A Nice Spring Sprinkle!

[petros]

Rainfall Warning


Issued at 3:45 PM CST Thursday 16 June 2011

Summary

50 to 75 mm rain totals beginning this evening into tomorrow night. That's about 2-3 INCHES
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Details


An upper disturbance currently located over Idaho will track northeast this evening producing an area of continuous rain with embedded thunderstorms over the next 24 hours. Convection has already developed in Central Wyoming. These thunderstorms will move into Assiniboia and Estevan regions this evening. Heavy rain will continue into the Regina, Fort Qu'Appelle and Moose Jaw regions overnight. Generally 50-75 mm of rain is expected with higher amounts in thunderstorms. By Friday evening the system is forecast to weaken and move out of the affected areas. Environment Canada meteorologists will continue to monitor the situation and will issue updates as necessary.



Just exactly what we need. More flooding!

 

[petros]

My rain bucket is at 3 1/2" and 20hrs of rain still to come.

How many cubits in a metre and where do I find gopher wood?

 

[karrie]

My sister is in weyburn, and has been having to vacuum her basement out daily even BEFORE the heavy rain hit, despite the sump pump that is running continually. Insane amount of water.

 

[petros]

My sister is in weyburn, and has been having to vacuum her basement out daily even BEFORE the heavy rain hit, despite the sump pump that is running continually. Insane amount of water.

I wish her and many others luck across western Canada and the northern US. Crop and other insurance companies will be paying out like crazy this year.

The city here has been going around with vaccum trucks to keep traffic lights from falling over in the soaked, soft soil.

I've been considering digging a well.

Update 3 3/4" in the bucket and still raining.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I had water. The street (intersection of 11th & Atkinson) flooded out earlier in the
day, back a quarter of a block up Atkinson. Arcola was closed (might still be?) from
Atkinson to 12th. Many other street closures in my area.

The sewers filled. If you had a shower, or flushed a toilet....the water had no place to
leave to. I have a bathroom in my basement....as well as upstairs....and gravity being
the fickle thing that it is....water from upstairs, with the city sewers full, comes out in
the basement shower & toilet. Nice...

My sump-pump was routed to drain into the city sewer system....which meant that it
had no place to leave to, once pumped from under my foundation. It's now routed out
a window, across my backyard, through a fence, & into a vacant lot beside my house.

I'm very grateful that my foundation is only 4ft into the ground (& 4ft above it). Still sucks.
Home early to reroute the sump-pump, & run the shop-vac & steam cleaner. Still can't
flush the toilets yet, but that will pass with time for the city sewer system in my area to
drain out some...

Those in my area with basements 6 or 7 feet in the ground are in trouble. Backwater
valves are great to keep sewage out'a your home....but they don't help it leave if it has
no place to drain to.

My sump pump, earlier in the day, being routed into the city sewer system, with
the sewers being full, had no place to go but back into my basement via the
basement bathroom. More rain to come yet but the Sun is shining & the
wind is blowing hard.

 

[petros]

Ron I highly recommend a sewer backflow valve. That way city sewer and drainage water can't flow up your floor drain. Talk to Bob down the block about it. He's loonie as a jaybird but a damn good plumber.

 

[Ron in Regina]

My issue was the water under my foundation, that my sump pump was pumping,
having no place to go, 'cuz it was plumbed to be pumped out into the city drainage
that was full. A backflow valve would protect me from water flowing back into my
home....but not from water that couldn't get out of my home, which was my issue.

The water from under my own foundation was getting recycled back up through my
own plumbing (which, being the lowest point, happened to be my downstairs shower)
as it couldn't push past the pressure in the city line. I replumbed that to drain out into
a vacant lot beside and behind my house. It's a temporary fix, but doing the trick for
now....& I'll make it more permanent tommorrow, as I'm routing it through a basement
window at this point. I've access to a Hole-Hog and will punch a hole in the foundation
for egress of that drain for the sump pump. That's the plan as of this point anyway.

 

[petros]

My issue was the water under my foundation, that my sump pump was pumping,
having no place to go, 'cuz it was plumbed to be pumped out into the city drainage
that was full. A backflow valve would protect me from water flowing back into my
home....but not from water that couldn't get out of my home, which was my issue.

The water from under my own foundation was getting recycled back up through my
own plumbing (which, being the lowest point, happened to be my downstairs shower)
as it couldn't push past the pressure in the city line. I replumbed that to drain out into
a vacant lot beside and behind my house. It's a temporary fix, but doing the trick for
now....& I'll make it more permanent tommorrow, as I'm routing it through a basement
window at this point. I've access to a Hole-Hog and will punch a hole in the foundation
for egress of that drain for the sump pump. That's the plan as of this point anyway.

