Sump Pump discharged lines to the Street

Hooking up your Sump Pump

If you have a sump pump, you’ve already made the wise decision to prevent water from entering your home.  But that leads to a valid question – where does the water go when the sump pump runs? 

There are two commonly accepted methods for sump pump discharge: onto the ground away from the foundation of your home and the other being straight into the storm sewer.  Many homeowners are surprised to learn that connecting the sump pump to the sewer system (floor drains in basement) is not allowed within the City of Hull.  The main reason sump pumps shouldn’t discharge into the sewer system is because the sewer pipes and water treatment facility are not built to handle that volume of extra water.  Imagine if every home connected their sump pump to the sewer system and then a major rainstorm hit Hull.  It’s very likely that the sewer system will be overloaded – leading to wastewater backing up into your home. Not good!

Now that you know how NOT to discharge a sump pump, let’s cover how to do it responsibly.  As stated above, one method is to have the discharge pipe release the water on the ground at least 10 feet from the foundation of your home, making sure the ground slopes away.  Another option for homeowners who do not want to see the pipe outside or deal with a soggy area within their lawn may be to connect the sump pump to the storm sewer, which is a different system than the sewer line and is equipped to handle the influx of water during a heavy rainfall.  With this system, an underground pipe runs from the sump pump to the storm sewer.  To determine if the location in which you plan to build a home has the capability to hook up to a City storm sewer line, please contact the Public Works Director, Brent Kleinwolterink at 712-441-6123.  Brent will be able to tell you whether or not your lot has this capability.    

If you have any questions, please contact Brent at the number listed above.  We appreciate your cooperation and attention in making sure your sump pump is draining to the City storm sewer.