Sump Pump Water Use System - John Heasley

Just thought I would post my attempt at putting our sump pump water to practical use while helping to reduce the load on the municipal storm drain.

When our house was originally built the sump pump water discharged unto the lawn about ten feet from the back of the house. The pump would run frequently as the water was being circulated down through the lawn and back into the sump system. Several years ago I installed a 4” underground plastic pipe from the sump pump that discharged directly into the storm drain at the front of the house but in the back of my head this always seemed like a waste of good water.

A few years ago I purchased a plastic 275-gallon container from Clawson Tank for less than $100. This was a used tank that had been steam cleaned. Don’t know if they are still available but you could try.

I then installed 1.5” plastic PVC pipe from the sump pump to the tank and provided a shut off so when the tank is full the water is manually diverted back into the storm drain. I am thinking of adding an overflow drain that would discharge automatically onto the grass.

I started by connecting a garden hose to the tank discharge plugging the end and drilling holes in the hose. The tank is elevated above the garden and I was using gravity feed. I never was able to determine the correct hole size and they kept plugging up otherwise the system worked fine.

This year I purchased a water pump from Northern Tool for about $150. This is a Wayne 120V 1HP sprinkler buster pump item #109258-291. In addition to the pump I also purchased #507510 1”X20” suction hose and #10823 1” foot valve. Very satisfied with the pump performance using a lawn sprinkler purchased at the local hardware store.

This pump can be damaged if run dry so I am using an 115V Little Giant Pump Cut Off Switch purchased from Webb’s Water Gardens. This was about $55 item #566009 and is set to shutdown the pump when the water in the tank is just above the suction foot valve.

I am sure there is a less complicated and cheaper way of accomplishing the same system but just thought I would share what I did. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and if you have any ideas let me know.

More photos below. They are, in order, the cut-off switch, the foot valve, the pump, the top of the tank, the shut-off valve and the sprinkler. Pictured at the top of the post is the tank.