole would be full of water. Ground is saturated.

That's what's happening here, I think.

Still getting a sump pump...and possible a dehumidifier.

Niner - that looks real good, but I bet that is some pricey stuff!

[BarryBobPosthole]

So it sounds like you already have a french drain around the house. It may just be tree roots or something clogging up where its supposedto run off. I had a house once that had a slab foundation and the idiot builder ran the AC ductwork under the slab so all of the registers were in the floor. A douple ofreally rainy periods I woke up to water bubbling onthe registers. Had to put in a french drain system around the house kind of likeyou're describing to fix it.
BKB