Need advice on damage due to sump pump water

[Kero]

Hello everyone,

I'm glad I found this forum, and hope someone could give me some sort of advice or ideas for my problem in my lawn.

It seems like the sump pump is running every few seconds to every minute. It discharges water too frequently and eventually damaged my lawn which I knew recently. My home is right by the lake so I'm not sure if that is why the sump pump is running frequently. The soil is very very wet near where the area where water goes down.

I asked the lawn company what they suggest and the quote I got was to put the pipe under the ground and connect it 60 ft down the hill. To the lake is 100 ft down, so I was thinking to pull it all the way down towards to the lake if the land management gives the permission. If it is connected half way to the lake I'm afraid the same damage will happen at the lower sloped lawn area.

I think the water is leaking at under the pipe too... Who should I call for this type of issue? Plumber? Structure engineer?

thanks a lot in advance!

 

[bud16415]

Gravity is your friend when getting rid of water. Depending on the lay of the land that we can’t see from your photo you may be able to get rid of much of your ground water with just proper drainage.
You will have to check with your locals as to what the rules are draining into the lake.

Running a pump nonstop can get expensive.

 

[Sparky617]

How high above (or below) the lake surface is your basement floor? How far away is you house from the lake? By 100 feet down I assume it is 100 feet away and the land slopes to the lake, not that you're 100 feet in elevation above the lake. If you have a portable auto GPS you can probably set it to show elevation and get the elevation of the lake, and then get the elevation of the ground at your house and subtract the depth of the basement from that number. If your basement is even with or lower than the lake you will be pumping frequently, no way around it. Your water table is going to be at the same elevation as the lake, if not slightly higher.

If you can get the water further from the house and then install some rip-rap (a boulder field) for the water to drain through you should be able to control the damage to your lawn. Assuming it is all downhill to the lake getting the water to the lake should help dry out your lawn. Definitely tread carefully when handling this discharge, people have run afoul of the law when dealing with run-off (US Clean Water Act) while living by a body of water. Some folks having secured local approval get snagged by the feds for violations.

 

[Kero]

My home is elevated 190 ft away from the lake.
Who should I call to install the rip rap? Lawn care specialist?

I will ask properly before running the pipe down to the lake if it is permitted too.
For the water drainage is it the plumber I shall call?


Thanks a bunch!

 

[doechsli]

I think a landscaper would be a better choice than a lawn care specialist. Sketch out what you want and get several bids.....and get it in writing.

 

[nealtw]

It's down hill to the lake, what's the sump pump for. You might call some one like a septic tank installation company, they will know the rules about the lake and know how to disperse water.

 

[Sparky617]

It's down hill to the lake, what's the sump pump for. You might call some one like a septic tank installation company, they will know the rules about the lake and know how to disperse water.

I suspect the builder didn't want to trench down to the basement floor level to run the drain out to daylight way down the hill. A sump pump is a lot cheaper to him than a 75' trench that starts out 8' deep.