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Is it unusual for a Sump pump to run continuously and/or standing water in the yard especially with the heavy rain recently ?
If you do have a Sump pump in your basement, then where and how is the water pumped outside ?
Our backyard has a lot of standing water, surrounding the pop-up ejector and it is mostly bare because fescue sod is dead/gone leaving behind weeds.
I am trying to get some advice on how to handle this issue.
Is it unusual for a Sump pump to run continuously and/or standing water in the yard especially with the heavy rain recently ?
If you do have a Sump pump in your basement, then where and how is the water pumped outside ?
Our backyard has a lot of standing water, surrounding the pop-up ejector and it is mostly bare because fescue sod is dead/gone leaving behind weeds.
I am trying to get some advice on how to handle this issue.
Thanks in advance!
No sump pump here but for ever before moving here. Depending on drainage and lot elevation your sump pump could run a lot or rarely. Here I can only say wow with the clay soil( slow to absorb water) and a flat lot and a basement. A lot depends on the slope of your yard etc. Our yard has a nice slope (realtor looked for one that would be graded that way) and our crawl space stays dry. Just had our pest treatment and they checked the moisture level and it was 14% Our previous homes sump pump rarely ran and our yard was more sloped than I would have liked. Since you have a basement you may want to get someone who can look at everything and make suggestions. You might want to consider someone who does home inspections. From their many posts here you might want to give Sacred Groove a holler since if you were buying the home now he would have good advice for you. He can also inspect and test your basement for mold and moisture etc if you want. In the intervening time you can experiment with sand in the uneven low spots as that will with time help to level it out.
It is not unusual for a sump pump to run for a long time during and just after heavy rains. It would be unusual for a sump pump to run in periods of no rain. You were not very clear when you said "runs continuously".
Standing water in the yard is an indication that the ground around the house is not graded properly for good drainage. You really should not have standing water pooling up.
The fact that you have a sump pump is an indication that water is getting into your basement. While a sump pump is a way to "manage" the water intrusion, a better solution is to stop the water from coming in. What happens when you have a major power outage during heavy storms? I'm guessing your basement would become an indoor pool.
Short term, I would look at moving the sump pump drain to an area where it would drain better.
Long term, I would look at fixing the water intrusion problem. This could be as simple as gutter and downspout repairs. More than likely it is a combination of foundation water proofing, gutter runoff management, and site grading.
I added a second sump pump that runs of the water supply for the house. It pumps 2 gallons out of the sump for every one from the house line. The lack of electricity does affect it's ability to run.
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Standing water in the yard is an indication that the ground around the house is not graded properly for good drainage. You really should not have standing water pooling up.
I agree. Your solution sounds like it should focus on regrading the yard to allow water to run off and directing the output from the sump to an area where water will run off instead of standing. If you don't you're just recycling the same water over and over.
Is it unusual for a Sump pump to run continuously and/or standing water in the yard especially with the heavy rain recently ?
If you do have a Sump pump in your basement, then where and how is the water pumped outside ?
Our backyard has a lot of standing water, surrounding the pop-up ejector and it is mostly bare because fescue sod is dead/gone leaving behind weeds.
I am trying to get some advice on how to handle this issue.
Thanks in advance!
I know this thread was moved from the Raleigh Durham forum and knowing what the soil is like there, I'm not surprised by standing water. There is a semi impervious layer about 8-10 inches under the surface and water moves laterally instead of down through the soil profile. If you can regrade that would work best but another alternative is a French drain (I know many who have to have one to move water off their property).
I know this thread was moved from the Raleigh Durham forum and knowing what the soil is like there, I'm not surprised by standing water. There is a semi impervious layer about 8-10 inches under the surface and water moves laterally instead of down through the soil profile. If you can regrade that would work best but another alternative is a French drain (I know many who have to have one to move water off their property).
Thank you h20hzd !
Yes we also think Grading is the issue because the backyard is pretty flat, and the heavy clay soil (not much sod left) is causing standing water.
Also the neighbor's yard beside ours is at a higher level, so we maybe getting additional water from his yard.
We are trying to get the Builder fix the grading and extend the drain pipe further down into a creek instead of dumping it in the middle of the yard.
But the builder is refusing to admit the problem, and we are planning to get a landscaper's advice on grading etc before it gets worse.
My house sits on a clay foundation ... I have had water coming into the sump pump hole and empties every 3 1/2 min ... My main drain has been disrupted for approx. 8 yrs.. The county has replaced my main drain but everyone is telling me that the water going into the sump pump hole should stop now... I say no not until the clay around my house foundation starts to dry up... I know that clay holds a lot of water and that stands to reason... Could someone please tell me and I right or wrong... Thank You!
My sump pump no longer absorbs the leftover inch or two of water that the pump does not discharge from the pit. I am 100% certain that the remaining bit of water would always be absorbed into the ground through the perforated holes in the sump pit base. It just sits there now, in 12 years I've never had this issue. It is not the water table because I can vacuum it out and it does not come back. If i were to pour an inch back into the pit it would just sit there.
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