The Sump

Well, we had our first "gotcha" today. It seems our township has gone the way of many other over-built, paved over, concrete jungle suburbs and recently changed the building code regarding storm drainage (I say that like I was aware of the OLD code). The inspector popped by for a visit today, and told us that we couldn't drain the gutters and downspouts simply into the ground, because that would cause excessive erosion, possible property damage to the folks living below us (I like to think of it as offering "free humidity" to a neighbor) or, god-forbid, grass that would actually grow effectively in my yard. Instead, we must build a sump.

This is where we gotta actually do math and smart-person stuff.

We need to measure the square footage of the roof, and for every 100 square feet of roof that drains water we need 40 cubic feet of sump. A sump is simply a hole in the ground filled with gravel. The gutter runs into the ground and through a pipe that leads to the center of the gravel, where it pours into another pipe with holes in it and disperses the water amongst the gravel. And then, the water flows into the yard, where it can more slowly cause excessive erosion, possible property damage to the neighbors, or grass that would actually grow. So now, we get to take several hundred additional dollar bills into the back yard and bury it underground, never to be seen again.

Now I wonder what Mr. Inspector is going to say about my toxic waste containment bin I'm planning to put next to the shed? Perhaps I shouldn't mention it.