Sump Pumps & Backwater Valves · Kitchener
Sump Pump and Backwater Valve Installation in Kitchener
A backwater valve stops the sewer coming into your house. A sump pump takes the groundwater away. Both are plumbing, both are common in Kitchener, and both are useless if nobody tests them.
Kitchener has more sump pumps and backwater valves per house than most Ontario cities, and there are reasons. The core sits on the low ground along Schneider Creek. The 1960s-80s rings were built with weeping tile tied into the sanitary sewer, which the city has spent years asking homeowners to disconnect. The new subdivisions south of the 401 were built with a sump pit in every basement and a backwater valve in many, by builders whose crews did not always set them right. And the whole city sees the sewers surcharge in a heavy summer storm. This page covers the plumbing side of that problem. It does not cover waterproofing, and the boundary is spelled out at the bottom.
Backwater valves
A backwater valve is a one-way flap in the main sanitary drain. Sewage leaves the house through it. When the municipal sewer surcharges, the flap closes and the sewer cannot come up your floor drain or basement toilet. Installing one means cutting the basement floor at the main drain downstream of all the fixtures, setting the valve with an access cover so it can be inspected and cleaned, and a plumbing permit and inspection through the City of Kitchener. Two things people are not told: the valve has to be cleaned periodically or the flap will not close when it matters, and while the flap is closed nothing in the house drains, so you stop using water during the storm. The city has run programs helping with the cost of backwater valves and related flood-protection plumbing; the details and amounts change, so ask the city directly rather than trust a website.
Sump pits and pumps
A sump pit collects groundwater from the weeping tile around the foundation, and the pump lifts it out and away from the house. In the new builds of Doon South, Huron Park and Trussler the pit is there already and the question is whether the pump works, whether the check valve on the discharge is holding, and whether the discharge line ends somewhere sensible rather than beside the foundation. In Forest Heights and Stanley Park the pit often has to be added, because the weeping tile was tied to the sanitary sewer when the house was built; disconnecting it and routing it to a new pit with a pump discharging outside is a common job and a permitted one. In the century core the houses often have no weeping tile at all, and a sump is only part of an answer that also involves a waterproofing contractor.
Battery backup and the power outage problem
Sump pumps fail when the power goes out, and the power goes out in the same storms that fill the pit. A battery backup pump sits in the same pit and takes over. It is not optional for a finished basement in a house that needs a sump. Water-powered backups exist too and have their own trade-offs. Any new circuit for a pump goes through the Electrical Safety Authority process, and the pump should be on its own receptacle, not a power bar under the stairs.
Testing, and why nobody does it
Pour a bucket of water into the pit. The float should rise, the pump should run, the water should leave, and the pump should stop. Do that twice a year. Most Kitchener sump pumps have never been tested since the day the house closed, which is why the first storm after a long dry stretch is when they fail. A stuck float, a seized impeller or a failed check valve is a cheap fix on a weekday and an expensive one at midnight with the carpet wet.
Discharge lines and the frozen spring
A sump discharge that ends at the foundation puts the water straight back into the weeping tile, and the pump runs all day. One that runs across the lawn in a hose freezes in March and the pump burns out against a plug of ice. The discharge should run to grade well away from the house, with a freeze-protected outlet, and it should not go into the sanitary sewer. Where the city has storm-sewer connection rules, they apply. This is the part of the job that gets skipped most often.
Where plumbing stops and waterproofing starts
The line matters, because the wrong trade will sell you the wrong fix. The sump pit, the pump, the backup, the discharge line, the backwater valve, the floor drain and the disconnection of the weeping tile from the sanitary sewer are plumbing. We do those. Water coming through the foundation wall, a crack in the wall or slab that leaks, exterior membranes, and replacing the weeping tile itself are waterproofing. Structural movement of the foundation is a foundation contractor. If the water in your basement is coming up a drain, call us. If it is coming through the wall, you need the other trade first, and we will say so rather than sell you a pump that will not solve it. The Grand River Conservation Authority is the source for flood information along the Grand, and the Region of Waterloo for regional sewer matters.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a backwater valve?
If your floor drain or basement toilet has ever backed up during a storm, or you are on the low ground along Schneider Creek, near Victoria Park or toward the Grand, it is worth having. It is a permitted plumbing job and the City of Kitchener has run programs to help with the cost. It needs cleaning periodically to keep working.
Is a sump pump a plumbing job or a waterproofing job?
The pit, the pump, the backup, the discharge line and the backwater valve are plumbing. Water coming through the wall or a leaking crack is waterproofing, and structural movement is a foundation contractor. If water comes up a drain, that is us. If it comes through the wall, you need the other trade first.
How often should a sump pump be tested or replaced?
Test it with a bucket of water twice a year, and after any long dry stretch. Pumps wear out; a unit that runs often in a wet basement wears faster than one that rarely runs. A battery backup is worth adding to any finished basement, because the storm that fills the pit is often the one that cuts the power.
Serving Kitchener and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.