Sump pit: fetid water

[Puddin' Man]

Hi,

I've recently installed a sump pit and pump in the basement of my little brick bungalow.

The holes in the sump basin were drilled about 12 " up from the bottom of the basin. This allowed me to put a garden hose in the basin to test the pump switch, etc.

Everything tests out. The sump system is functional. But there's 6-10" of water staying in the basin. It will become rancid/fetid.

The sump system is not needed very often. I am thinking of drilling a few holes in the bottom of the basin so it will drain during dry spells.

Can anyone think of reasons -not- to do this?

Thanks, Peetie

[donald girod]

Assuming your crock is sitting on a few inches of crushed stone, putting a hole or two in the bottom won't matter. It is more likely to get mud in the sump if there are holes in the bottom, but having stinky water in the sump is probably more of an issue.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Puddin' Man :

It's been our experience that it generally won't do that. Either there's sufficient water flow the pump kicks in and the circulation prevents the water going bad, or the pit dries out.

But where will it drain _to_?

I suppose if you have a plastic liner on the pit you may have problems during 'non pumping season', but if the "basin" is porous, you probably won't.

If I was in a situation where the pit stayed wet enough to go "bad" during the time of year the pump wasn't cycling, I'd be tempted to throw a couple teaspoons of bleach in.

[Art Todesco]

[m Ransley]

If it pumps regularly it wont become rancid. Dont drill a hole ,you are trying to remove water not add it. You could pour in a bag of concrete to the proper level.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Art Todesco :

Or, the anti-backflow preventer is preventing the storm sewer backing up into your pit. Or, the water level isn't quite as high as it used to be.

Much of this depends on current water table right against your foundation, and the water level in the sump will usually equilibriate to that (especially if you have french drains).

There are times where our sump pit never fills up enough to trip the sump pump, but, if you manually trip it, you can see that more water flows in, and re-equibrilates to the same level after the pump shuts off.

Thus, for example, if you have french drains, having the pit dry out means that the water level has gone below the bottom of the pit.

[Art Todesco]

Actually, the anti-backflow unit, as it is 5' in diameter and about 9' deep, might be changing the natural flow of the ground water. BTW, I have a monitor panel in the basement for the anti-backflow unit, and have only once seen it pumping. This was not a backup condition at the time, so one can assume that ground water seeped in and was being pumped out. Also, I have wanted to install an elapse time unit across the pump, but it is not a priority, so I've never done it.

[Puddin' Man]

Yes, I neglected to mention that there is about 5-6 " of gravel under the basin.

Or at least it -could- become a headache. I'm guessing that the ground water level will be well below the sump pit about

57 days out of 60.

The pit is right beside the washing machine, which is right by the Clorox jug. I guess I'll wait/see if the water becomes fetid, if so, throw a little chlorine in and maybe then drill the holes in the bottom.

Thanks to all for your input.

Cheers, Puddin'

[John Hines]

The only time I've seen a ground water sump pit go fetid is when organic material (aka mouse or shrew) got in and drowned, and decayed.