Grading and properly working gutters are you best bet.best the drain is used as a fallback.

Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad you mentioned the gutters because I meant to mention that in my original post. I previously checked the gutters above the window well, and there is a mesh wire guard installed that appears to be keeping out most debris and leaves. Based on that, I assume the gutters are not to blame.

That downspout looks questionable and between that and poor grading, there isn't anything that is going to keep that water out of that well.

The clay drain tile,that is just at grade below the downspout, is that operable?

No, I didn't even realize that drain tile was there until the plumber dug up some of the dirt around the well and it appeared. It's filled with soil.

It could possibly be part of your problem. If you said it was full of concrete, you could probably rule it out.

Very possible that the tile itself could be cracked below grade, water is collecting within the tile and finding its way between the well and foundation. Remember - the role of the well wall is only to keep the dirt back - not the water out.

The grading in the well should be properly sloped as well as the exterior grading. If your gutters are working properly and house is graded properly you should not even need the well cover you have on there now.I would ensure your gutters are working and not plugged, overflowing, not flashed, or restricted. If in doubt check it out during your next rain storm.As bp said I would perhaps put some concrete over the old drain tile before regrading.

I had this very problem and it was due to clogged gutters, I'd start there and make sure everything is 100% functioning.

Well, that didn't last for very long. We had heavy rain on Saturday night, and the window well again backed up with water, and this time, some of the soil we recently moved around mixed with the water to seep muddy water into the basement. I have since checked the gutters, and there were a few areas that were missing gutter guards, so those had quite a bit of debris, which I've cleared. I'll replace the gutter guards today, and while I hope that was THE problem, I'm not sure that was the only issue. I'll post a picture of the situation later, but if you have any suggestions in the meantime, I'm all ears. Thanks again.

I thought I had taken a picture of what we did in terms of the soil, but here's a (limited) photo of what happened when we discovered this the other night. The water was a bit higher than this when it happened about a week ago (right before I started this thread).

This post was edited by heldmacm on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 19:34

You need to run those downspouts buried and further away from the home.

Even if the moisture isn't draining right at the well, it is getting into the soil formation and you need it routed away.

You also need better grading away from the home.

If those don't solve the issue (never seen a case where they didn't), you will need to put a sump and ejector pump in that well. That will require digging it out and excavating that location.