Sump Pumps in Forest Park, GA

Forest Park's older houses

Forest Park is an older inner-ring suburb just south of Atlanta and I-285 that grew up as a railroad stop. Census survey figures put the median home at 1965, with about 78% built before 1980. Many of those homes sit on crawl spaces where a pump was added decades after construction, sometimes with a discharge pipe that runs into a laundry drain or ends right at the foundation.

Clayton County Water Authority provides water, sewer and stormwater service across the county. Its sewer is for household wastewater. A sump line tied into it should be rerouted outdoors. CCWA's service line ends at the meter; the line from the meter to the house belongs to the owner.

CCWA installs backflow devices at customer connections and tests them yearly with its own certified specialists, so you won't hire a tester for that device.

Comparing your options

Signs to look for

• A wet crawl space after rain
• A pump that never stops running
• Clicking on and off every few seconds
• A rotten-egg or mildew smell under the house

Seasonal advice

Replace a pump of unknown age during a dry stretch rather than waiting for it to quit in a storm. Forest Park requires city permits for plumbing installation work, applied for through its OpenGov portal, with inspections requested by email. The plumber can tell you whether your job needs one.

When you call, say what the pump is doing, how low the crawl space is and whether water is rising now. If the pit is overflowing near an outlet, cut power at the breaker before going near it. Older crawl spaces can be tight and muddy, so clear the access door and note any wiring that looks damaged.