24/7 Emergency Service in Washtenaw County
Sump Pump Repair in Ann Arbor, MI
Same-Day Repair, Priced Before We Start
Float switches, check valves, motors and frozen discharge lines. We diagnose the actual fault instead of selling you a new pump.
Answered 24 hours. Free quote over the phone.
About Sump Pump Repair Guys in Ann Arbor
We repair sump pumps and nothing else. No waterproofing upsell, no membership plan. You get a diagnosis, a written price, and a full-cycle test before we leave.
Thousands of Ann Arbor basements have a sump pump the city required. The city also states plainly that it does not maintain or warrant them. That gap is the reason this page exists.
Why your footing drains were connected to the sewer
For decades Ann Arbor homes were built with footing drains piped straight into the sanitary sewer. Code later even allowed sump pumps to push that water into the sewer too. Then the arithmetic caught up.
- The cause
Storm and sewage in one pipe
Footing drains collect groundwater around the foundation. Piped into the sanitary sewer, they mix storm water with sewage every time it rains.
- The result
Capacity runs out
That extra flow can temporarily exceed the system’s capacity, overwhelming the treatment plant or pushing sewage back into basements.
- The fix
Disconnect and redirect
Work begins at the footing drain tie-in to the sanitary line, then trenches or tunnels that water across to a new sump location instead.
- The scale
A programme since 2001
The disconnection programme ran from 2001 and put sump pumps into thousands of homes across the neighbourhoods worst affected by backups.
The pump is yours now
The city is direct about this. The property owner is responsible for any future maintenance, and the City of Ann Arbor does not maintain or warrant sump pumps or footing drain disconnections.
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No warranty from the city
Unless a warranty was negotiated with the developer or contractor at the time, future maintenance sits entirely with the property owner.
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Backups are optional, and skipped
A backup system is strongly recommended but entirely optional, so many installs went in without one. Worth checking whether yours has one at all.
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Placement matters
The pit belongs at the lowest point of the basement. Alternate locations create a risk of flooding around the pit itself.
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Age is catching up
Pumps fitted early in the programme are now well past the point where a switch, valve or impeller would be expected to still be original.
What we repair
- 01
Float switch
The most common failure. If it runs when you lift the float by hand, this is it.
- 02
Check valve
Failed valves drop the discharge column back into the pit seconds after shutoff.
- 03
Impeller and motor
Grinding, humming or tripping. We test under load before recommending replacement.
- 04
Pit and basin
Cracked, silted or undersized basins short-cycle every pump fitted into them.
- 05
Discharge line
Blocked, crushed, frozen, or terminating where the water simply returns.
- 06
Backup systems
Fitting one where the original install skipped it, and load testing the batteries on those that have one.
Ann Arbor neighborhoods we cover
Same-day service citywide and across Washtenaw County.
- Burns Park
- Old West Side
- Water Hill
- Kerrytown
- Bryant
- Georgetown
- Lansdowne
- Dicken
- Ann Arbor Hills
- Arbor Hills
- Northside
- Broadway
- Allen Creek
- Malletts Creek
- Traver Creek
- Pittsfield
- Scio Township
- Pittsfield Township
- Ypsilanti
- Saline
- Dexter
- Chelsea
ZIP codes we service
- 48103
- 48104
- 48105
- 48106
- 48108
- 48109
- 48113
- 48197
- 48198
- 48176
- 48130
- 48118
- 48158
- 48160
- 48191
- 48111
Not listed? We cover all of Washtenaw County. Call and we will confirm in under a minute.
Ann Arbor sump pump questions, answered
The city made me install this pump. Will it service it?
No. The city states that the property owner is responsible for any future maintenance, and that it does not maintain or warrant sump pumps or footing drain disconnections. Unless a warranty was negotiated with the contractor at the time, the pump is entirely yours.
Why did the city want the footing drains disconnected?
Because heavy rain can send ten to twenty times normal flow into sanitary pipes through connected footing drains. That extra volume can exceed the system’s capacity and push sewage back into basements.
Does my pump have a battery backup?
Worth checking, because it was optional. Backup systems were strongly recommended but not required, so many installs went in without one. If yours has one, it still needs load testing rather than a voltage reading.
My pit is not at the lowest point of the basement. Does that matter?
It does. The pit belongs at the lowest point so water runs to it. Placed anywhere else, water pools in the low spot instead and the pit can flood around itself.
Water still reaches my basement even with the pump running. Why?
Usually the discharge is returning. If the line stops close to the wall, the same water soaks back to the footing drains and into the pit. Check the check valve and where the line ends before considering a bigger pump.
How fast can someone come out?
Same day across most of Washtenaw County, and after hours when water is already coming in. Most parts-level repairs finish in the same visit.
The city installed it. We keep it working.
Emergency repair, diagnostics, pit and valve testing, or a dry-weather inspection. Serving Ann Arbor and all of Washtenaw County.