I have a basement apartment that is 3 steps down from the street. There is a drain at the base of the steps to collect water at the base of the stairs. Alas, it is connected to the city's overflow drainage for heavy rains. As global weirding has increased, a once-every-three year overflow problem has become a regular occurance, flooding the basement. I have tried the heavy duty plugs recommended by the contractors and hardware store, and paid big bucks for different versions and manpower to screw it down tight. Doesn't work. That water wants to come up, and keeps on finding a way. I am ready to concrete it, but I want to do it in a way that won't flow too far down the drain, and mess up connections I don't know about, or get into the city line. My idea is to put a water sealant around the inside (such as used for roofing), stuff a 'bag' of heavier mil plastic down about 6-10 inches, and then fill with a water resistant concrete patch. Any thoughts/recommendations/similar projects? The amount of water that the drain wicks away is no where near the gallons that come up from the street. I have contacted the city, they were no help.

So i bought a house earlier this year, and the house was built in 1965. It has a sump pump and french drain installed. The whole system is outdated... I can take some pictures are upload them if necessary, but in a nutshell here is what i'd like to replace. The sump basin itself is made of iron, which is a huge problem. I think it's the cause of some of my troubles. There is an iron eating bacteria in the water, and it is resulting in this rust looking sludge. The area where the basin is has never really been chiseled out correctly. Basically they took out this rough looking area into the ground, and the pump sits in it with about 2 inches on each side that aren't filled with any crushed stone. The next thing is that the basin itself is smaller than the newer plastic ones. So i will have to take off more of the slab and open it up more. I'd like to install one of the newer plastic basins where the pipes from the french drain tie right in. The french drain is one of the old style drains around the parameter of the inside of the basement. It's just 4 inch pvc with holes in it, and crushed stone on the top. So I'd like to replace all of this with 4 inch corrugated perforated pipe. Basically im just looking for suggestions... What tool should i rent to break off more the slab, should i surround the new basin with crushed stone, should i put some type of nylon around the basin to act as a filter, and am i able to cement over the french drain after i'm done? I know there is an egg carton looking foam that is meant to be set down over the drain, and against the wall when covering up the drain. I think it's meant to channel the water coming off the walls (if any). What is this called? I really don't have many problems with the sump setup or moisture in the basement. It's actually really dry, but im tired of cleaning up the rust like sludge around the basin. I'd like to finish the basement eventually, and id rather know that everything is done correctly. This way i won't worry about the water after i finish it. Basically just have everything new, and up to new standards.