Sump Pump Discharge

The wastewater collection system within the city includes approximately 200 miles of collection lines. These lines carry wastewater from homes and businesses to the Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) for treatment before discharging into the Straight River. 

Prohibited Discharge and Collection

When sump pumps improperly discharge into the sanitary sewer collection system, stormwater is also sent to the treatment facility. This is referred to as prohibited discharge and collection.  Prohibited sump pump connections into the sanitary system increase the volume of water that Owatonna’s WWTF must handle and significantly increases the costs to our community. This burden on the WWTF also causes maintenance issues and overloads our system.  

Per City Code § 50.21 PROHIBITED DISCHARGES; UNLAWFUL ACTS: No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any “storm water drainage”, defined as any storm water, ground water or flow from roof runoff, subsurface drainage, down spouts, yard drains, sump pumps, yard fountains, drains, swimming pools, ponds, cistern overflows or lawn sprays into any sanitary sewers.  

Properties owners aware of any prohibited discharges should take action to correct the issue. 

What to do?

Most groundwater collected by sumps and footing drains does not need to be treated before making its way to the Straight River. There are things property owners can do to help lessen the strain on the wastewater collection system: 

• Many properties have a sump main and lateral stubbed to the property for the sump pump service line connected to the primary sump pump. Contact a plumbing company and request an estimate for the work to switch the discharge location.
• The next best practice is to direct it away from homes at least 8 ft. Although not all places are acceptable points of discharge, many first-time homeowners aren’t aware of our local codes that strictly prohibit discharging on neighboring property, into the sanitary system, or directly onto the street or sidewalk.