water in extractor crock

**John Arnold** · 01-02-2009, 12:27 PM

3 year old home with basement bathroom only roughed-in. The crock/pit/sump or whatever that the extractor pump would go into had a lot of water in it. Didn't smell. Looked just like the water in the sump pump.
Anyone ever run into this?

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Ron Bibler · 01-02-2009, 12:52 PM

Did you find the termination point?
did it just dump out side or end up in the drain?

I exclude pumps like that.

Best

Ron

**John Arnold** · 01-02-2009, 01:20 PM

Maybe I should clarify.
No pump present, only the crock/pit/sump with a cover bolted down over it. The bath is only roughed in.
There are holes in the cover for vent and discharge pipes, if and when they get installed, and through these holes I can see at least a foot of water in this thing.
It should not have ground water getting in, obviously, if that's what it is.
I've just never run into this before and wondered if anyone else had and if they knew what the problem turned out to be.

**Nick Ostrowski** · 01-02-2009, 01:59 PM

I've seen the same thing John but in a new construction house. I likewise told my client there shouldn't be anything in the pit as there were no plumbing fixtures installed to drain into the pit and if it was groundwater making it into the pit, it was problem. I don't know what the outcome was.

**Gunnar Alquist** · 01-02-2009, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by John Arnold

3 year old home with basement bathroom only roughed-in. The crock/pit/sump or whatever that the extractor pump would go into had a lot of water in it. Didn't smell. Looked just like the water in the sump pump.
Anyone ever run into this?

I can think of a couple of possible reasons.

Water in the tank to keep it from floating out should ground water fill the hole it is sitting in.

Someone ran water in as a part of a test. However, you did say nothing was currently connected.

I would just note the incomplete installation, the water and say "I dunno".

**Markus Keller** · 01-02-2009, 03:06 PM

I've run into the same. I tell the client, it could be ground water getting in from a bad install or leftover water from when the plumber installed and tested.
I recommend sucking the water out and seeing if it fills again in a few days. (or prior to close)

**John Arnold** · 01-02-2009, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist

...Water in the tank to keep it from floating out should ground water fill the hole it is sitting in...

Interesting idea, except the house is three years old. The water would have evaporated.

**Nick Ostrowski** · 01-02-2009, 03:16 PM

In new construction, I try the sniff test to see if the builders had used it as a toilet.

**Scott Patterson** · 01-02-2009, 06:27 PM

Sounds like an unfinished ejector pump pit! Most likely the bottom of the pit is open to the ground If so it is basically just a sump pit and it needs a pump in it. It is just collecting ground water. did you try to see if the bottom was solid or soft like mud.

I would also bet that if you are in an area with radon, that you will have high radon levels. I have found this time after time with unfinished ejector pits.

It's just the pits!

**John Arnold** · 01-02-2009, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Sounds like an unfinished ejector pump pit! Most likely the bottom of the pit is open to the ground If so it is basically just a sump pit and it needs a pump in it. It is just collecting ground water. did you try to see if the bottom was solid or soft like mud.

I would also bet that if you are in an area with radon, that you will have high radon levels. I have found this time after time with unfinished ejector pits.

It's just the pits!

Thanks Scott. I did not try to probe the bottom. The lid was bolted on and I didn't remove it.
I guess I assumed that if the top part was there, i.e., the part the lid was bolted to, then the whole thing must be there.