Construction Resources and Support

[Guest]

If you live in an area that can get a fair amount of snow, water problems seem to happen during the "melting" seasons (early spring and late fall). They are more pooling and seepage rather than outright flooding.

There seems to be conflicting advice about whether it would be appropriate to have a sump pump drain to the septic system. Some say that it is a very bad idea, that it can damage the septic field. Others say that with melting-season volume of water it should be okay, but warn that the sump outflow could get blocked with snow or ice, in which case the motor would eventually burn out.

It's preferable to err on the side of caution. A pump motor is much cheaper to replace than a septic field.

If you're live on a hill or crest, another opinion is -- instead of using a sump pump -- you may run a drain pipe under the foundation and downhill to daylight. This may then protect you from power failures and sump burnouts. The problems with this approach are that the existing exterior drain tile which could be damaged and also it would mean a Bobcat rolling across a septic field. You would also have to be careful not to drain too close to the neighbor's property. Also, this option is a little more expensive than a high-quality pump system like SuperSump. See this site for more details on SuperSump: http://www.wallanchor.com/super.htm



Here are some other options:

1) SuperSump to septic.
2) SuperSump to outside, with some kind of pressure-release valve that sends water to septic if sump drain is blocked.
3) SuperSump to outside, with outflow punching through under the front step where snow does not tend to drift. Maybe you could let it free fall a short distance to a gutter, from there to a corner and finally away from the house.
4) Excavate a trench (carefully), lay a pipe under the footing to a sump pit, and let gravity do the work.

Advice:

WaterGuard and SuperSump sound like the ideal answer for melting-season-prone basements. Seepage from the floor wall joint is a very common entry point for water. Do not connect a sump discharge line to a septic system. Some type of discharge line to outside with an IceGuard is also suggested.