Sump Pumps Revisited
On August 28, the Cincinnati Neighborhoods of Pleasant Ridge and Oakley were among the hardest hit by what was classified as the city's 100-year flood after hours of non-stop torrential rain. When the storms subsided, well over 1,000 homes were flooded, many for the first time in their histories. Not being home at the time all this was happening, I was definitely concerned about what I would find when I walked down the basement steps the next day, especially after seeing images like the one below posted by local residents.
Fortunately, when I got back home and went downstairs the following morning, I was pleased to discover a bone dry basement. While living on top of a ridge certainly helped the situation. I have to give a lot of credit to the sump pump, which kicks on whenever any water builds up around the base of the foundation, preventing it from making its way into the house.
Below is a close-up of what the inside of the sump pump looks like along with a section detail showing how the drainage pipe around the foundation ties into the sump tank that discharges the water outside the house.
