Conserving water one sump pit at a time

As members of the plumbing trade, we are all aware of the move to conserve water, especially clean drinking water. The country has moved to 1.6 gallon (or less) flush toilets and low-flow shower- heads. Many areas of the country are experiencing droughts and most of us have experienced water use restrictions on everything from lawn watering to car washing. At the recent combined PHCC and ASA Water Conservation rally in Washington, these associations challenged Americans to commit to specific water conservation measures this summer.

With all of these efforts to conserve water in place, did you know that thousands of homeowners have installed backup sump pumps that actually use 500 to 600 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour to pump out sump pit water? Some homeowners use these pumps as their primary sump pump. Depending on the application, these water-powered pumps can use 2,000 to 32,000 gallons of clean water per year. At a time when the country is looking for ways to “save every drop,” it seems extremely wasteful to have water-powered pumps taking so much water from our resources to empty their sump pit and pump it into a sewer.

Many home center retail outlets sell a variety of water-powered sump pumps. There are also a number of independent companies that produce and market water-powered pumps directly to homeowners. There are at least eight companies currently offering water-powered pumps at hundreds of outlets nationwide. As an industry that is dedicated to helping conserve our precious water supplies, we should be extremely concerned about this issue.

Water-powered sump pumps work on the venturi principle. Basically, they take the energy in the P.S.I. of the home water pressure and run this water into a venturi tube positioned in the sump pit. When the pressurized water rushes through the tube, it sucks up the sump water. Then, both the fresh and sump water are dumped onto the lawn or into the sewer that already has storm water in it. The quantity of water actually pumped varies by manufacturer and depends on the P.S.I. in the home. Many of these water-powered pumps claim to pump 200-600 gallons per hour at 10 ft. lift, which is substantially below the 2,200 gph capacity of most primary pumps that they are replacing in emergencies. Some battery-powered backup pumps claim capacities up to 2,400 gph at 10 ft. lift. This situation can put the homeowner at risk that the water-powered pumps will not provide the pumping capacity needed during heavy rain storms.

While water-powered sump pumps are a relatively recent product, battery-powered backup sump pumps have been readily available for over 30 years. Almost every manufacturer of primary sump pumps offers a battery-powered backup system. These battery-powered pumps range from small add-on units to totally independent computerized monitoring systems that can test themselves as well as connect to security systems. The pumping capacities of these larger systems exceed many primary pumps. Alan Schulman, CEO of Glentronics, Inc. (manufacturer of the PHCC Pro Series line of sump pumps) said, “With so many options available in battery-powered systems, it seems that there really is no need for water-powered backup pumps.”

As a member of the plumbing industry, you may be asking: “What can I do to conserve water?” There are a number of things you can do. If you are a contractor, you can participate in the national PHCC’s call to perform a free water audit for your customers. At the recent legislative conference, Jim Finley, president of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors -- National Association stated, “Our industry is committed to water conservation and energy efficiency.” Contractors around the country are offering free water audits to homeowners June 1 through August 13, 2008. For a water conservation checklist, you can call PHCC at 800/533-7694 or visit its Web site at www.phccweb.org. When performing an audit, check to see if the home is using a water-powered sump pump. If it is, point out how the water-powered sump pumps waste drinking water, may have low capacity during heavy storms and the backflow valve risks discussed below.

If you are a contractor or a plumbing inspector, you should be checking to see if the pump has an approved RPV backflow valve. Since all water-powered pumps must be connected directly to the water supply, they must have backflow protection. Unfortunately, many of these pumps only have inline backflow valves. The valve is connected with hand-tightened garden hose fittings. This means that the pump can be hooked up with or without a backflow valve.

If the water pressure is lower in the supply line, the venturi pump will suck up soiled sump water and spread it throughout the entire water system. Needless to say, this not only violates plumbing codes, it is extremely dangerous. Some state building codes require periodic inspection of backflow valves and each pump should have an updated inspection certification.

Also, check to see how the water is supplied to the pump. Since many homeowners install the pump themselves, they do not follow the instructions that urge them to connect the pump directly to the supply line with a rigid pipe. Instead of using pipe, do-it-yourselfers connect the pump with a rubber garden hose. This hose is now under constant pressure and over time it is likely to burst and cause a flood.

With all of these issues concerning the use of water-power powered sump pumps now becoming apparent, there are efforts being made with the EPA’s WaterSense Agency to either ban or restrict the use of these pumps. Local health departments also can be informed about this situation so that they can address the health issues that overloads of contaminated water can have on the community.

While government agencies consider these proposals, we in the plumbing industry now know that we can do more to conserve our most precious resource -- fresh drinking water.