Keeping the basement flood-free

Q. I have a question about flooding in our basement. I have researched various drain programs. One contractor installs three drain surfaces mounted. The pump system is hooked directly into the existing waste line with back-flow preventers. Do I run the risk of waste backup? The other systems pump out into the backyard. This systems appears more practical, but is it the correct way?

A. I received this question from three different people, written different ways, on the same day. I guess when it rains, it pours. Sewer lines, I’ve been told, are waste-full, and that is the key to your question. Sewer treatment facilities have their hands full already (picture that, if you will, and hope they wear gloves), and even though some rationalize that storm water would be great to help flush the lines, unless you ask your authority first, I wouldn’t recommend creating a situation in which you’re ordered to cease and desist for routing rainwater or groundwater into a sewer line. Some municipalities now require backflow preventers to be placed on sewer lines coming from a basement, which, as the name implies, reduces (or prevents) the chances of community sewer waste from heading back into your home. You don’t want a home where it looks like the buffalo roamed, so it makes sense.