[mellosmelo]

We have a 82 year old cape cod home that in the past few years has developed a serious problem with flooding.

The basement has only a drain in the floor that leads out to the storm sewer that runs into the creek a few houses down. Every year now for the past three usually during the later part of the year Nov-Dec we started seeing water coming up out of the drain and filling the basement. Since my boiler, water heater, and water pump are all located there, any more than four inches of water renderes the house uninhabitable.

So, the drain runs from the front of the house to the street. I have an artesian well that comes from the back yard, and my septic tank and leech field are also in the back yard.

Last year I discovered something else about the drain. I had experimented by putting a 4" test plug in the drain to see if it stopped the water. Well, my experiement failed because I found another "drain" so to speak in the flood. Basically just another hole someone had cut into the basement floor. What I did discover though was water flowing under my foundation like a small creek. Further inspection over time revealed that it was flowing all year around. In the summer when there would be no flooding, you could water the water flow from the rear of the house, past the drainhole, and out to the street.

I usually end up renting a power snake and snaking the drain, I never pull anything out of the drain, and after several hours of snaking I usually watch the water swirl down it. This is a little ridiculous to have to do every year. I was looking for a permanent fix.

My initial assement was to simply install a sump pump, and fill in the drain with hydraulic cement. After this year though, I am certain all that would do is increase my electric bill considerably and not solve the problem. I have been using a trash pump I found that pushes a serious amount of water in a short amount of time, to keep the water level in the basement from reaching my appliances. Some days it has run constantly. So, my thought was if I install a sump pit and pump, the water will simply fill my sump pit all day long, and I will be pumping it out, all day long. Counterproductive really..

Does anyone have any clues as to what I can do?

[21boat]

Boy your rare in a tough situation. So a well that's an artesian well. Toy are sitting on a high water table which I guess goes without saying. So lets do this scientifically construction style
A high water table
B floor drain goes through water table into storm sewer
C drain gets backed up snake used drain drains slowly after snake
Does the storm sewer back up at all?
My thinking here is you have the high water table that the floor drain goes through it. That drain is cracked and gets backed up in the high water season and the least path of resistance then is back into the house and not to sewer drain. Also if this drain to the storm sewer is not vented out in the yard this can also help cause the slow back up into house.
If the storm sewer is not backing up into the house then it needs checked and re plumbed so ti will not be effected by the water table its going through and a direct form basement to storm sewer. I would call a sewer outfit that has a camera. The without a doubt can out a scope into that line and get a video picture and usually its taped so all can see if there is a "crack" letting the water table when it get higher backing up into the basement, remember just because the other spot is constantly draining doesn't mean the pipe going a different is not cracked down the line and artesian there is effecting the right direction of flow in the basement drain. I'm very familiar with ground water here as a builder

Do the camera and get the full picture Let me know I'm real curious. Still betting on a clog/crack in that drain line you plugged. The only other thought there is the builders have another Y on the drain to drain form around that basement and the combined overloads the drain you see and can't see the buried Y to help drain the foundation walls of the house.

Signed 21 Boat

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