Sump pump concerns

We have been living for years with a sump pump that shoots water onto the driveway.  We've managed to put up with it over the years, but with all of the recent precipitation it's becoming a real problem.  Last winter the driveway was a skating rink, and this summer it's a swamp.  What do others do with their sump pump drainage?  


Its illegal to route them  out to the street but a casual survey will show that 90% + of homeowners are breaking that particular law.  Unless you live on a steep hill, routing them to the street is harmless and letting them flow on sidewalks creates, at a minimum,  serious nuisance and may create a dangerous liability.


Klinker said:
Its illegal to route them  out to the street but a casual survey will show that 90% + of homeowners are breaking that particular law.  Unless you live on a steep hill, routing them to the street is harmless and letting them flow on sidewalks creates, at a minimum,  serious nuisance and may create a dangerous liability.

 The roads last winter provided plenty of proof that this is not harmless.  Some areas were sheets of ice.



That doesn't answer the question of how to dispose of it.


Does our building department have an answer?


I believe the current State standard is for sump pumps to drain to a drywell.


I believe when we had a sump pump routed to the street, our contractor checked with town in regards to how close we were from a storm drain.  Fortunately, we had one a few feet away - so it was no prob.


we had the same issue and had it re routed to the back yard. now that spot gets wet but it is away from where anyone would be in the backyard.


Klinker said:
Its illegal to route them  out to the street but a casual survey will show that 90% + of homeowners are breaking that particular law.  Unless you live on a steep hill, routing them to the street is harmless and letting them flow on sidewalks creates, at a minimum,  serious nuisance and may create a dangerous liability.

Those homes are grandfathered.  Now illegal to pump to the street but not always. 


My street is one of the streets that becomes a sheet of ice in winter due to improper grading of the roadway.  Water collects at the north side of the street and flows downhill across the full width of the street to the south side in sheets of water that collect and then flow down the curb on the south side.  Because the street is relatively flat beyond the hill which is slanted east to west, water collects on the south side and does not quite reach the drains on the south side of the road.  These are old houses so most have sump pumps directing ground water to the street.  Neighbors on the north side of the street speculate that the majority of the water comes from underground streams which flow to the surface in a heavy rain, flooding backyards and the street.  The roadway was recently repaved.  Problem was exacerbated when the center of the roadway was raised at the flat portion of the road.  Now large ponds one travel lane in width form on the north side of the street where the raised center exists.  Because of the lack of east/west pitch in the roadway, there is no place for the water to go.  There is a drain at the extreme west end of the roadway but little of the water reaches it.  Sheeting has been moved a few feet further east and that area is now wider than before.  Not sure what the solution is but it goes beyond rerouting each sump pump to a dry well.  


My new neighbor just added pipes to street and while it's not that far from a drain, now I get a puddle at the base of my driveway--and an ice patch in winter.   tongue wink 


jfburch said:
My new neighbor just added pipes to street and while it's not that far from a drain, now I get a puddle at the base of my driveway--and an ice patch in winter.   tongue wink 

You should bring to their attention this is not allowed.


I did, but.....

(especially since they saw them all over the neighborhood)


Maybe you mention to the town.

jfburch said:
I did, but.....
(especially since they saw them all over the neighborhood)

 


jfburch said:
I did, but.....
(especially since they saw them all over the neighborhood)

 You can mention to your neighbor that the pipes discharging to the street have been there since before the present regulation was  passed and are grandfathered.  From what you wrote above, the work they did was post change in regulation and could be subject to fine and removal/reworking according to present standards.  Mentioning this to the town would guarantee that the town would send out an inspector which in turn would almost certainly result in your new neighbor getting a Violation Notice and order to remediate.



In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.

Rentals

Sponsored Business

Find Business

Advertise here!