Is this hole supposed to be here?

Every time I think about filling this hole with concrete, I think about weepholes in a brick wall and wonder if it serves a purpose.

This is outside a basement garage that was closed in and finished. Right underneath the downspout is a sump and if you look close you can see a curved line in the concrete where they dug it up to put the sump in. The sump pump is inside what looks like a rectangular clay chimney tile and there are small rocks (gravel) under and all around it. At the far right end of the brick wall there is a ragged hole in the concrete at the corner of the new concrete pour. The rocks are less than an inch down in the hole. The concrete where the hole is appears in the photo like it may be lower than the "apron" that's under the siding, but that's an illusion; they're level.

I keep a large flat rock over the hole to keep rain out of it but if we get a lot of rain for days at a time, when I move the rock I can see there's water in the hole. I assume it's groundwater that's risen. I checked again a while after taking this photo and the water was gone. Yay for sump pumps!

Here's my quandary: Sometimes, when the hole is full of water, as it is in the photo, if I sop the water out of the hole, I can see it run back into the hole and it appears to be coming from the house! That's why I've been reluctant to fill the hole with concrete; I don't know if it's serving a purpose. Did somebody at some point make that hole so that water coming back from the house would have someplace to go? Is the water running down from inside the siding, or from inside the house itself?

Any ideas?
Thanks

You say "from the house" but you haven't said that there is water in the house, so I'm guessing that the water comes up from the bottom along the brick (it's not pouring into the hole from the brick, right?) So it may be hydrostatic pressure pushing ground water up from under the foundation, or you may have a break in the pipe that supplies the sump.

You have a few problems here, mostly the fact that it was a garage.
The foundation is under the brick wall, there is a footing under the garage door some where below and no foundation under the door. So any water getting under the drive way will work it's way under the slab of the garage.
If you look around the house you will likely find that there is foundation showing above the ground level, should be 6 or 8". Usually you would find water proofing on the foundation just below ground level.
The weep hole you mention would be visible as gap between a few of the bricks in the bottom row and would be above ground.
Someone did the smallest cheapest fix they could come up with and it is keeping the floor dry inside, but you are living right on the edge.
I think you need an upgrade with both the sump and the pump and some trenching needs to be done to capture water at a lower level.

slownsteady said:

You say "from the house" but you haven't said that there is water in the house,

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During periods of extreme precipitation (we've just had a huge rainfall that followed about a foot of snow a week ago) there is a slight trace of moisture in a very small spot right on the inside of that wall where the hole is. you have to really try to find it.

so I'm guessing that the water comes up from the bottom along the brick (it's not pouring into the hole from the brick, right?)

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It appears to be coming from under the brick but now that you mention it I don't really know.

So it may be hydrostatic pressure pushing ground water up from under the foundation, or you may have a break in the pipe that supplies the sump.

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The sump isn't supplied by a pipe. It's groundwater that comes from behind that rock wall to the left in the photo. The ground in the front of the house slopes down to that wall and the sump (and driveway) are on the side of the house. So the sump is several feet below the level of the front yard, and the front yard is where the water comes from.
The white/clear hose you see is the output from the sump and it shoots the water on downhill; this is the downhill side of the house.

Just as an aside. That outlet cover is no longer approved for use. I don't know if they're grandfathered in but the new requirement is the type that can be completely closed with the cords plugged in.

Afraid to say it, but you might have to dig down a bit to find the answer. There are numerous threads here about foundation drains, french drains, drain tiles etc. that might help you get a handle on your situation.

Okay, thanks for the replies guys.

ncJohn said:

Okay, thanks for the replies guys.

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Fixing the hole will not make any difference but you really should make some changes before it bites you.

Well the hole could be there to release pressure. Or it cracked as a result of pressure.