Sump pump dumping water back near the foundation
A faulty drainage setup often causes the sump pump output to dump most of its water right back into the perimeter drain near the foundation. This flaw results in a constantly cycling pump that slams loudly every sixty seconds and leaves renters dealing with unmanaged runoff and roof ponding.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1trying to get the landlord to install a quiet check valve
- 2adding a couple of pieces of pipe or a long hose to redirect water away from the property
- 3Lowering the fascia
- 4Using a tile fillet piece
- 5Building it up with batten and a cutting of sarken/osb to give it a run
- 6leaving weeds to grow instead of fighting them
- 7accepting a mix of weeds and grass as long as it stays green
- 8doing minimal maintenance like weed and feed and overseeding
- 9leaving it and letting it be
- 10Placing rubber duckies in the water
- 11Installing a new French drain
- 12Digging out native clay soils and replacing with a compost and topsoil mix
- 13Consulting a landscape professional or real estate lawyer
- 14Hiring contractors or engineers to assess the damage
- 15Contacting the municipal stormwater management division or local authorities
- 16Checking foundations and basements for leaks
- 17Regrading the yard with brought-in soil
- 18Planning to propose a DIY solution to the landlord and cover the expenses out of pocket
- 19Squeegeeing accumulated water toward the floor drain
- 20Clearing out neglected gutters and extending downspouts
- 21Running a dehumidifier continuously
- 22Cut the shelf to make room for the piping
- 23Replace the cabinet with a different one
- 24Open the wall to adjust drain height or add an AAV
- 25relying on property owners of nodes to allow volunteer maintenance
- 26frequent catch basin clean out to ensure solids do not enter the CMP
- 27Lifting the turf and spreading bags of washed sand to fill low spots and improve drainage
- 28Re-grading the underlying dirt
- 29Build a bigger leech field
- 30Submit requests for a variance from code
- 31Use a bio-swale or subsurface discharge
- 32Routing the drainage pipe to the middle of the yard
- 33Using a small pump, hose, and extension cord to manually pump water from the yard to the street when it rains
- 34Daylighting the pipe near the edge of the front yard onto the sidewalk
- 35Creating a dry well in the front yard
- 36Cutting the angular grate off and reattaching it closer to the sidewalk, creating a gravel pit
- 37trying to manually regrade the soil oneself
- 38reading beginner lawn care guides
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Bought the house 2 months ago and the backyard is like 90% dirt. Fast forward to today and we get a flash rainstorm. Previous owners put in a French drain to the right of the back porch but it clearly doesn’t do anything nor is it even in a good spot.”source ↗
“So we have a contractor coming tomorrow, this is her first home and the first big rain she has received. She’s worried about sinkholes etc.”source ↗
“it was raining on moving day and we immediately noticed the incredibly loud check valve slamming/hammer on the sump pump that was running exactly every 60 seconds”source ↗
“i looked around the next morning and found what looks like the sump pump output dumping 95% of the water back into the perimeter drain”source ↗
“i'm already trying to get the landlord to install a quiet check valve. but this drainage setup badly needs redirecting, right?”source ↗
“I’d also add to thoroughly check the foundation and basement or any crawl spaces to look for leaks or significant erosion to see if that needs to be addressed as well.”source ↗
“We got a ton of water very quickly and it overwhelmed all the regular drainage routes but if we get a heavy normal rain it’ll pool sometimes so something has to be done regardless”source ↗
“Step in mud, or don't step in mud.”source ↗
“As a new homeowner, I’d be asking whether this was disclosed during the sale. Water pooling under the deck plus a new hole appearing after rain sounds less like bad luck and more like a drainage problem someone hoped would become your problem.”source ↗
“I have a dog in a small yard. Anything is better than mud.”source ↗
“Just anything growing in the nasty clay muck is better than dealing with the mess that happens the odd time it decides to rain.”source ↗
“I just can’t imagine a muddy backyard irregardless of what is growing back there.”source ↗
“Based on slope of pipe and existing site elevations, the SJC/PVB threshold for solids in the CMP is 0%. We are currently at 25% solids inside the pipe.”source ↗
“Failure by the HOA and property management company to maintain the catch basins at the two weirs for the past 45 years has exacerbated the solids buildup in the CMP.”source ↗
“Whenever we get a lot of rain in a short period of time, this is what will happen. If the rain keeps going, then I will have A LOT of water down in the entire basement that I will have to squeegee all of it towards the floor drain and let dry.”source ↗
“Also, is there a cheap and easy fix I can do to where the floor meets the wall in the basement and I can make it water proof?”source ↗
“The new vanity has a shelf right at drain level.”source ↗
“Is there any possible way to correctly install the p-trap without cutting my shelf?”source ↗
“Are there any long term implications of doing this?”source ↗
“Not sure if it's worth the extra $600 for an extra 20 ft of drainage to the street.”source ↗
“my most concerning issue is that the lawn is graded toward the house.”source ↗
“I keep trying to regrade myself but end up leaving holes everywhere on the lawn and I’m feeling so overwhelmed.”source ↗
“It rained today and water pooled in the soil near the foundation.”source ↗
“Spent an hour trying to regrade and I’m doing a terrible job.”source ↗
“I just got the house so funds are limited.”source ↗
“I do notice during heavy rain fall, the water fall down from certain parts of the gutter above and leaves deep puddles in certain spots.”source ↗
“The lawn stays soggy for days, and the spot where we currently keep our BBQs (visible in the photos) gets completely flooded.”source ↗
“For the pressure relief valve I understand it should go to a floor drain but there is none in that area and is on a concrete slab.”source ↗
“I don’t want to saturate my leech field.”source ↗
“But at moment I am getting ponding at the eaves where the roof membrane is almost level with the height of the fascia.”source ↗
“A bit of a head scratcher for me, any suggestions before I admit defeat and hire a roofer!?”source ↗
“I think i put too much leaf compost in my soil. is there a fix other than to remove it all?”source ↗
“the one spot that I may have put way too much, is just retaining a large amount of moisture.”source ↗
“I'm renting and don't want to invest a ton of money into this, but I also want to be able to use the backyard. Even when the puddles visibly vanish, the turf is always wet.”source ↗
“Home Depot's "how much gravel do you need" estimator told me I would need to spend $1700 on crushed rocks. I'm looking for more of a $100 improvment.”source ↗
“The primary problem is when the pipe comes out from under the sidewalk, it is *lower* than street level. With my solution, I have unintentionally began collecting some of the storm gutter drainage from the street.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4How to fix a dipping flat roof that collects standing water
- 3HVAC condensate pump overflowing onto the floor