Is it OK to drain sump water into a pond

drainagesump-pump

My current sump system drains into an area that has high traffic for various activities such as log splitting and brush clearing. This creates a very muddy mess. I want to relocate the sump drain pipe to a pond that is close by (< 50 ft.). Is this acceptable to do? The pond water does have the potential to seep into a creek nearby as well. I am assuming it is OK since the water is from the ground/rain but I want to be sure it would be appropriate.

NOTE: The pond is on my private property. The water does not actively drain into the creek unless there is a lot of rainfall in the spring. And even then, there is about 100' until the water reaches the actual creek (the creek branches out towards my pond).

Best Answer

Unless you have reason to believe that the sump output is contaminated, and assuming that you have legal access to the pond, this is a perfectly viable solution. In fact, even if the pond does eventually (or occasionally) drain into a stream, the natural filtering effect of the process should remain somewhat intact.

As Tester101 points out, local and state laws may apply. In my experience there's no problem ejecting groundwater into a wetland in a non-destructive manner. We've run open-loop geothermal systems into adjacent wetlands, and in Minnesota wetlands are strictly protected.