There are two spots in my backyard that are wet and muddy. There's a little water standing, not a tremendous amount. We do have a sprinkler system, but haven't used it in a long time. The water doesn't have that sewage smell to it, but I'm wondering - could it be something to do with the septic system? The wet spots aren't near the septic tank. Any thoughts on what the problem might be, who I'd call to check it out, and (the most important question) how much this might cost to fix? :(

I have moved to a new place with an unfinished crawl space. The crawl space is primarily bedrock with gravel fill for levelling (altough it is still quite unlevel). On occasion, water gets in past the foundation and creates small pools in the crawl space. Currently, I use some pedestal sumps to collect all the water into a central pool and then from there use another pedestal sump to pump it vertically about 8 feet to the ceiling of the crawl space where it drains into the sewer. This is the setup I inherited when I bought the place. The problem is, the sumps are all manual switches so I have to go down there to monitor the water level and turn them on and if I leave town I risk returning to a foot of water in the crawl space (as happened last week). Also, these pedestal pumps have a Bobber on them but they need 6-8 inches of water before they kick in. I want something that will pump until there is just a fraction of an inch of water. It seems to me there must be a better way to do this so that is is a little more hands free. For example, I know that there are better pumps I can get that will kick in automatically. How do I know which ones to get and what is the best way to set up the network? Thanks