I am thinking of using the sump water to water my lawn. I live in a
heavy clay and wet area, so the sump goes off very frequently.
Depending on the weather, it can be every few minutes while it's
raining to couple times a day. It has been a dry summer here in
Michigan. The sump pump now dumps into one spot in the backyard. It's
usually enough water to keep one area so soggy that grass rots there
and I cannot walk there. I am thinking of redirecting that water to
the front yard maybe with some kind of in-ground container (like the
sump well) and a second pump. The problem is how do I distribute the
water evenly throughout the yard, or at least to a large enough area
so it's useful and not just create a soggy spot? I'd like to not make
it permanent and not too complicated if possible (ie, money and
energy). Thanks.

Andy

In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.

"Andy" wrote in message
om...
I am thinking of using the sump water to water my lawn. I live in a
heavy clay and wet area, so the sump goes off very frequently.
Depending on the weather, it can be every few minutes while it's
raining to couple times a day. It has been a dry summer here in
Michigan. The sump pump now dumps into one spot in the backyard. It's
usually enough water to keep one area so soggy that grass rots there
and I cannot walk there. I am thinking of redirecting that water to
the front yard maybe with some kind of in-ground container (like the
sump well) and a second pump. The problem is how do I distribute the
water evenly throughout the yard, or at least to a large enough area
so it's useful and not just create a soggy spot? I'd like to not make
it permanent and not too complicated if possible (ie, money and
energy). Thanks.

Andy

Okay, same question, different scenario:
We live in an rural and arid region and are on septic. We would like
to irrigate with some of the wastewater from our studio (the part that
isn't contaminated with chemicals from our processes - it's easy for
us to separate). Andy's solution for his sump water is what I was
thinking for this purpose. So what kind of container should be used
for holding the water? Above or under ground? What about a pond, so
the wildlife could benefit as well? Can a sump pump somehow be used
to pressurize a drip irrigation system?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Pamela

"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.

"Andy" wrote in message
om...
I am thinking of using the sump water to water my lawn. I live in a
heavy clay and wet area, so the sump goes off very frequently.
Depending on the weather, it can be every few minutes while it's
raining to couple times a day. It has been a dry summer here in
Michigan. The sump pump now dumps into one spot in the backyard. It's
usually enough water to keep one area so soggy that grass rots there
and I cannot walk there. I am thinking of redirecting that water to
the front yard maybe with some kind of in-ground container (like the
sump well) and a second pump. The problem is how do I distribute the
water evenly throughout the yard, or at least to a large enough area
so it's useful and not just create a soggy spot? I'd like to not make
it permanent and not too complicated if possible (ie, money and
energy). Thanks.

Andy

(pb0094) wrote in message . com...
Okay, same question, different scenario:
We live in an rural and arid region and are on septic. We would like
to irrigate with some of the wastewater from our studio (the part that
isn't contaminated with chemicals from our processes - it's easy for
us to separate). Andy's solution for his sump water is what I was
thinking for this purpose. So what kind of container should be used
for holding the water? Above or under ground? What about a pond, so
the wildlife could benefit as well? Can a sump pump somehow be used
to pressurize a drip irrigation system?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Pamela

"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.

"Andy" wrote in message
om...
I am thinking of using the sump water to water my lawn. I live in a
heavy clay and wet area, so the sump goes off very frequently.
Depending on the weather, it can be every few minutes while it's
raining to couple times a day. It has been a dry summer here in
Michigan. The sump pump now dumps into one spot in the backyard. It's
usually enough water to keep one area so soggy that grass rots there
and I cannot walk there. I am thinking of redirecting that water to
the front yard maybe with some kind of in-ground container (like the
sump well) and a second pump. The problem is how do I distribute the
water evenly throughout the yard, or at least to a large enough area
so it's useful and not just create a soggy spot? I'd like to not make
it permanent and not too complicated if possible (ie, money and
energy). Thanks.

Andy

First thing I would do is check with your municipality to see if the
codes permit using gray water for irrigation. In most areas of the
US, it is not.

"pb0094" wrote in message
om...
Okay, same question, different scenario:
We live in an rural and arid region and are on septic. We would like
to irrigate with some of the wastewater from our studio (the part that
isn't contaminated with chemicals from our processes - it's easy for
us to separate). Andy's solution for his sump water is what I was
thinking for this purpose. So what kind of container should be used
for holding the water? Above or under ground? What about a pond, so
the wildlife could benefit as well? Can a sump pump somehow be used
to pressurize a drip irrigation system?

