tackling the basement leak part 4

One thing is for sure, we are *not* complacent about water leaks in the house.  I left the house for a few hours, and this is what I found when I came home.  We've learned from painful personal experience how ignoring a water problem can lead to big problems.

We expected to see concrete block when we gingerly pulled away the drywall.  Looks like there's some sort of parge on top of it, and there are visible cracks where the water seemed to be coming from. We know now that our basement is apparently insulated with styrofoam.  Odd.

We know we need to deal with drainage issues in that corner of the house, regardless.  That is, unless we want to open a clay studio in that section of the backyard.  Seriously, you could make pots out of that stuff right now!  There will not be a "tackling the basement leak part 5" post, because if we can't figure it out this time on our own, we'll be bringing in the pros.