Homeowners swamped with sump pump problems

Tina Pindell spent yesterday and Monday soaking up water with bath towels and then washing the resultant 10 loads of laundry.

It was all the Annapolis resident could do after a foot of water flooded her basement Monday and more gushed in every time she opened the door.

"I went crazy at first, but then I got it under control," Mrs. Pindell said. "Actually, the plumber got it under control. He bailed me out."

After hours of doing her part - and changing her clothes three times - Mrs. Pindell called Branzell Plumbing & Heating, which fixed her sump pump later that afternoon.

When the device turned on yesterday as...