I used a 12 ft dia x 3 ft deep kids pool to store the water, and a sprinkler
pump to feed my sprinklers. A sump pump might have enough pressure to
"sort-of" operate a drip system, but you would probably need some kind of
pressure tank with an on-off switch to match up the volume. A sprinkler pump
or shallow well pump or would be much better.

Bob

Okay, I see your point about inadequate water supply. But ignoring
that, how could I use the sump water for watering the grass? Right now
it's all going to waste. Any little bit to conserve water helps,
right? If I'm going through the trouble of digging a foot deep trench
(frost line in my area is 42") just to dump it into the storm drain,
I'd rather do the work to reuse that water (ie, water the grass). I
don't think I appreciate grass enough to spend $50/month watering it,
so supplementing with sump water would be great.

Andy


"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.

(Andy) wrote in message . com...
Okay, I see your point about inadequate water supply. But ignoring
that, how could I use the sump water for watering the grass? Right now
it's all going to waste. Any little bit to conserve water helps,
right? If I'm going through the trouble of digging a foot deep trench
(frost line in my area is 42") just to dump it into the storm drain,
I'd rather do the work to reuse that water (ie, water the grass). I
don't think I appreciate grass enough to spend $50/month watering it,
so supplementing with sump water would be great.

Andy


"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.



There are a whole lot of reasons why doing this is impractical:

As has already been pointed out, to water an average lawn takes
thousands of gallons of water at one shot. A lawn needs to be watered
deeply every 4 to 7 days, when it needs it. A sump pump ejects a few
gallons at a time continually. There is no practical way to
distribute this to the lawn without storing it first, which is going
to require a large tank to store it, then a pump/sprinkler system to
distribute it. If you somehow tried instead to do this continually to
even small sections of lawn, you'll have the lawn wet for very long
periods of time, which is very bad for the grass.

Even worse, as was pointed out, you get the most water when you don't
need it, ie when it's been raining a lot. When it's dry, you get
little or no benefit, making it pointless. The only solution to this
problem is to have a very large cistern so that water accumulated is
enough for at least several waterings. In some extreme environments,
people do have large cisterns for this purpose. Those are generally
filled with rainwater through the home gutter system.

Alright, I hear ya. It was worth a shot. Digging a trench to the
street is a bit impractical for me due to a large maple tree (ie,
roots) in the way. How can I dispose of all that sump water wisely
without creating a soggy spot? An in-ground 55 gallon drum filled with
holes and gravels? I've never measured the volume of water coming out,
but I'm afriaid 55 gallon will overfill frequently, at least
temporarily. I guess this is a dry well? Do I have to put the whole
thing below the frost line?

Andy

(Chet Hayes) wrote in message . com...
(Andy) wrote in message . com...
Okay, I see your point about inadequate water supply. But ignoring
that, how could I use the sump water for watering the grass? Right now
it's all going to waste. Any little bit to conserve water helps,
right? If I'm going through the trouble of digging a foot deep trench
(frost line in my area is 42") just to dump it into the storm drain,
I'd rather do the work to reuse that water (ie, water the grass). I
don't think I appreciate grass enough to spend $50/month watering it,
so supplementing with sump water would be great.

Andy


"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.



There are a whole lot of reasons why doing this is impractical:

As has already been pointed out, to water an average lawn takes
thousands of gallons of water at one shot. A lawn needs to be watered
deeply every 4 to 7 days, when it needs it. A sump pump ejects a few
gallons at a time continually. There is no practical way to
distribute this to the lawn without storing it first, which is going
to require a large tank to store it, then a pump/sprinkler system to
distribute it. If you somehow tried instead to do this continually to
even small sections of lawn, you'll have the lawn wet for very long
periods of time, which is very bad for the grass.

Even worse, as was pointed out, you get the most water when you don't
need it, ie when it's been raining a lot. When it's dry, you get
little or no benefit, making it pointless. The only solution to this
problem is to have a very large cistern so that water accumulated is
enough for at least several waterings. In some extreme environments,
people do have large cisterns for this purpose. Those are generally
filled with rainwater through the home gutter system.

In article ,
says...
How can I dispose of all that sump water wisely
without creating a soggy spot?

Couldn't you just take the discharge hose, add a few extension hoses to
it (available at the big orange store), and punch holes along its length?
That way, the water would be drained over a larger area. It wouldn't do
too much for watering your lawn, but at least you wouldn't have a really
wet spot in one place.

