On 6 Nov 2006 09:43:44 -0800, wrote:

During last rain storm we had water backed into our basement through
the sump pit.......it was caused by the pump not working for over four
hours due to loss of power. We had significant damage that was also not
covered by our insurance. We certainly don't want to repeat this
incidence. Besides having some type of a back-up power supply, what
other inexpensive options do I have? One that comes to mind is may be
building a safety dam around the sump pit (say 3 ft X 3 ft X 1ft tall)
that would contain the water for a brief period of time in case of
extended power loss....does any one of you have any creative / simple
ideas?


The chances are good that if you let the ground-water around your
basement build up until the water in the sump "well" is a
foot above floor level, that water will just find another way
into your basement besides through the sump pit.

In the absence of any site-specific info, all I can suggest
is keeping everything stored in the basement on rafts....

What do you use the basement for? Where is the water coming
from? What's the topology around your house?
Specifically, is there a low-place to which you
could lead a perimeter drain?

How long a time/period do you want to plan for
being without power, and what's the most amount
of water you can plausibly get in that amount of time?