Sump pump or ?

[boerdoc]

I have my softener on order. (Thanks Gary) I am looking at my situation for the drain line. my softener must go in the cellar. It is more of a root cellar (10x20feet) than a basement. during the spring we have a higher water table and we are on the side of a hill. So one side of the cellar seeps water which is channelled into a catch basin that has 18-24 inches of water in it now. For 6-9 months of the year there is no water present. The catch basin overflows and all water is absorbed into the surrounding flooring, A mixture of concrete and soil. I do not really know where the water goes. My question is, would it be a good or bad idea to use a sump pump to pump that water into the septic system and also drain my softener into the sump and pump it into the septic? There is a 2 foot by 2 foot sump that catches the water that I could put the pump in. Or should I dig a dry well for both? OR should I leave the existing floor drainage as it is(the house is 40 years old) and just find a way to get the drain into the septic which will mean moving the backflow water up 10 feet and 25 feet laterally. I hope this makes sense.

[cacher_chick]

Sounds like a sump pump would work for you but I wonder about the affects of the added quantity of discharge and brine solution on your septic system?

A good sump pumps installation should be discharged to a drainage pipe which carries the water away from the home on the downhill side. This will prevent the water from coming back towards the foundation without affecting the septic system. This could drain to daylight or to a dry well on the property.

[Gary Slusser]

Hi Boerdoc. Do not put that groundwater in your septic system.

A sump pump moving it outside may cause more water flow into the cellar. Coming up into the floor or seeping into the cellar floor may cause foundation problems.

A softener's discharge into a septic tank type system that is operating normally is not going to harm the septic tank, or kill bacteria, or cause your system to fail. The EPA has done two studies in the last 30 years and says that if there is any change it is an immeasurable improvement due to the 'extra' water. If you think about it, most homes have fewer people living in them than the septic system was designed to handle. So 'extra' water isn't going to cause a problem and a softener regenerating once every 2-3 days or once a week doesn't add near as much water as 2-3 more people living there using like 60 gals/person every day would.

You can run the drain line to a washing machine drain, a utility sink, sewer or other drain line. It can go up from the control valve 6-7' and then sideways for 20-30' and if you are going to come down from the ceiling, 40'+. That assumes you use one continuous piece of drain line, not 1/2" CPVC and elbows. If you want to use regular pipe, use 1/2" or 3/4" PVC or 3/4" CPVC. Otherwise you have to change the DLFC (drain line flow control) to a higher gpm and possibly increase the length of time the backwashes and rinse positions.