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I live in Chile where the land slopes up into the hills just a few meters from the coast. I have a garage at sea level with the back wall in the ground and there's a little river flowing inside it. I am told it's from leaking sewage tanks above and a normal phenomena. It's like a liter of water per hour - it's significant, not just a wet wall.

Knowing that some plants require a significant amount of water and considering behind the garage is just a lawn, would it be possible to remedy the problem with plants? There's around 10 square meters of space and it's pretty sunny. The roots would need to go 2-3 meters down. Are there plants suitable for this? Which plants evaporate most water? Does it even make sense? :-)

Edit: A bad vertical panorama of the location from above: garage and hill slope

It's not ground water, it's leakage from sewage water tanks on the hills above. Or so I'm told, but it can't be ground water, the levels aren't that high here.

EDIT: Late revelation: It actually IS ground water. The slope was artificially created and apparently they dug a bit too deep. I guess it's time for a pond. :-)

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Mantriur
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3 Answers3

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If I'm understanding this one properly, you're asking if plants can significantly lower the water table.

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I wouldn't think plants could make a significant difference with volumes of water this large.

I found some stats online:

One large tree can lift up to 100 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air in a day.

But it takes half a lifetime to grow a large tree.

Coast redwood habitat receives less summer rain than in the winter but nearly every day is foggy. According to a 1998 report in the journal Oecologia, redwoods use more than 600 quarts of water each day in the summer and up to 40 percent of it is from the fog.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_10022268_much-water-giant-redwood-tree-need.html#ixzz2ci204jd3

Plants do remove water from the ground, but I think you'd be better served by cutting a deep trench behind the garage and forming a streaming going around your garage, rather than through it.

Randy
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You may use Eucalyptus spp. for lowering the water table. It can also be used for planting in arable land near marshy areas to dry them up.

Niall C.
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Anup
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The only thing I think you can do in your situation is install exterior drains to divert water around the structure.

OrganicLawnDIY
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