Here’s what comes next. 
This trench needs to go down another 3 feet (1 m) and be dug across the full 44′ (13.4 m) length of the house. Living on a hillside the heavy rains had started to leak through the walls. The trench in its current state in conjunction with the waterproofing inside the house has stopped the problem; however, it would be a mistake to not fix it correctly. This is a hazard, an eye sore, and a lot of work!
Estimated project cost: $1000
Needs: Backhoe, 20 tons of rock (20,321 kg), 20 tons topsoil, tar for waterproofing the wall, pvc pipe pre-drilled, lots of burlap, hammer drill
My hopeful goals are to take advantage of the trench being open to run an additional sewer discharge along the front of the house as well as an extension of the incoming water so that an additional structure (be it a shed or a stand alone garage) can easily tie into having water–hmm, that may be to code though and would require a permit and inspection. Crud!
