Hey everyone, I live in a condo townhouse, and we've been dealing with a leaky basement every time it rains heavily for over a year now. A waterproofing contractor has attempted fixes twice, but unfortunately, they haven't worked. They are back again, this time installing a drain in the backyard that they're planning to connect to our plumbing stack. I asked my dad, who isn't a plumber, and he thinks this is pretty unusual and is concerned about the possibility of our toilets backing up. So, I'm wondering, does this plan sound wrong to you?
3 Answers
Yeah, connecting landscape drains to your wastewater plumbing is generally not a good idea and might even be against building codes in many places. If you're in doubt, it's a good idea to reach out to your landlord or local city officials to clarify the regulations and ensure your setup is safe.
It's generally illegal to send storm water into the sanitary sewer system in most regions. You might want to report this to your local code enforcement and see what they say. And involving HOA for common area connections to existing storm sewers seems like the right way to go, especially to avoid future issues.
Are they perhaps installing a French drain? Also, what's the slope of your yard like? I know that if the contractor was hired by your condo complex, they should really be figuring out a safe way to manage the water without risking backups. Plus, if they already patched a hole before without lasting results, it might be time for a different approach.
The grading's really bad here. The yard steps down into a pool every time it rains. Could definitely be part of the problem, right?
Exactly! Just think about it – allowing storm water into sewage lines can backfire, not just for you but your neighbors too. They've got to find a better solution like a proper infiltration system instead of this.