Dry well vs. Water pump
#1
04-19-11, 12:04 PM
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: usa
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dry well vs. Water pump
Question - our driveway which is in the back of the house below the sewer line floods everytime it rains. We got two estimates with varying solutions.
1. to dig a trench into the garage and hook it up to a water pump which will then pump it into our sewer line. It has a back up generator, etc. 3-4 days work.
2. dig up existing drywell and install a bigger one. 1 day work.
Does anyone know the pros and cons? Which solution would be best?
1. to dig a trench into the garage and hook it up to a water pump which will then pump it into our sewer line. It has a back up generator, etc. 3-4 days work.
2. dig up existing drywell and install a bigger one. 1 day work.
Does anyone know the pros and cons? Which solution would be best?
#3
04-19-11, 12:33 PM
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: usa
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#4
04-19-11, 12:46 PM
To pump rain run off into a sewer line is not legal and or to code as far as I know. I dont have the code handy to tell you exactly but I think big fines are involved.
So you have a puddle in your driveway when it rains? The proper method is drainage trenches to some type of catch basin. You need to trench the water away to a lower area. Just one big drywell will/may fill up after a rain if its not diverted elswhere.
Mike NJ
So you have a puddle in your driveway when it rains? The proper method is drainage trenches to some type of catch basin. You need to trench the water away to a lower area. Just one big drywell will/may fill up after a rain if its not diverted elswhere.
Mike NJ
#5
04-25-11, 08:25 PM
Some areas have storm sewers that are piped into the same piping as the sanitary sewers, though most places don't allow you to do this. Having to treat the extra rain water through the sewage treatment plants often overwhelms them, so even if it was done years ago, it's often no longer legal.
That said, I agree with Mike. It's much better to divert the water somewhere it can soak slowly into the ground. I'm not a big fan of drywells since they tend to fill with dirt/gunk over time and lose their effectiveness. Also, a driveway produces a lot of water in a hard rain, so your drywell has to be rather large. You also need to consider the porosity of your soil. The slower water percolates into the ground the larger the drywell has to be.
That said, I agree with Mike. It's much better to divert the water somewhere it can soak slowly into the ground. I'm not a big fan of drywells since they tend to fill with dirt/gunk over time and lose their effectiveness. Also, a driveway produces a lot of water in a hard rain, so your drywell has to be rather large. You also need to consider the porosity of your soil. The slower water percolates into the ground the larger the drywell has to be.
