Have you ever heard a buzzing sound coming from your furnace room?  That buzzing sound may be coming from your septic tank alarm.  All septic systems that use a pump to move wastewater from a septic pump tank to a drainfield or mound have an alarm installed in your house.  The alarm goes off when wastewater is not being pumped from the septic pump tank to the drainfield or mound.  When the alarm goes off, you have capacity in your septic pump tank before wastewater starts to back up into your basement.  This is a day or two of capacity of reduced water use.  When you hear the alarm buzzing, you should call a septic tank pumping company as soon as possible so they can address your problem. 

Some common causes that may trigger your alarm are:

1. The pump has broken

2. Power has been disconnected to the pump.

3. Wastewater is coming into the tank faster than it can be pumped to the drainfield.

4. The septic tanks are leaking and surface water or groundwater is entering into the tanks, thus during heavy rain storms your pump cannot keep up.

5. The pipes in your mound or drainfield are plugged with debris or frozen water and water cannot pass though the pipes.

6. False alarm.

The faster you get a septic tank pumper out to your house, the faster they can diagnose the problem and get your septic system working properly again.  Never ignore the alarm, something has triggered the alarm and ignoring it may lead to sewage backing up into your basement.  Most of the time the pumper can diagnose the problem and eliminate future problems.  The alarm is a warning device for the homeowner to correct the problem before it becomes a major problem.  After the problem has been fixed, turn the alarm back on.  Remember the alarm won’t work unless it is plugged in and turned on. You can always call the City to get a list of septic tank pumpers, installers or designers that work in the area.