Generally, I do not have any basement seepage problems. Recently, with deep snow melting with a warm spell, water accumulated outside around the foundation. Normally this runs off around the house, but my exterior "drainage conduit" (a shallow, narrow trench which allows water that otherwise would accumulate to flow around the house and away) was filled with leaves, twigs and snow.

I noticed water weeping through the lower layers of the cement block in my basement and there was one small area of missing morter where water was flowing in. This was my sign to go outside and clear the path for runoff and the problem stopped almost immediately.

Should I seal the block and fill the hole or just leave it alone?

 

Drainage conduit??? You do not want a trench of any kind at the foundation of your house. You didn't say exactly where this swale is, but I hope it is at least ten feet away from your house.

Make sure that the soil around your house is sloped away from the house for the first five or ten feet and you should be fine. Make sure your gutters are working properly and use downspout extenders. Remove any plantings within five feet of th house that require supplemental watering.

 

For lack of the technical term used by someone in the profession, "drainage conduit," trench, or what have you should be understandable from us do-it-yourselfers. The soil is already sloped away from the house, downspouts empty as far as possible from the house, and plantings near the foundation kept to a minimum as best as possible.

The house faces an upward slope; water drains from the top of the lawn down to the front of the house. When I acquired the house, water used to well and remain for quite a while before I put in the small trench to route water down and around to past the house. The situation cited was an unusual occurance as I normally maintain the trench for drainage. Note I originally said I generally do not have any basement water problem, and this is because I have made the corrections as best as the parameters allow.

That having been said again, is there any need or reason to seal the basement wall in the interior?

 

If you can't keep the water away from the foundation, no sealers, especially inside sealers, will have a chance. An outside sealing would do a little. And you can use hydrolic cement on any cracks or holes. For an effecitive solution, try to build a swale that will keep the water at least ten feet from the house. The primary solution will be landscaping. Good luck.