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Mitin · Mar 31, 2010, 06:03 AM

My property slopes down slightly (say 10 degrees) from the street to the back of the property.

1) Currently, the front two gutter leaders drain into the front yard, which causes water in the basement when there is heavy rain. I would like to install a drywell for the gutters (say 10' from the house) and have a pump in there to pump the water out and into the street, where it can be carried into the sewer. Houses on the other side of the street have their sumps pumps and gutters drain directly into the street. It would be about a 15' run from the dry well to the street. Is this possible/feasible?

2) Right now the basement sump pump drains in the back of the yard (the grade of which is a bit steeper from the back of the house to the back property line). I would like to build another drywell in the back yard for it, the back gutter, and the washing machine waste. How far should such a well be from the cesspool? From an inground swimming pool? And how big should it be? The sump pump barely runs when it is not raining. We have a Euro washer, so there is not too much water. The water from this one would just have to seep into the soil. Thanks.

speedball1 · Mar 31, 2010, 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by ;

1) Currently, the front two gutter leaders drain into the front yard, which causes water in the basement when there is heavy rain. I would like to install a drywell for the gutters (say 10' from the house) and have a pump in there to pump the water out and into the street, where it can be carried into the sewer. Houses on the other side of the street have their sumps pumps and gutters drain directly into the street. It would be about a 15' run from the dry well to the street. Is this possible/feasible?

If you have a dry well, (see image) installed why would you need to pump it out to the street?

I would like to build another drywell in the back yard for it, the back gutter, and the washing machine waste

Draining the washer into the dry well will last as long as it takes for the lint, fiber and grease to clog the holes. You must treat the dry well like you would a septic tank and filter field and install a grease trap interceptor,(see image) in the drain line.

How far should such a well be from the cesspool?

Do you have a cesspool or a septic tank and drain field?
Let me know, Tom

Mitin · Mar 31, 2010, 08:04 AM

Well, where the street currently is there apparently was a stream which was filled in. So, we have a lot of groundwater. I was afraid that if I added a dry well in the front, it would eventually let the water seep towards the foundation. Thus the idea to pump it out.

As for the back, we have a cesspool, where the w/m currently drains into.Where does the filter go? Say just outside the foundation where the pipe leaves the house to go to the d/w?

Thanks for the answers.

KISS · Mar 31, 2010, 04:58 PM

I'm contemplating some drainage projects this summer and spring and therefore I'm in tune with some of the calculations necessary for drainage.

I want to comment about your front drainage situation. It seems like the slope is going the wrong way. If it's indeed a 10% slope toward the house, then, I believe, dealing with the gutters ONLY is not going to solve your problem.

The dry well calculations are surprising. Just to drain about a 25' x 30' roof area I would need at least two barrels. You also need to provide a relief.

In your case, since water doesn't flow uphill your going to have to provide a passive overflow for the barrel. You may also have to provide it some distance away.

When you do, you can use corrogated pipe or ezflow pipe. The ezflow stuff doesn't require 6" of rock or fabric. The fabric is built in. Pipe needs to be pitched at 2-3% for remaining water to be able to seep back into the ground after being discharged through a pop-up or regular emitter. See Drainage, Drip Irrigation, and Water Management Solutions - NDS Estimated cost is about $4/ft in 10' lengths. I think it beats the rock method hands down.

What you may require is a foundation drain along your foundation, such as the ESR-1107 from Prefabricated Drainage Systems - Roof Drainage Products, Yard Drainage Solutions | American Wick Drain. I believe this product is available at Lowe's. The ESR-1107 can basically be described as an egg carton covered with filter fabric.

The sump method sounds like a decent idea for you. I'd put the overflow some distance away in case the pump failed.

Although, I haven't worked out prices and all of the details and verification of availability I talked to a nearby distributer (20 miles) of the Ezflow stuff.

Lowe's carries some of the ndspro line in the store. I don't know if it can be special ordered.

As I said I'm planning a major passive surface drainage project. It's probably going to be about 120' in two stages. I'm also "planning" to install tracer wire.

KISS · Mar 31, 2010, 05:03 PM

Ndspro has a lot of the info to do the drainage calcs. Your area has a 100 year rain figure that you design for. Then you need the surface area and type of surface to determine the % collected. A roof would collect 100% of the area.

logan176 · Mar 31, 2010, 05:28 PM

If you are pumping uphill to the street you will need a powerful sump pump. The pumps are only designed to pump up certain number of vertical feet. The higher the climb, the less water the pump will be able to move. Before buying a pump, read the box carefully. There will be ratings on it somewhere.

If you are able to pump up to the street, see if your town will allow you to tie directly into the storm drain. My town allowed me to do this and it's great. I buried the pvc and my storm drain carries the water to my neighbor's storm drain. From there it flows out to the stream. I never have to worry about my storm drain filling up or the water from the discharge pipe rolling back onto my property.

KISS · Mar 31, 2010, 05:35 PM

15' with a 10% slope is only 1.5 ft up from the top of the basin.

If the dry well is 36" deep, then there is only 4.5' of head. Not a lot. The horizontal distance doesn't count.

logan176 · Mar 31, 2010, 05:41 PM

I knew the horizontal distance didn't count, but I didn't remember how to figure the vertical rise based on slope percentage. Thanks for the math.

KISS · Mar 31, 2010, 05:55 PM

The math is only an estimate because the slopes are small. Besides we really don't know how the horizontal is measured. Level or along the 10% grade.

I assumed level. If level use %.

If non-level you'd have to use h^2=a^2+b^2. Solving that knowing the slope and the angle is a bit more difficult.