Sump Pump Discharge Ideas: Creative and Effective

So, you decided to get a sump pump. Great idea, but where do you discharge your pump?

Often, home-owners think that the lawn or the street is the best place to discharge your sump pump. This may be efficient, but it usually causes problems for you and your neighbors.

While it may seem that the storm sewer lines are the best place to discharge your sump pump, there are even better and more creative solutions. The Department of Public Works encourages “greener” solutions like dry wells, rain gardens, and rain barrels.

Intrigued?

Good! Below, we’ll jump right into how these various discharge ideas can be put into practise:

Sump pump discharge to the storm sewer system

The most common discharge point is the street, which then leads the water to the storm sewer structure. To do this you must obtain a Right-of-Way permit. This permit allows you to connect your drainage line to the storm sewer structure.

When connecting your drainage line to the storm sewer, there are a couple of things you should know.

You must connect the drainage line in the storm sewer structure right of way. If the right of way is on the opposite side of your house, follow the shortest distance when crossing the street.

Your drainage line must be 4 inches or smaller. A PVC pipe is prefered. Also, your drainage point must be 5 feet away from an adjacent property.

Before deciding to discharge your sump pump to the storm sewer system, you should know that you must disconnect your discharge line from the street from November 1st to April 1st in order to prevent freezing.

If you are not able to discharge your sump pump straight to the street, you can connect your discharge lines directly to the storm sewer pipes. This requires a city inspector on-site.

Dry wells as a discharge point for your sump pump

A dry well is a perforated barrel in a carved hole, where the sump pump water can soak beneath the ground and avoid damage to topsoil. Dry wells are easy to build, and you can do it yourself.

First, you need to pick a spot for your hole, at least 10 feet away from the foundation of the house. The spot should ideally be on a slope, for better water flow.

Then, you will need to dig a trench, so you can connect your drainage lines with new PVC pipes. The trench should be 12 inches deep. Dig a trench from the end of your drainage lines to the start of the dry well.

Use strong pipes for the beginning of the trench, perforated pipes closer to the dry well. You should make a gradual slope with the pipes. Lay the strong pipes and cover them with the dirt from the trench you dug.

After that, place a landscape fabric and add a layer of drainage stones where the perforated pipes should be. Install the perforated pipe and connect it with the strong pipe. Fold the fabric, so you can cover the perforated pipe, and add more drainage stones.

At last, cover the hole for the dry well with landscape fabric and add drainage stones. After that, you can add the dry well barrel. Fill the hole with drainage stones, and cover with fabric on top. Close the barrel with the valve. Then, if you want, you can cover the trench and the hole with dirt.

The “greenest” solution, a rain garden

A rain garden is a depressed area in the ground, where you can grow plants. Rain gardens are not just useful to you but to everyone around you. Instead of overwhelming the storm sewers, you can have a garden.

The water that flows in the rain garden is either taken by plants, soaked in the ground or evaporated in the air. It’s the best way to control water.

The first thing you need to do when building a rain garden is choosing a spot. The spot where you will build your rain garden must be able to soak the water effectively. In order to test the soil, dig a hole 12 inches deep and pour water in it. If it soaks the water completely in 24 hours, you are good to go. If not, choose another spot.

Also, the spot must be 10 feet away from your foundation and downhill from your sump pump. Be sure to perform the test I mentioned, before digging.

Then, you need to dig a channel so you can connect your sump pump and rain garden. Make the channel the same as the one in the dry well. Be sure to put it on a slight slope. Install the pipes in the channel, and you are good to go.

Now, it’s time to dig the hole. Make your hole 12 inches deep and shape it like a bowl. A general rule is: the higher the slope, the deeper the garden. Make berms around the hole, so water does not overflow.

When you have a hole, choose two spots for growing plants. Cover the rest of the garden with draining stones. Add mixture to the soil for growing if necessary. Your garden should be ready for plants now.

It’s best to choose native plants. Do a little research before planting, so that you know which plants are eligible. Kansas City Water Services, for example, has a great guide for plants in the rain garden on their website, and many other municipalities provide helpful information on local flora that you can use to get inspired for your rain garden.

Sump pump discharge to a rain barrel

Rain barrels are barrels that collect rainwater that you can later use for watering plants. Most often, rain barrels are used with downspouts. But they are effective with sump pumps too.

Making a rain barrel as a discharge point is pretty easy. You don’t have to build a channel, nor dig a hole. All you will need is pipes and a barrel.

Choose a 50-gallon barrel with valves on the bottom, so you can connect a hose to it. There’s plently of pleasant looking rainbarrels this size, like this one here.

The pipes should be PVC. Measure how long a of pipe you will need. If you can find a barrel with a hole for the discharge pipe would be great.

Then, connect the pipe with the discharge line of the sump pump. After that, connect the pipe with the barrel and you are good to go. You can add more barrels if necessary. Rain barrels are a great way to harvest water while saving on the water bill.

Lastly, don’t be lazy. Choose a discharge point that will help the environment. It’s aesthetically pleasant and useful to everyone!

Related questions

Do rain gardens attract mosquitos?

No, they shouldn’t. If you get mosquitos, that means you didn’t properly build the rain garden and the soil does not soak fast enough.

Are rain barrels legal?

They are. Some states control how much rainwater you harvest. Check with your local government to get that information.

Will a dry well freeze?

The dry well will not, but the pipes may freeze. If a pipe is frozen, water pressure will drop. Locate where the pipe is frozen, and fix it.