A Sump and A Pump: Water Issues - Again

"Dad, something is wrong with the sump pump," Heir I told me as he tried to shake me from a deep sleep. That was early Tuesday morning (around 3:30 am to be exact) and after finally waking up I muttered, "unplug it and if water doesn't back up into the basement, I'll fix it in the morning."

I did investigate Tuesday and found the reason the float wouldn't drop, fixed it and thought our worries were over.

This morning, around 5 a.m., Heir I again woke me from my warm bed: "Dad, water is spraying all over the basement," he said. "You got to get up and fix it."

I got up, went into the dungeon he calls home, looked at the pump that brings water from the cistern and indeed saw a fine spray emitting from a plug. I fixed it then by turning off the breaker in the electrical panel and went back to bed.

Later, I investigated and found the pump had run the cistern dry and popped a rubber hose off the pump. After re-attaching it and ordering in another 1,500 gallons of potable water, the problem was solved for now.

Our landlord, however, wants to install a backup plan and tomorrow, Heir I and I will dig a 100-foot trench to place garden hose from our outside water bibb to our landlord's water line. This will work until he can get permanent structure in place later this spring.

And maybe, I'll be able to get a full night's sleep.