Sump Pump Requirements

City Code requires that discharge into the City’s sanitary sewer system must conform to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) Waste Discharge Rules.  Unpolluted water, such as rain water, storm water, groundwater, and water collected from foundation drains, may not be discharged into the sanitary sewer system.  Incorrectly connected sump pumps needlessly send clean storm water to the waste water treatment plant operated by the Metropolitan Council, increasing costs and taking up pipe and treatment capacity.

Under City ordinance (Title 8, Chapter 802.6 Sump pumps), sump pumps cannot be connected to a floor drain, laundry sink or other drain that empties into the City’s sanitary sewer system.  The sump pump discharge line must be connected to a rigid pipe to route water outdoors to the lawn or towards the street.  The discharge line shall be terminated on the private property for which the sump pump serves.  The discharge line shall not be directly discharged into the public right-of-way unless approved by the Public Works Director, and shall not discharge water in locations that would cause negative impacts to adjacent property owners or the public.

The City will charge a $50 per month penalty for improperly connected sump pumps.

Inspections

To comply with MCES directives to reduce inflow and infiltration (I/I), the City of Roseville has implemented the sump pump inspection program.

Inspections will not result in fines at this time, rather are for information gathering. When upgrading your water meter, City staff will conduct a sump pump inspection. Sump pump inspections in residential homes give the City preliminary information on how many homes have sump pumps, how many non-conforming connections there are, and whether this is a major contributing factor to the City’s I/I problem. The current inspection program verifies whether homes have a sump pump or not. Staff will use the collected data to develop further I/I reduction plans in the City and make recommendations to the City Council.

Click on the link for more information on inflow and infiltration.

Winter Discharge Waiver

Most sump pumps only operate during or after rainfall events in the spring, summer and fall.  In some rare cases, sump pumps may operate year round.  If it is necessary operate a sump pump during the winter to prevent property damage, the City may grant a permit for temporary discharge into the sanitary sewer system. Permits are valid from November 15 through March 15.

Application for Winter Discharge of Clear Water into Sanitary Sewer (PDF)