Regards,

George Wenzel
--
George Wenzel, B.A. (Criminology)
E-mail: lid
E-mail address is munged. Instead of dot invalid, use dot net

The pipe doesn't have to be below the frost line. In most instances,
that wouldn't work anyway, as it needs to emerge somewhere for
discharge anyway. The pipe should be sloping continually downward
toward the discharge point, starting from inside the basement. That
way, no water is left in the pipe to freeze.

If you can't do a curb discharge, either because it's not allowed or
obstacles, then I'd find the best surface discharge spot available. I
wouldn't recommend the dry well approach, unless you have little water
to worry about. A 55 gallon size in weather where it's been raining a
lot can fill pretty quickly, depending on soil conditions.














(Andy) wrote in message . com...
Alright, I hear ya. It was worth a shot. Digging a trench to the
street is a bit impractical for me due to a large maple tree (ie,
roots) in the way. How can I dispose of all that sump water wisely
without creating a soggy spot? An in-ground 55 gallon drum filled with
holes and gravels? I've never measured the volume of water coming out,
but I'm afriaid 55 gallon will overfill frequently, at least
temporarily. I guess this is a dry well? Do I have to put the whole
thing below the frost line?

Andy

(Chet Hayes) wrote in message . com...
(Andy) wrote in message . com...
Okay, I see your point about inadequate water supply. But ignoring
that, how could I use the sump water for watering the grass? Right now
it's all going to waste. Any little bit to conserve water helps,
right? If I'm going through the trouble of digging a foot deep trench
(frost line in my area is 42") just to dump it into the storm drain,
I'd rather do the work to reuse that water (ie, water the grass). I
don't think I appreciate grass enough to spend $50/month watering it,
so supplementing with sump water would be great.

Andy


"donald girod" wrote in message ...
In dry weather, when the grass needs water, the sump pump will not deliver a
significant amount of irrigation. Two times a day translates to maybe 20
gallons of water, equivlent to watering with a sprinkler for 5 minutes or
less. So this would be a lot of trouble to go to to achieve a negligible
benefit. You need about 1500 gallons to water the front yard thoroughly
(assuming 50x50). A large storage tank for the sumpwater would work, but
this seems impractical.

What most people do with sumpwater is drain it toward the street where it
can flow into a storm drain. This requires a trench about a foot deep (or
more) and some pvc, and then a "bubbler" at the end so that the water can
come up to the surface. Generally you put the end in a gravel-filled hole
(dry well) so that the pvc can drain completely and not freeze up.



There are a whole lot of reasons why doing this is impractical:

As has already been pointed out, to water an average lawn takes
thousands of gallons of water at one shot. A lawn needs to be watered
deeply every 4 to 7 days, when it needs it. A sump pump ejects a few
gallons at a time continually. There is no practical way to
distribute this to the lawn without storing it first, which is going
to require a large tank to store it, then a pump/sprinkler system to
distribute it. If you somehow tried instead to do this continually to
even small sections of lawn, you'll have the lawn wet for very long
periods of time, which is very bad for the grass.

Even worse, as was pointed out, you get the most water when you don't
need it, ie when it's been raining a lot. When it's dry, you get
little or no benefit, making it pointless. The only solution to this
problem is to have a very large cistern so that water accumulated is
enough for at least several waterings. In some extreme environments,
people do have large cisterns for this purpose. Those are generally
filled with rainwater through the home gutter system.

you have to take into consideration the power of your sump pump. Usually
(from what I see in stores), they are around the 1/2 hp range. If you are
pumping out of a basement and into your yard (presumably at a higher
elevation), you will probably not have enough pressure at the outlet to
force the water out like a sprinkler. Running it into a reservoir (a bucket
or series of buckets may work) and using a second pump could be the
solution. A cheaper way would be to get the permeable hoses they sell in
lawn and garden sections of most stores. They are black (all I have seen)
and will allow water to seep out of the hose. You can run them through
flower beds or put them on a reel (for convenience) and drag them out into
the yard when you want them to be used (or leave them there all of the time,
if you don't mind seeing the hose snaking across your yard). Keep in mind
that these are "thrifty" solutions. Other, more attractive methods are
available if you want to spend a little money. I'm sure there are some
other cheap solutions out there too, these are the two that just happened to
fall onto the desk as I was reading your post.

Ryan