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Where to Discharge Sump Pumps InspectAPedia®  -

• Where and how to install sump pumps - where can I pipe the water coming out of a sump pump?
• How to inspect & maintain sump pumps to remove water from buildings or to prevent basement leakage or crawl space water entry

This article explains how and where to route water that is being pumped out of a building by a sump pump. Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. Technical review by industry experts has been performed and is ongoing - reviewers welcomed and are listed at "References."

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Where does the sump pump send its Discharge Water?

Sump pumps, which we discuss on this page, are designed to remove unwanted water, such as surface or ground water that leak into a building. But the sump pump system will be ineffective if the water it discharges is routed where the same water simply leaks back into the building. The sump pump installation may also be improper or even illegal in some communities if it discharges into the sewer system.

• In this photo at left a temporary sump pump discharge line has been left on the basement floor - no good destination has been assigned to sump outlet hose.
• If this sump pump is called-on to operate in this condition the building will simply be flooded.

Sump pumps that have been added to an older structure often pump their discharge to the ground surface where it runs to a storm drain or area drainage setting.

If you have such a system be sure that the sump pump discharge empties where it meets these criteria:

• The water leaving the sump pump should be discharged to a location where it does not flow back towards the building. Otherwise it may simply cycle the same water endlessly, possibly even undermining the building foundation
  
  
• Water discharge from a sump pump must go to a legal destination. In the photo at left we're emptying the sump pump via a small diameter (Limited flow capacity) to a local storm drain.
  
  This might be legal and fine in the summer for an unusual event, but this is not a reliable, permanent sump pump installation.
  
  As this system was found in Maine, we can expect it to freeze or simply not work in winter or early spring when it may be most needed.
  
  Discharging onto a neighbor, and in some communities, discharging into local storm drains, may be prohibited and are certainly a bad practice.
  
  
• In freezing climates, the sump discharge needs to be protected from freezing or the system may not work when most needed. A long sump discharge line outside, especially one with minimal pitch or slope, is likely to freeze up in cold weather.
  
  We've inspected homes where the sump pump was running continuously but not moving any water because its discharge line was blocked by ice. This condition permits water to rise in and even flood a building.

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SUMP PUMPS
    Sump Pump Types
    Sump Pump Single vs Duplex
    Sump Pump Discharge
    Sump Pump Inspection

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
• Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow, calculating required septic tank size, calculating septic tank volume from size measurements
• How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
• Septic System Drainfield Absorption System Biomat Formation - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Table of Required Septic & Well Clearances: Distances Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, etc.

Pennsylvania State Fact Sheets relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems include

• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-161, Septic System Failure: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-162, The Soil Media and the Percolation Test
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-l64, Mound Systems for Wastewater Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-165, Septic Tank-Soil Absorption Systems
• Document Sources used for this web page include but are not limited to: Agricultural Fact Sheet #SW-161 "Septic Tank Pumping," by Paul D. Robillard and Kelli S. Martin. Penn State College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension, edited and annotated by Dan Friedman (Thanks: to Bob Mackey for proofreading the original source material.)

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