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Unfortunately, that just means the sump pump is working hard because of all the snow / rain. It's also possible it's undersized? Was it there when you inspected the house or was it put in after the fact? If you're concerned it's undersized you can have a plumber come take a look. Some might be willing to come take a look for a "free estimate".

@winniebee: sounds like it's undersized

My parents have a sump pump in their house and you definitely always hear it when it is running. It reminds me of the sound of a garage door opening but lasts for a longer period of time obviously. You learn to not really notice it much though.

@winniebee: We had one in our NY house and when it rained we would hear it all the time. I could hear it gurgle through the garbage disposal sink!
I didn't hear it much when snow was melting or any other time, just when it was raining hard.
We updated it after a particularly hard storm hit and we lost power - the sump wasn't connected to a generator and the basement flooded. We had the system reassessed after that!

So our 1st sump pump came with the house when we purchased and you could hear it go on... it a a bubble system so when the water level was high enough to raise the bubble it would turn on...occasionally the bubble would get stuck and it would run and run until someone went down and freed it. We had a really bad rain storm a few years ago and the pump burned out and our basement flooded. We replaced it with one we purchased at Lowe's and we were able to do it ourselves (well my husband did it himself I was 7 months pregnant) I dont remember how many gallons/per second it pumps but i wanna say it was mid range and only purchased because it fit our existing pipes. The new one is great it doesnt have a bubble and it definitely goes on but only takes about 5 seconds to empty and I cant hear it unless i'm in the basement. We've also looked into getting a water powered back up because if we do have a storm where we lose power our basement will flood

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GE81W4/ref=pe_457170_120266070_em_1p_1_ti

@winniebee: Maybe its getting stuck or set too low and thats why its running non stop....
anyway i think this is what we bought at lowes
http://www.lowes.com/pd_239992-84862-KLH050_1z0zoqyZ1z10wx6Z1z10xft__?productId=3880625&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1

@winniebee: I dont entirely know what I am talking about either...its a type of sump pump that uses the city water line pressure to evacuate the excess water from your collection system...

My understanding is its a replacement to a standard sump pump which plugs into electricity in the wall...

@Mrs D: @winniebee: What your talking about is what I linked from amazon we looked into them the lesser expensive ones I found still need an electric powered pump and should only be used if neccessary

@Mrs D: To clarify what I was I was saying was the lesser expensive one are only meant to be used as a back up to an electric powered pump not to be used as the main pump.