Forum Archive: Posts by: jzeitlin

During the recent flash flood / tornado, my ground floor tenant’s apartment and basement below that flooded. The water pooled in the backyard and rolled down into a low drainage area just outside of my tenants’ door. I have a drain in that low area, but I guess the drainage system was overwhelmed so the drain couldn’t keep up with the rainfall. The water level rose until it reached the door to my tenants’ apartment and poured in and then through the floorboards to the basement. This also happened several months before I bought the place last year.

I don’t want this to happen again.

My thought is that I should buy a pump and place it in the low drainage area. I’d like to get a pump that turns on automatically and pumps water back into my garden when the water gets to a certain level. People have recommended “sump pumps” but those seem to be for the purpose of pumping out flooded basements and I want to prevent the water from getting into the house in the first place. Is my pump idea correct? If so, do you have any recommendations for a specific brand or model? Do you have any other ideas on how to prevent flooding in the future?