Sump pump and Water in the Street
 

in Pennsylvania...
My parents house has a sump pump. They live right accross the street
froma creek in a suburbal area so they get the most water out of
anyone. The water is pumped into thestreet. Normally, the water would
run along the curb and into a drain. THe closest drain is at the
corner all the way down the block. So there's this big swath of water.
Now its almost December and its frozen. From what I understand
residences can't hook into the stown sewer. I don't know why. It is
illegal to pum water into the normal (pee and turd) sewer. I'm afraid
some putz is going to fall and sue Dad. Who is responsible?
My take:
I don't see how Dad can be responsible since he's doing everything in
line with the law. Once it gets to the street is up to the local
'whatever' to dispose of that water safely. Right? If they were
allowed to hook into the storm sewer - OK. Case closed. But they're
not, so now what?

Sump pump and Water in the Street
 

Justin wrote:

in Pennsylvania...
My parents house has a sump pump. They live right accross the street
froma creek in a suburbal area so they get the most water out of
anyone. The water is pumped into thestreet. Normally, the water would
run along the curb and into a drain. THe closest drain is at the
corner all the way down the block. So there's this big swath of water.
Now its almost December and its frozen. From what I understand
residences can't hook into the stown sewer. I don't know why. It is
illegal to pum water into the normal (pee and turd) sewer. I'm afraid
some putz is going to fall and sue Dad. Who is responsible?
My take:
I don't see how Dad can be responsible since he's doing everything in
line with the law. Once it gets to the street is up to the local
'whatever' to dispose of that water safely. Right? If they were
allowed to hook into the storm sewer - OK. Case closed. But they're
not, so now what?


Step #1: Talk to the town. Perhaps without naming the property.
Find out *if* storm sewer tie-in is permitted. If not, what the
town suggests doing with the water.

Jim

Sump pump and Water in the Street
 

That is EXACTLY what I told him to do this past summer. Now that golf
seasonis ofer He'll get bored enough to do it.


Speedy Jim wrote:
Justin wrote:

in Pennsylvania...
My parents house has a sump pump. They live right accross the street
froma creek in a suburbal area so they get the most water out of
anyone. The water is pumped into thestreet. Normally, the water would
run along the curb and into a drain. THe closest drain is at the
corner all the way down the block. So there's this big swath of water.
Now its almost December and its frozen. From what I understand
residences can't hook into the stown sewer. I don't know why. It is
illegal to pum water into the normal (pee and turd) sewer. I'm afraid
some putz is going to fall and sue Dad. Who is responsible?
My take:
I don't see how Dad can be responsible since he's doing everything in
line with the law. Once it gets to the street is up to the local
'whatever' to dispose of that water safely. Right? If they were
allowed to hook into the storm sewer - OK. Case closed. But they're
not, so now what?


Step #1: Talk to the town. Perhaps without naming the property.
Find out *if* storm sewer tie-in is permitted. If not, what the
town suggests doing with the water.

Jim

Sump pump and Water in the Street
 

"My take:
I don't see how Dad can be responsible since he's doing everything in
line with the law. Once it gets to the street is up to the local
'whatever' to dispose of that water safely. Right? If they were
allowed to hook into the storm sewer - OK. Case closed. "

The first obvious question is whether discharging a sump pump into the
street is allowed in your particular town. If it is, then he's
certainly on safer ground. However, if a particular home pumped water
out in a fashion that caused a hazard which resulted in an accident,
it's anyone's guess as to whether the homeowner could be held
responsible. You'd need a good legal opinion and even that might not
be sufficient. If someone sues, it could be up to the courts to
decide.

If pumping water into the street is creating a potential hazhard, I
would look hard into other options, rather than worry about possible
legal problems.