Cheektowaga covers a lot of ground and most of it is post-war suburban housing, which means basements that are usually finished and a lot of properties relying on a sump pump.
That reliance is the vulnerability. A sump that fails during a heavy thaw does not fail quietly, and the finished space downstairs takes the water.
What we deal with in Cheektowaga homes
Sump pump failure at the spring thaw is the single most common cause we see here. The pump either dies, the discharge line is frozen shut, or the power goes out during the storm that produced the water.
Ice damming is the other winter source, and it shows up as a stain on an upstairs ceiling rather than anything at ground level.
My sump pump is running constantly. Is that bad?
It means it is doing its job and it also means it will wear out sooner. Have a spare ready and consider a battery backup, because the failure and the storm arrive together.
The discharge pipe outside is frozen. What happens?
The pump runs and the water has nowhere to go, so it comes back into the pit and overflows. Keeping the outdoor end clear through the winter is worth doing.