Downspout draining to sump pump?

[Jon Danniken]

Hello all, I have noticed that a few of my neighbors have configured their gutter downspouts to drain into a sump pump reservoir, occasionally drained by a sump pump. While that sounds like a neat way to "fix" a clogged/rooted downspout drain, I cannot help but think that this is a bad idea due to either the inevitable failure of the pump, a power outage, a tripped breaker, or anything else that would render the pump inactive.

In such a case the downspouts would overfill the sump basin, typically located near the foundation, and flood the crawlspace/erode the dirt underneath the foundation.

What say you? Ever seen this type of method before?

Jon

[Stormin Mormon]

If the water is starting up high like eaves troughs, I'd skip the sump crock and find a way to route the water into the drain. Drain water to pump it back up? Not me.

[trader4]

It's definitely not the preferred method of dealing with rain water. Using grading to take it away or a drain to a lower spot is the preferred way. But, sometimes if it's been done incorrectly to begin with and it's major pain or impossible to fix any other way, then yes, I've seen sump pits together with a sump pump used to move water outside a house. The problems are what happens in winter if freezing is an issue, what happens during power loss, etc. In the cases I've seen it done, it was used to drain water that pooled in an area and if the pump didn't work, it would not lead to a serious problem.

[DanG]

Gravity drainage to daylight is always ideal. This is often impossible. Please advise all the rest of us as soon as you come up with a better solution. Subsurface problems drained to a sump, French drain (named after a man named French), or dry well are NOT ideal. bit they work when ideal conditons are not available. Please keep us advised on your minor miracle cure.

Battery powered pumps, redundant back-up systems, alternative energy cures have all been tried with varying rates of success. Again, pleas keep us advised.