Sump pump/septic tank/something overflowing! Please help!

[Notaplumber66]

Hello friends. This is Tom. I am not an expert at all and have been browsing the forum and know you all are!

I didn’t find a similar post so I am writing this here and hope to get some guidance. We moved to a new home in 2017. I don’t know our plumbing system that well so not sure how to handle our current problem: something leaking in our back yard.

I’m attaching photos. We live in a two story home, and have a detached garage in our backyard, the detached structure has an apartment my niece lives in right now above the garage. There is a big (2ft ish?) plastic lid (it says Topp industries) that is overflowing with water, traces of some things (white?), and a slight smell which is right next to the detached structure.

I vaguely remember the builder saying we had a sump pump only in the back structure? Maybe it’s a septic tank? We have regular water bill, Clearly something is the matter, I don’t know if it will go away on its own but I don’t know what the problem is or who to call to fix it.

Do I need to call a general plumber or a company to pump the tank? Is this a small cost thing or will this be an huge expense? Any idea what this thing is and what the purpose is?

I would really appreciate any insight you have!!!

Tom

 

[GReynolds929]

That looks like it's probably a sewage ejector pump for the garage apartment. It pumps to either the sewer, or your septic tank if you have one. There is a clog or the pump isn't working. If you're comfortable you could open the lid and see if you can fix it, otherwise you should call a plumber. Also FYI the only thing that should go down the drain is water, feces, and tp. No wipes, tampons, grease.