I’m relatively new to Duluth, and I’m a first-time home debtor. Where I come from we don’t have basements (or winter). I’ve been in my house for a year, and haven’t had water issues in my basement. There is a sump pit down there. (I’m not sure if “sump pit” is the correct term; it’s a manhole-like pit with one large horizontal rusty metal pipe that comes from one side and ends near the middle and several smaller clay pipes around the edge.) We do not have a sump pump. I doubt it is a simple gravity drain, because there is no location on our lot that is lower than the pit. The house passed an I&I inspection shortly before we moved in.

While I haven’t been in the habit of looking under the manhole cover regularly, the two or three times I’ve previously looked in there it was dry. With all of this rain I figured I should have a look, and… It is full of water! I’m wondering if this is a problem. Is this water going to eventually flood our basement? Is my house contributing to I&I-related problems? Is it possible that the house passed its I&I inspection when it should have failed? Why is there a pit down there if there is no pump?

The previous owners of the house did not have a pump, and I am convinced (by the vintage shag carpet in the basement, among other things) that water has not previously been an issue in the basement. But with the water gathering in the pit and more rain to come, I am concerned.

If you are able and willing to speculate what sort of system this seems to be and to suggest what, if any, course of action I need to take, please post a comment. Thanks!