It’s natural for your yard to be soggy during a downpour. If it stays that way for days after the rain stops, that’s the sign of a serious drainage problem.

A sump pump is designed to direct water out of your basement and away from your home. The discharge tube should end somewhere water will drain away from your foundation. If that water isn’t routed properly to a storm drain, it can lead to a soggy spot where it releases. Depending on the grade of your property and the type of soil you have, that could lead to standing water, a prime mosquito breeding ground, and a whole lot of mud.

Several issues common to Kentucky and southern Indiana contribute to standing water and drainage problems. First, shallow groundwater is pretty common in this area. That means rain water can’t seep into the ground, because the soil is already saturated. Clay soils and compacted soils can also create an impermeable barrier, preventing water from draining into the soil. Compacted soils are especially common in subdivisions built over farmland, as decades of plowing combine with heavy construction equipment to create a hard pack.

The ideal solution is to make sure your sump pump routes to municipal storm drains. Note that we said storm drains, not sanitary sewer. It’s illegal to send runoff directly into the sewer system, because it can cause them to back up into homes. Nobody wants that!

If you live in a more rural area, and don’t have storm drains, there are other options for properly routing water from your sump pump. A dry well or French drain may be an option, and you may need to try routing it to a lower spot in your yard and planting a “rain garden” of water-loving trees and plants to soak up the excess.

There are many things to consider when trying to mitigate excess rain water causing a constantly-wet yard. Be sure you bring in a professional to make sure you aren’t wasting time and money on a solution that won’t fit your particular circumstances. Call Dauenhauer, at any hour, and we’ll provide a free, reliable quote to get all that water moving in the right direction — away from your basement!

Ironically, an electrical storm can knock out the power — and prevent your sump pump from doing its job. A normal sump pump is designed to send excess water from drains to municipal storm sewers, where it won’t do any harm. It’s usually dependent upon your home’s electrical system, meaning when you have a power outage, it stops working. All that rain will likely seep into your basement, causing expensive damage to everything it touches.

Fortunately, there’s a solution. Installing a water-pressure backup in your sump pit will ensure that even if the power goes out, your pump will keep running. The water you’ll use to run the backup is much cheaper than the cost of a flooded basement. And a water-pressure sump pump will never need its batteries replaced — or fail because the batteries went dead.

In a severe thunderstorm with heavy rains, you and your family will have enough to worry about. Don’t stress about whether or not you’ll have to deal with the mess and expense of a flooded basement once the lights come back on. We proudly install Liberty water-pressure backup pumps, so call Dauenhauer to get a quick, free quote so you can rest easier during the next big storm.