Pumping a lot of water from basement sump what to do with it? Irrigation?

[rScotty]

What to do with that much water? Well, the only real solution is to drain it somewhere. It's a definite problem...I know how hard it was for us to do. It took years of trying different things to finally get it even partly right.

And with climate change happening for real, and water levels raising eveywhere, you can bet that drainage is is going to be an increasing problem for a lot of people.
So we had best get busy on the simple solutions. Especially for the lower coastal states one thing we will probably see first is a large increase in the number of small drainage ditches. Either we can build the ditches or mother nature wil use a flood to do so. After the flooding here, the EPA and Army Corps repeatedly pointed out to local property owners why more ditches were necessary.

Soooo......Does your downhill neighber also have a problem with water? And his neighbor, too? Can you guys join forces and create your own ditch down to a decent outlet? Ditches do require cooperation.

In dewatering our property I learned a lot about pumps myself. I now believe that pumps are only a short term answer. That's why we went to a gravity & ditch system here.
Even 10K a day for us meant a couple of 110volt pumps running continuously into minimal resistance....water that is just being dumped at the same level and not being raised or pushed through any length of pipe. It's hard for 110 volt pumps to continuously move more than 5 to 10 gallons/minute through the equivalent resistance of 50 feet of 3/4" pipe.
25K a day would most likely take a different class of pump - which are normally driven by 220 volts. And now we are talking real money in pumps, maintenance, and energy. So Go Gravity...
rScotty

 

[buickanddeere]

I would drop the water on a water wheel,, connected to a generator,,
Then I would use the electricity produced by the water wheel/generator, to pump the basement water,,

That would leave me with a net cost of $0,, therefore I would not care how much water needed pumped,,, :cool2:

. Serious or kidding ?

 

[buickanddeere]

What to do with that much water? Well, the only real solution is to drain it somewhere. It's a definite problem...I know how hard it was for us to do. It took years of trying different things to finally get it even partly right.

And with climate change happening for real, and water levels raising eveywhere, you can bet that drainage is is going to be an increasing problem for a lot of people.
So we had best get busy on the simple solutions. Especially for the lower coastal states one thing we will probably see first is a large increase in the number of small drainage ditches. Either we can build the ditches or mother nature wil use a flood to do so. After the flooding here, the EPA and Army Corps repeatedly pointed out to local property owners why more ditches were necessary.

Soooo......Does your downhill neighber also have a problem with water? And his neighbor, too? Can you guys join forces and create your own ditch down to a decent outlet? Ditches do require cooperation.

In dewatering our property I learned a lot about pumps myself. I now believe that pumps are only a short term answer. That's why we went to a gravity & ditch system here.
Even 10K a day for us meant a couple of 110volt pumps running continuously into minimal resistance....water that is just being dumped at the same level and not being raised or pushed through any length of pipe. It's hard for 110 volt pumps to continuously move more than 5 to 10 gallons/minute through the equivalent resistance of 50 feet of 3/4" pipe.
25K a day would most likely take a different class of pump - which are normally driven by 220 volts. And now we are talking real money in pumps, maintenance, and energy. So Go Gravity...
rScotty

Climate change being real,,,,,,,,, oh really. Somebody else is saying that climate change is real and that is why the weather is so dry.now .
Time to find another cult religion to scare the masses into submission with .

 

[buickanddeere]

I have to ask why anyone builds in a swamp or in a flood plain. The water is always going to win.

 

[CADplans]

. Serious or kidding ?

I guess I am showing how easy words can be wrong,,
of course I was kidding,,

 

[MossRoad]

I, for one, have to believe the words,,, or the numbers are incorrect,,

In the first post of this thread,, the OP states there is not enough water in the sump to run an irrigation pump,,
10K gallons per day is surely enough to fill the ENTIRE basement of a small house every three days,,


How can a full basement of water not be enough to run an irrigation pump?

If the basement is usable,, and the sump pump is not some 220 volt monster pump,,,
the water coming into the basement is WAY less than 25K gallons per day,, or even 10K gallons per day,,,

we really need a reality check on the water volume,,,

Has the sump pump ever failed? how many feet deep did the basement fill in one hour?

If it hasn't failed,, turn it off,, we have to know,,

OR, put a meter on the wire powering this pump,, how many kilowatts of electricity are being used?
if the water volume is near the high side,, the homes electric bill must be over half due to the sump pump,,,
time to move,,,

Hmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,

For ease of math, take 24,000 gallons per day and divide that by 24 hours. You get 1000 gallons per hour. Divide that by 60 minutes and you get 16.6 gallons per minutes. However, that would have to be drawn from the entire square footage of the basement, not from just the pit. If he tried to run a sprinkler pump directly out of the pit, it would drain the pit and starve the pump over and over, unlike the sump pump, which cycles off and on as the pit fills and gets pumped out. That's why he's asking how to store the water for use in an irrigation system where a pump with pressure could operate the irrigation system. The sump pump doesn't have enough pressure to do that.

If I were him, I'd either put a tank above ground somewhere to fill with the sump pump, and run a sprinkler system off of that with a proper irrigation pump.

Or

Put in a pond and run the sump pump to that to enjoy a pond and run the irrigation system from that pond.

Or

Put in a shallow well and irrigation pump and pull directly out of the ground water (seems like there's plenty) and keep it a completely separate system from the sump pump setup he has.

Regardless of how he chooses to do it, he's gonna have to purchase a pump to pressurize an irrigation system, then add the cost of either a tank, a well, or a pond.

 

[MossRoad]

I guess I am showing how easy words can be wrong,,
of course I was kidding,,

Bummer, I was on board with the crowd funding option....

 

[CADplans]

Bummer, I was on board with the crowd funding option....

When I succeed in finding a crowd funding idea that fulfills my dreams,, I will share the money with all on TBN,,,

As far as the basement,,
How could (AND WHY WOULD,,) the contractor build a basement with over 16 gallons per minute flowing into the hole he dug??

That is like 3 or 4 garden hoses running full blast,,
if you see that much water, fill in the hole, build the house on a slab,,,

My SIL had a crazy running basement sump pump,,
we french drained, and re-landscaped,, and captured most of the water outside of the foundation area,,

The water used to shoot out of the rock retaining wall around the steps like several garden hoses,,

Between the power pole, and the house, we dug an 8 foot deep trench, backfilled with pipe and gravel,,
the pipe and trench travel to a pond to the left,,,

Most of the basement water is captured.
BUT,, two days after the rain stops,, there is no water flow,, anywhere,,,

 

[Diggin It]

You had the machine and did the digging, but left the dead tree?

 

[MossRoad]

When I succeed in finding a crowd funding idea that fulfills my dreams,, I will share the money with all on TBN,,,

As far as the basement,,
How could (AND WHY WOULD,,) the contractor build a basement with over 16 gallons per minute flowing into the hole he dug??

That is like 3 or 4 garden hoses running full blast,,
if you see that much water, fill in the hole, build the house on a slab,,,

My SIL had a crazy running basement sump pump,,
we french drained, and re-landscaped,, and captured most of the water outside of the foundation area,,

The water used to shoot out of the rock retaining wall around the steps like several garden hoses,,

Between the power pole, and the house, we dug an 8 foot deep trench, backfilled with pipe and gravel,,
the pipe and trench travel to a pond to the left,,,

Most of the basement water is captured.
BUT,, two days after the rain stops,, there is no water flow,, anywhere,,,

Hey, I agree that it's not good to build a house with a basement in a high water table. However, that's the reality the OP has to deal with. He also has mentioned several times he has no slope. Flat flat flat property. French drains would do nothing for him.