How to properly terminate a sump pump discharge line?
Last summer I purchased a home that has a sump pump. The house is approximately 6 years old, on a 3 acre lot, and has well and septic systems. Apparently, the builder never terminated the sump pump discharge line. It just sticks out of the basement wall, about 2' above the ground in my backyard. The pump runs often during storms and occasionally on clear sunny days.
When I had a deck built at the end of last summer, the contractor had to dig a hole for the steps about 3' from the foundation, near the discharge line. He told me that ground in that area was extremely saturated. He was kind enough to purchase a 10' long piece of 4" corrugated drain pipe and slide it over the PVC discharge line. This drain pipe now resides under my deck and the water discharges about 6' from my foundation. There is a slight slope away from the foundation at this new discharge point. However, a mud pit is beginning to form at this new discharge location. Keep in mind that my deck extends 12' from my foundation, so that would be the furthest I could go with the pipe without having it be an eyesore in my backyard.
I actually have a few questions:
1. Is this 8' pipe sufficient enough so that none of the water is being "recycled" back into the sump pit?
2. Would it make sense to connect an additional slotted pipe to the current one, allowing the water can discharge over a wider area?
3. How should this have been dealt with in the first place, by the builder?
Jay