Sump Pump basin causing clogging

[Vernace]

So I have a sump pump in a basin that was improperly installed. The basin is cut straight through the basement slab app the way the the earth below which is all clay. I live about 100 yards off the Hudson River so very low on the water table. That, coupled with an underground stream flowing through my backyard which is only feet away from my sump basin makes for a constant trickle of water (maybe 3-5gph). The current basin is too small to install a plastic drum style basin and I don’t want to make the pit larger because that might hurt the structural integrity of my foundation (not sure about this).

When we get very heavy rain the water crests over my bilco doors and enters the French drain which leads to my basin, both of which get filled with debris which leads to clogs in the pump and a flooded basement.

Here is my plan of attack:
1. Clean out the French drain and basin as much as possible so no debris can get to the pump
2. Installing a secondary sump pump higher than the primary, primary pump also has a backup switch in case the primary switch fails again. Putting check valves on both pipes that lead to the main discharge pipe which runs into the sewer line
3. Cover the bottom of the basin (which is clay soil) with a concrete paver (and screen at the bottom?) to keep the soil from kicking up and clogging the pumps
4. Installing a water alarm in case the sump basin overflows

The main problems are:
1. Sump basin gets soil and debris due to dirty French drain and the basin going through the slab to the soil which leads to the pump clogging
2. Water crests over my bilco doors and flows into the French drain stirring debris up
3. Not knowing when the pump fails

 

[JG plumbing]

Why not a twin basin next to the old one. The twin wouldn't be an exact twin of corse more like a fraternal twin. This fraternal twin could have filter fabric and rock lining the hole. Then you could have your trash pump style sump pit and your oh **** the trash pit is plugged pit.

 

[Vernace]

Why not a twin basin next to the old one. The twin wouldn't be an exact twin of corse more like a fraternal twin. This fraternal twin could have filter fabric and rock lining the hole. Then you could have your trash pump style sump pit and your oh **** the trash pit is plugged pit.

What about cutting away the slab ( see picture with the crossed out slab) then excavating the pit out so I can fill it with screen liner, then stone and finally an actual plastic sump pit. Then I can have both pumps in the pit and that should keep debris from getting in.

 

[JG plumbing]

What about cutting away the slab ( see picture with the crossed out slab) then excavating the pit out so I can fill it with screen liner, then stone and finally an actual plastic sump pit. Then I can have both pumps in the pit and that should keep debris from getting in. View attachment 30145

Do it. I'm thinking thy French drain situation might be tricky with that option. Where will the gunk go?

 

[Vernace]

Do it. I'm thinking thy French drain situation might be tricky with that option. Where will the gunk go?

I need to clean the French drain out so no gunk gets into the sump basin. I will also put the main pump on a Zoeller base which lifts it a bit while the other pump will be raised by bricks or something well above the main pit.

 

[JG plumbing]

People call different things French drains. If it's the kind I'm thinking of I don't think you'd have a lot of luck keeping it clean. If you did it'd be a regular thing. They make different contraptions to help with out though.

 

[Vernace]

My French drain in the basement is a rectangular cutout in the slab that runs through the entire boarder of my slab/foundation. This is the French drain I am referring to.
I also installed a French drain outside using corrugated pipe (on the bottom of the pipe), stone and a hell of a lot of shoveling that runs to a basin in the middle of the yard. Unfortunately this system still gets overloaded with a very heavy rain. This is not the French drain I referred to earlier. This is to keep water from cresting over the foundation where my bilco doors are. This should be raised by one block which would be a permanent fix but one thing at a time. I don’t know if I could do this myself…