Saltwater in the grass?

[Shnabbles]

We are in the process of having a home built now and i was just talking to the builder about putting a utility tub in the basement specifically for the fish tank..

No problem he says ill run piping right over from the hot water heater and you'll have hot and cold.

So the problem comes with the drain in the basement.. There is no way of getting the water pumped back up into the regular plumbing with out spending big bucks on a pump. (there is no laundry or anything in the basement to run the water drain into) so the builder recommend just plumbing the drain of the utility sink into the sump pump of the house which just returns the water out side into the yard.

If the sump pump pumps salt water (mainly from water changes) into the yard will it kill the grass?

 

[dustins]

I dont know for sure but I would guess that it would kill the grass.
Why dont you take some and dump it on a small patch and leave it for a couple days to see what happens?

 

[elephen]

I've dumped tons of water in my yard and my neighbors and the grass where it is dumped does better then the rest of my yard it seems like.

 

[jgoodrich71]

Yes it will kill the grass. It kind of depends on the soil. If you have sandy soil with good drainage, you may be able to get away with it, but you may still be taking the chance that you will never be able to grow any vegatation there again (without digging up the soil and replacing it).

My recommendation, don't. If you could run the piping into a storm water drainage, that wouold work, but depending on local codes, you may have to have a discharge permit.

 

[dustins]

Maybe it could depend on the salt?

 

[silverwolf72]

If it's run into a septic system I think it would prob be ok. If it drains strait onto the lawn prob kill the grass

 

[xrunner1234]

I thought that was againt code.

 

[docmenace]

Who care, grass sucks, and yard work sucks big time! Dead grass=good =) lol

 

[Shnabbles]

lol... i considered into the syptic system but again id have the problem with getting the water pumped up from the basment.. .

I dunno ill have to talk to the builder some more.

 

[usmcsgt]

Putting to much salt water into the septic system can kill the benificial septic bactiria and you will have to get it pumped more often.

 

[graveyardworm]

Does the foundation have a drain? I have my foundation drain accessible from inside the basement for stuff like that currently its where my RO waste goes but I dont see why it couldnt be used for dumping waste change water. If your foundation is already complete and backfilled than it this may no longer be an opyion without alot of extra work.

 

[Shnabbles]

Ya they did the foundation today lol.

 

[Shnabbles]

Hey I could always have the sump pump pump the water behind the house into the pond behind us then have a 5000+ gallon reef lol.

 

[graveyardworm]

If they havent backfilled yet then you may still be able to create a drain access to the foundation drain. This may involve creating a hole in the foundation to get out to it, but its fairly simple to do.

 

[lclzgarling]

if your worried that the salt will kill the grass buy a trash contanier with wheels and dump it in the drive. it killed the weeds once i think they like it now.

 

[graveyardworm]

Anyone who lives where the roads are regulerly salted can attest to the fact that atleast desireable lawn grass doesnt do well in areas where large amounts of salt are present, just check the sides of the road. There are of course some grasses/weeds which have adapted.

A thought just occured to me, if you consider using the foundation drain for waste water, you may also want to check local codes, or the building inspector to make sure its okay.

 

[salty joe]

If your septic system is an ETA, (evaporation, transpiration, absortion) it is a bad idea to introduce saltwater. It will damage or kill the evergreen trees necessary for the system to function.

Where I am getting ready to build, ETA is currently the system of choice. Brine from a water softener is generally diverted to the downspout or footer drain. I am going to try to get a varience to drain the fishroom sink to the footer drain. So far, the inspectors have been very helpful.

Is connecting the sump pump to the downspout drain an option?

 

[VWD]

It will over time kill it

 

[yoboyjdizz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8285632#post8285632 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VWD
It will over time kill it

yes don't do it.. i killed a patch of my grass by dumping some saltwater on it a few times.

 

[namdrib2]

Your utility sink should not be pumping its waste out into your yard (a code violation in most states). The waste from any fixture is supposed to be piped to the proper point of discharge. The sump in the basement is typically just to get rid of ground water not waste water. If it handles wastes like from a toilet or a laundry it is called a sewage ejector and has a sealed and vented pit. As far as the salt killing the grass it would depend on the amount of salt water. If you are dumping five gallons a day everyday in the same location it will eventually kill the garss. If you spread it around it won't. I dump an average of 15 gallons a week on to mine in different spots each time and my grass is doing fine. There is a lot of beneficial bacteria in the waste salt water.