Where do I run the discharge pipe for my backup sump pump?
I didn't post this thread in the plumbing section because I know how to run the pipes, but here's my situation...
I just finished installing a French drain system that connects into a previously installed sump pump pit just in time for Hurricane Irene. My Hydromatic pump has been working overtime ever since. At one point the water was too much for the pump to handle and I suspended a second pump into the pit using a 2x4 and a bungie cord. It did the trick but I need something a little more permanent. So very soon I will install a backup sump pump that is powered by city water. My problem is I'm not sure where I should run the secondary discharge pipe. I just know that I don't want to connect the backup discharge pipe into the primary one.
The ideal place for the secondary pipe to end would be exactly where the primary pipe ends... A storm drain out by the road. My town gave me permission to tap into the storm drain below ground level so the pipe is completely hidden. However, after I laid that pipe I installed a 4" thick concrete walkway above the pipe. If I dig a tunnel under the walkway for the second pipe I'm afraid that I will weaken the base and cause a crack to form during the winter months.
The other option, and less ideal one, would be to run the secondary pipe out the back of the house. My property is relatively flat and my neighbor's yard is behind mine. I would have to end the pipe a few feet away from the fence and attach a pop up cover. This would lead to pooling, but the pipe would end about 25' away from my house. I figure this would only happen once or twice a year so I can live with that. What makes me nervous about this option is that since my sump pit is near the front wall of my house, the discharge pipe would have to be attached to the basement ceiling joist for about 25' before it exits out the back of my house. I'm confident that my installation would not result in a leak, although it would suck if a leak did occur, but I also run the possible risk of dealing with an annoying water hammer from the check valve.
So what do you think is the lesser of two evils... Going under the concrete walkway or out the back of the house? Thanks.