Water From Your Sump Pump
I have city water and there has been a couple times that I've lost water service. This Spring I noticed that my sump pump was running on a regular basis for thirty seconds every ten minutes or so. I have a very small basement, if you can call it that, that my furnace and water heater are located in. So I decided to install a battery backup pump to to keep the water out if the power would go out. The unit I got ran me about $300 including the deep cycle battery and all the fittings.
Now I live about 150 yards from the shore of Lake Erie and the soil around here is quite sandy for about fifteen feet down. A lot of water makes its way through the sand on it's way to the lake. This is why, with only a couple small spots leaking in my basement, my pump will discharge 10-15 gallons of water per hour. If we had a power outage I can expect my battery backup pump to work for about 48 hours without charging. I may install a solar panel to help keep it charged.
I thought maybe I should have a way of capturing that water in a crisis. The water is very clear, though I would have to at least boil it for drinking, cooking, and doing the dishes. I could have it tested to see what's in it. It could be used to flush the toilettes as well, and that in it's self is a good thing.
We have a lot of storms in the Spring and on occasion the water service goes out with the power. The water table will go down in the early summer and that would be the end of that water source. But for now I see gallons of clear water being pumped out on the ground.
