Draining Your Garden With A Sump Pump

Is there a part of your garden that regularly fills with water which has nowhere to go? When it starts to rain, do you wonder if this time it will flood your patio or kill off your prized plants? If so, then a sump pit might be what you need.

A sump is used to collect rainwater that can’t drain from the property via the usual routes, usually with clay soils or if the land slopes in an unhelpful direction. Often found as part of a French drain or with perforated pipe systems, digging a sump and installing a submersible pump gives you the means to move that water elsewhere.

The sump pit needs to be located at the lowest part of your garden, as this is where the water runs off to; you’ll know it because it will be the place where surface water forms puddles. The pit itself needs to be between 70 and 90cm deep and be around 60cm2 to allow for a concrete (or water resistant) lining and the submersible pump.

Most sumps are lined in concrete; you can do this by building a frame from wood to fit inside the sump that will hold the empty space while you pour concrete under and around it. When that has dried, you will have a place to hold water, and somewhere to install your water pump. You will need to fill the bottom with about 10cm of gravel; not too fine or it may block the pump. You’ll also need a sump cover. If you prefer not to use concrete, purpose-made liners are commercially available.

The final pieces of the puzzle are the submersible pump and the high capacity discharge hose needed to redirect it. We have a range of submerisble pumps on our website and which one you will need will depend on the distance you need to move the water.

If you contact our customer service team on 01473 719950 they will be happy to advise on which pump would best suit your needs and whether we can offer our services to do the work ourselves.

With more and more people paving their gardens for parking, surface water is an increasing problem, but with the right drainage solution, it doesn’t need to be an issue. Get in touch today.