When the water rises

Q. I’m a homeowner in the Five Towns area. A few years back our area flooded due to a prolonged period of heavy rain and a high water table. There was extensive damage to those of us with basements. Last April we had a nor’easter, and once again the high water table and extremely heavy rain caused extensive flooding and damage to homes with basements.

We were OK in this storm because we had installed a sump pump back in 2008.

The issue is that our main pit (which contains the main trap for the house) was filling up with water, and almost overflowing. At the same time, our sump pump was actively pumping water out of the new pit they dug. We were lucky we had no flood damage.

Should the bottom of the main pit be cemented?

Can you tell me about sump pumps with battery backups, if they exist? Such a thing would be very important if a power outage occurred — which happens in hurricanes.

Solving that problem may not negate the need for a pump, but why have to worry about pumping lots of water without first limiting the problem? As for the plumbing pipe clean-out pit that is almost overflowing, I would waterproof it with a sealing liner and concrete, making sure to seal the pit sides as well as the bottom. This takes planning and the right materials, since the concrete needs reinforcement to resist water pressure and there needs to be a complete seal below the concrete.

Remember, wet concrete behaves like a sponge, soaking up water, not resisting it.

The reason for closing the pit off, as well as your sump pump pit, is that they’re like holes in the bottom of a boat. You wouldn’t put holes in the bottom of a boat to get the water to drain out because while you’re waiting for the boat to drain, it would sink as water would come washing in under pressure. I don’t advocate using French perimeter drains or open sump pits in low-lying areas with a high water table, since they only lead to inviting more water in and then having to figure out how to handle it, which becomes an unnecessary expense, paying for the electricity to have pumps running so often. And yes, you can get a pump with battery backup, right off the shelf of hardware stores and big box construction specialty outlets. I’ve found they range in price between  $125 and $500.

The more expensive pumps offer higher efficiency and more running time, so I lean toward getting a better model for this critical job, but whatever floats your boat. Good Luck!

© 2010 Monte Leeper
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