Sump Pump drains into public sewer

[Mark P]

A basement sump pump ejects the water into a basement floor drain. I could not find anything is the IRC or code check on this, but it seems that the sump should not eject into public sewer system. Would this be an issue more likely governed by the local municipality? Is anyone aware of a code restriction?

Thanks

Mark

[hausdok]

Check your municipality's code. Most juridictions forbid it because it adds to the cost of water treatment. Bet if they knew about it, they'd levy a stiff fine on the homeowner. It should be piped to exterior drainage.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[chicago]

Sounds like it is not so much a home inspector writeup,but more of a code violation Mike.

So how do you convey this?.Wordage?

[hausdok]

Hi,

It's every bit as much of a home inspector writeup as a disconnected condensate drain would be. I'd just write it the way I saw it and recommend they have a competent plumber reconfigure the drain so that it drains to the exterior, either well clear of the foundation and downhill or into a dedicated storm sewer or drywell system.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[chicago]

In Chicago it is common for large buildings downspouts to be connected directly into the city sewer system, as there does not seem to be any other place to put it.Kurt probably knows about that part of it.(I am referring to older buildings).

[hausdok]

Hi,

I've only been in Chicago's airport on a layover or two - I know little about the city. However, isn't there a river that runs through the center of chicago? Don't they have storm drains that empty into that river that are separate from the sanitary sewer? Aren't those where rooftop downspouts and such drain into, instead of into the same water that needs to be treated?

Maybe not, I'm just asking. Parts of Seattle still have the basement floor drains, downspout receivers, exterior stairwell drains and driveway drains connected to the sanitary sewer, along with the house's waste plumbing. When we have those outrageous storms, all that extra water and debris plugs them up and then folks end up with toilets in basement bathrooms doing an immitation of Old Faithful. It's great fun to see them on the news stuffing a blanket into a toilet and wedging a 2 by 4 against it and the water spraying out in all directions.

Whenever I find someone plumbing a sump pump into that setup, I write it up as just plain wrong and tell 'em I think it flunks the common sense test. Most get it, some don't.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[fqp25]

Mike,

Which airport were you at? If you got stuck at Midway, you were pretty close to the storm/sanitary sewer; they call it the Sanitary Canal.

Buildings downspouts drain into the sanitary sewer, it's suppose to be trapped on the building side of the connection. Sumps can discharge into the sewer also. I'm not sure, but when I was up there (until 2005) it was called combined sewer system, because it all drains to the Sanitary Canal.

Don't tell the Olympic Comitee...

[hausdok]

Originally posted by fqp25

...they call it the Sanitary Canal

Bleaaaaacchhhhh![:-yuck]

Jeez, weird name. Sounds like what I have to get scoped every once in a while. Ouch!

I dunno which airport. There's more than one? Whichever one the airlines stop at and make you change planes to go to Joisey, I guess. Never thought to ask, 'cuz I wasn't planning to leave and go exploring.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[kurt]

Originally posted by fqp25

Mike,

Don't tell the Olympic Comitee...

[:-eyebrow[:-dev3][:-eyebrow

Combined. Poop & rain all in the same pipe.

Little known fact.....

Deep tunnel is too small; when we get the conflagrations, they wait until late @ night & release the raw untreated sewage directly into Lake Michigan out the Wilmette channel.

A few years ago, Chicago dumped over a BILLION gallons of sewage; it floated around as the sewer blob and ended up over @ Holland Michigan, where they had to close the beach for a couple weeks.

I remember sailing offshore 2 years ago after a huge storm, and we were about 5 miles offshore when all of a sudden the water color went from crystal clear to grey, the temp went up about 10°F, and the smell, well, it was rank.

Chicago still hasn't learned to not crap in it's water supply. [:-idea]

[hausdok]

Eeewww!

Dear International Olympic Committee chairperson,.....

[Richard Moore]

LOL...

It still sounds like paradise compared to Bejing. My wife passed through there last year during her visit to China...an "escape" from our remodel. All the rivers she saw, large and small, were horribly poluted. The worst though was the air pollution. She's convinced they will have to run the 2008 marathon indoors!

[fqp25]

It's not all that bad...

It's all water (somewhat)

Here's a little explanation if you got the time...

http://www.mwrdgc.dst.il.us/plants/tarp.htm

[chicago]

So Kurt do you bother to write it up.Also do you ever eat the fish.[:-crazy]

[kurt]

Naaah, I never talk about it unless someone's interested. Water politics, water use, and water conservation have been hot button interests of mine for 30 years; I can drive most folks to tears talking about water stuff.

"It's not that bad" isn't how I'd describe it; it can be really bad. Like, really, really, really bad. Reality is, though, most folks don't ever see it, don't smell it, and if it's out of sight & smell range, folks don't think about it.

Folks talk about water quality standards; if you look @ the standards over the last 20 years, they've been adjusted to reflect the continual slide in water quality. Whadda you gonna do? Tell 10 millions folks they can't drink the water?

The prevailing winds & currents are such that it all blows over to Michigan anyway. Ooops....

It's why I have a pretty nice filtration system on my kitchen sink.

And, I haven't eaten fish out of Lake Michigan in 20 years. Sad but true. Grew up going to Friday night fish fries down @ the docks; not anymore.