When rain water comes down the Watchung Mountains you can get a wet basement in Mountainside, NJ

The Borough of Mountainside is located in Union County, NJ. Over 6,600 residents call Mountainside home. The Borough covers just over four square miles south of Route 78 and north of Route 22. The borough was part of Westfield Township until the late 1800’s.

Echo Lake County Park is located in Mountainside. The park offers paddle boating, picnicking and a playground to both residents and non-residents. The Watchung Reservation is also in Mountainside. It is a large popular wildlife area offering hikes and nature explorations for children.

The thing to understand here is that the high water table is part of the earth and cannot be graded away. Think of the water being flat like a table top. Because it rains over a wide area water table typically covers a wide area.

When the water table rises, it does not just rise at your house, because it did not rain on your house only. The rain usually falls over a wide area of many square miles so all this water goes into the earth at the same time. Water tables can become elevated when they receive more water than they drain off. This can be from unusually high amounts of rain, or excess water from higher elevations