Sump Pit Liner

bta150

I am building a house with a full basement. The basement has exterior and interior drain tile that tie into the side of the sump pit liner. I have only seen water coming into the pit from the tile once and that was after an overnight torrential rainfall of 5 inches. However, the pit still fills with water and gets pumped out. I've been searching for the source of the water and found two small holes in the side of the liner just below where the tile enters. These were not pre drilled holes. They seem to be from damage during installation by the nature of the jagged edges. I have seen water seeping into the pit from these holes before so I decided to see if I could patch them. I patched one with an epoxy putty and before I tried patching the other, I noticed no water coming from it but the pit was still filling up. I got my shop vac and sucked all the water out and discovered the water was coming in from the BOTTOM of the pit. I noticed the bottom of the liner had a big X cut in it from side to side. I suspect this was done at installation due to the extremely high water table at the time. My concern is that after a decent rainfall, the pump can cycle on/off as much as every 3-4 minutes for days and I worry about pump failure, not to mention all the water I'm pumping back into the yard just to be pumped again! My question is threefold. 1. What can I use to patch the cuts in the bottom of the liner. Would a layer of hydraulic cement be an option or perhaps an epoxy putty? I know I'll have to wait until the water flow slows down. 2. If I get this patch to hold, will that redirect the water into the tile as it should? 3. Would it be a good or bad idea to outlet the water into the septic tank? In closing, I'll add that the gutters discharge rainwater 10 feet from the house and the ground slopes away from the house. Also, even in drier weather, the pump will run several times a day. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Kenny.

Jackofall1

Bit confusing, is there or is there not water running in the pit all the time.

If the bottom of the liner is not allowing dirt in then I would just leave it, as far as the pump running, make sure you have a good pump and it a good idea to replace them every couple of years, before it fails preferably, and if you finish the basement, I would suggest a backup pump such as the basement watchdog.

Mark

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bta150

Yes, water is coming into the pit pretty much all the time from the bottom. In drier weather, the pump will run a few times daily and in wet weather it will run every few minutes.

AllanJ

Holes in the bottom of a sump pump liner do not cause any harm, provided you do not get large amounts of sand or dirt inside.

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