I live in the country and have both a effluent septic tank and lagoon system. My sewage pump sits on a table and draws in water from the sump hole which I believe is pumped out to a lagoon (I have observed water coming out of the ground near my house). However, I have noticed that it runs continuously 24/7 and on some days loses its prime as quickly as 12 hours, causing basement flooding if left unchecked (the sign that its lost its prime is that the water level in the basement toilet will rise).

I'm not very well acquainted with how floats work to shut off the pump, however I have checked the tank outside and the levels on the tank are fairly low. There is a device inside of the tank that is attached to a long power cable that runs into the house (I assume to the basement pump). The device has another device attached (via short cable) to it however both of the devices appear to sink inside of the tank.

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

Further complicating the matter is that heavy snow and spring rains have raised the water level of the nearby land much higher than normal. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong here?

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F6Tv79p0Tk