Plumbers busy with sump pump calls in northern Utah

BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah — As the weather starts to warm up a growing number of people are preparing for the spring runoff.

These days plumbers are seeing a sudden burst in demand for sump pumps.

Box Elder County is already experiencing a decent-sized melt off but not enough to cause widespread problems. However, some people are already having to fight off the waters and that has caused a sudden rush for some people to protect their homes.

Defending your space from flood waters isn’t always about what’s coming from up above.

Homeowner Cary Christensen has dealt with it before, groundwater that comes up through the foundation.

“Last time it was about calf-high in the basement,” he said. It’s why he had a second sump pump put into his basement.

“We don’t want it to flood again like it did before. Kind of expensive to rebuild the basement every five years,” Christensen said.

It’s just one of many similar calls that the folks at Mike Knoor Plumbing have handled over the past week.

Courtney Rundell usually works for the company down in Davis County. “Very busy,” he said. “I think these two, this crew have been knocking holes in floors or digging in spaces probably the last almost two weeks.”

He’s working up north this week to help with the sudden demand.

“If you’ve got a sump pit and you’ve got a sump pump, make sure it works. Make sure that the line that goes out the house, sometimes they can have water sitting in them,” he explained.

Also, make sure your pump isn’t reaching the end of its life. Rundell said the lines heading out of the house can freeze up or get blocked.

“Because sometimes they don’t shut off for days or weeks at a time with what’s going on,” he said.

If you’re in an area with a low water table and maybe standing water nearby, a sump pump might be a big help.

“It can go from nothing to all of a sudden you’re saturated,” he said.

The plumbing company is also taking a number of calls for backed-up sewers.

Rundell said in those cases it’s often a good idea to call your local government before you call a plumber because the backup could be coming from their systems.

Earlier this week water pumps and sandbags helped protect homes as runoff flooded streets in Tremonton.

“The water just started flowing in,” resident Trevor Morgan said. “Like here, it was bubbling up through our drain.”

In the end, Morgan said he got about two inches of it in his garage but it could have been worse.