Residents are asked to help keep Red Bluff sewer flows manageable during spring runoff by re-routing sump pumps and reducing water use at peak hours.
The Cariboo Regional District’s Red Bluff sewer system is experiencing significantly high flows due to spring runoff. These flows are inundating the lift stations and threatening to overflow them.
If you have a sump pump in your basement that is discharging into the sewer system, please disconnect and re-route the discharge to your yard. We also ask that you try to reduce water usage during the peak supper hour times.
Your assistance is required as we struggle to keep up with the high flows. We anticipate these conditions to continue for the next week at least.
Sump Pump Discharge – Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is your sump pump hose in the right place?
Place the hose so that the water from your sump pump:
- Drains away from your house, preferably onto a grassy area or non-paved surface, and
- Is absorbed on your property or Drain into roadside ditch.
Tips:
- Use the water from the sump pump to water grass, shrubs and trees on your property.
- Move the hose often so that you don’t overwater any one area.
Q: What is the wrong
way to place my sump pump hose?
Do not place the hose so that water from your sump pump drains:
- Onto neighbouring properties,
- Onto lanes or streets
- Onto sidewalks, or
- Into the floor drain in your home.
Q: Why can’t I drain water from my sump pump into my floor drain or sewer system?
Water that collects in your sump pit should not go in the sewer system for two reasons:
- It increases the risk of basement flooding for you and your neighbours. The sewer system is designed to manage only normal flows of wastewater, not sump pump water.
- It prevents unnecessary increases in sewer costs to you, our customer, since it is clean water and does not need to be treated. If you discharge sump pump water to the sewer, it flows to a wastewater treatment plant. This can result in extra wear and tear on equipment, and even require an increase in the size of the plant. We then recover these added treatment costs by increasing the sewer rate.
If you have further questions, contact the CRD’s Environmental Services department at 1-800-665-1636.
