Why is the alarm on septic going off?

What should I do? What’s wrong with the septic system?

The alarm will go off when there is a high level of liquid in the pump tank. This can be caused by the pump failing, a drain field failure, or an electrical problem.

If you have a power outage and continue to use your plumbing as normal, the water level will rise in the pump tank. When the power comes back on the alarm goes off because the pump was not working during the outage.

A heavy rain, or extended days of rain, can potentially cause the alarm to go off because the ground is saturated. The flow of water is not dissipating as usual.

What do I do?

Call Allgood Sewer and Septic Tank Service to schedule an appointment to have the pump and septic tank checked.

If the alarm goes off, reduce water usage as much as possible with shorter showers, doing dishes and laundry less often until Allgood can come out to diagnosis the issue.

What if the pump stopped working?

If the pump has stopped working it will need to be replaced. A septic pump can last 7-10 years, if the proper pump was is installed. And just like everything else in your home such as the dishwasher, hot water heater, furnace or stove it can get worn out, stop working and need to be replaced.

Pump Repair

Allgood was called by the customer because their septic tank alarm was going off. Although there had been heavy rains for several days the diagnosis was the pump had stopped working and needing replacing. This video shows liquid pouring into the pump tank from the septic tank, even while we were pumping it out to our truck. Since the pump was not working the liquid was not pumped into the field lines.

We pumped the pump tank out, pulled out the old pump and replaced with a new pump and junction box. The customer was happy to have everything back to working again.