Sewage issue

[Joe D]

So my sewage goes from my basement and into a basin outside the house, underground, that collects the sewage and once it reaches a certain point it gets pumped out to the street. My electric bill has been thru the roof and ive been trying to figure out why.

I decided to check my water meter for any leaks and it appears to hold the same for the hour and a half that I checked it. Went outside to the basin and upon listening I could hear that the pump was going off. I waited and about 5 mins and I heard the pump go off again. It uses so much electricity that the lights in my house dim when it comes on. Anyway i could hear sewage filling it up, even tho there was no water getting used in my house. Any ideas whats going on?

 

[Jeff H Young]

rain water, ground water around foundation goes in the pit then gets pumped out . we dont usually allow combining sewer and storm but then again its a dry climate and we dont have basements that often but thats what it sounds like

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Joe D]

rain water, ground water around foundation goes in the pit then gets pumped out . we dont usually allow combining sewer and storm but then again its a dry climate and we dont have basements that often but thats what it sounds like

How does ground water get into the pit? It sounded like it was filling up every 5 mins. I dont think ground water could fill up that pit in 5 mins while it hasnt rained in a few days do you?

my theory is that either the pump isnt pumping it out to the road and its flowing back on a continues loop or theres a broken check valve somewhere along the line.

 

[Jeff H Young]

i guess you came up with a good idea there too bad chech valve some basements have a sump to catch water from around the perimetor of the foundation. if you pull lid you should be able to see if water is coming back down the pump output or coming in the inlet to the pump basin

 

[Joe D]

i guess you came up with a good idea there too bad chech valve some basements have a sump to catch water from around the perimetor of the foundation. if you pull lid you should be able to see if water is coming back down the pump output or coming in the inlet to the pump basin

Yeah I believe its the towns duty to manage the basin and the sewr line but I just wanted to watch over them this time and have an idea of what to look for. Thing is, as soon as they replaced the worn out old sewage pump, is when my bills started to skyrocket.. im not even sure where the check valve is as my basin is locked up and I have to have someone from the town unlock it, and im unsure if the valve is down the line underground somewhere or is something they can fix in the basin. Thanks for your help.

 

[Jeff H Young]

why would ( your basin and pump) be under control of the city? and it takes your electricity? Im not familiar with a system like you have . Every where Ive heard is a sewer is at property line the homeowner must get thier sewage there either by gravity or pump at own expence and piping pumping is all maintained by owner

 

[Joe D]

Not sure why but im not complaining lol.. you might find this interesting.. because we have no access to the basin, theres a buzzer with a red light that goes off everytime the pump fails and directs you to call the town to come fix it!

 

[Jeff H Young]

thanks , learn something new every day. never heard of anything like that