Absolutely. When a gutter or downspout dumps hundreds of gallons of water directly next to your foundation, it “washes away” the soil supporting your concrete footings. This is called “Scouring” or erosion, and it leads to foundation settlement (sinking). At Basement Expert, we often find that the “foundation problem” is actually a “drainage problem.” We fix the water diversion first to stabilize the soil, which often prevents the need for expensive structural piering later on.