Yup. That's a dilly of a pickle. A few years back when we had a wicked T-Storm the water in the basement toilet came just shy of spilling over. That's when I decided to go for the back flow valve. The city also had an initiative at the time and knocked $200 of the water/sewer bill.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I have the old school (really old school...manual crank version) for that
bathroom (code from the '60's for basement suites) that you'd close by
turning a "key" (a iron wheel) to close off that section of plumbing.

They're more of an issue (the old ones) than they're worth. I installed 5-6
backflow valves last year (when I worked for a plumbing outfit) in other
peoples homes.

When I reno that bathroom later this year, I do plan on jack-hammering out
the floor, & trenching down to the old pipes, & rerunning them in PVC from
the shower and sink & toilet through a modern PVC one-way gate valve as
opposed to the old cast iron screw valve currently in place.

Many of those old cast iron valves haven't been turned in decades (many don't
realize what they even are) and require several revolutions to open or close
them. People try to close them, and get 1/2 a turn or so and think they're
closed when they're not, or break the valve 1/2 closed, or closed. Then they're
in deep.......trouble.

I do plan on replacing it, but not this weekend, sort'a thing. It's something I can
do myself, with access to all the tools from the plumbing outfit I worked with. A
4"x3" Fermco (I'm assuming in advance), & the gate itself, & a length of 3" pipe,
a couple of 1&1/2"x3" Y's, ect....and then refill & cement then I carry on with the
reno. Yeah....something that's not happening this weekend.

 

[petros]

This is the type I installed that is code approved.

 

[Ron in Regina]

This is the type I installed that is code approved.

I'm assuming what you installed is the modern version that I've described, and not the
old school thing that was code 50yrs ago for basement suite washrooms.

Above that valve, in your basement floor, will be an access port (not cemented over)
that you can twist open to replace the gate (a one-way flap) if needed. The hole in the
cement will be about the size of a coffee can, as most plumbers use a coffee can
to leave that access when pouring the cement. That's what the outfit I was with used
anyway, and what I'm going to use....but not this weekend. ;-)

 

[petros]

I posted a pic but I guess the tape had fuzz on it and it fell off my post?

 

[Ron in Regina]

I posted a pic but I guess the tape had fuzz on it and it fell off my post?

Yeah, that's one of them. There are a couple of different designs that do exactly the
same thing, on the same principal, but yeah.....that's the way to go.

In days gone by, they use to work on the same principal as this:

....but cast iron in the ground with water running through it for 50yrs,
makes opening and closing it kind'a spooky. Better off not messing
with it. The one way flap is a much better design, & PVC doesn't
corrode over time.

 

[petros]

Well. I have a spring in the basement. Looks like I'm spending my week tearing up and laying new sub floor. Ah well, I may as well take the opportunity to add some loops off the heat pump and go for a heated floor.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I have a wheelbarrow in my backyard. It was empty on Thursday.
It's overflowing this morning. How much rain would that be again?
Somewhere in the neighbourhood of way too much in too short of
a time....

Sorry to hear about your basement Petros. Mine's cool as of last
evening once the city drainage emptied out some. Some steam
cleaning yesterday (I use a mix of hot water, Fabreeze, & the Pet
stuff from Bissell, and a little bit of Fantastik), and good to go
again.

My Suite in the basement is on a subfloor, but it was high & dry. The
washroom downstairs is lino on concrete, laundry room is painted
concrete, but.....the storage room is carpeted. Ugh...oh well, still got
off easy.

Well. I have a spring in the basement. Looks like I'm spending my week tearing up and laying new sub floor. Ah well, I may as well take the opportunity to add some loops off the heat pump and go for a heated floor.

Do you have a sump pump? If so, where is it routed to pump to?

 

[petros]

No. Never had an issue other than drain back up from T-Storms. I'm on a high lot too. I had a new foundation done about 15 years ago and even back filled with a clay/sand compaction grouting like used for slab jacking. Eve since the city shut down the wells in this neighbourhood things have gone haywire for shifting and ground movement.

Oddly enough there are no sump pumps to be found in Regina today.

BTW another storm is to hit at around 6PM.

2 hours 12 minutes early.....

YouTube - ‪Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again (Remastered)‬‏

 

[karrie]

Yeah, my sis in weyburn is reporting the same issues. drain a sink or flush a toilet and there's nowhere for it to go but into your own basement. backwater valves only help to a point. The sump pumps have nowhere to send the water, and they now effectively have no running water in the many of the houses in town. Add to that the fact that people who live uphill don't care and are continuing to flush toilets etc., and people in old homes have a real problem.

 

[petros]

Signal Hill....the "poor" side of Weyburn.

I hired my neighbour's kid to use my diamond saw to cut me a sump hole. He did a splendid job. Well worth the 12 beer and a baggie. I just finished pulling the12V submersable pump from the boat. It is going to have to do until I can find a real sump.

 

[karrie]

http://www.discoverweyburn.com/images/stories/news_images/tommydouglaslifejacket.jpg

 

[petros]

Tommy the Commie in a PFD LOL.....

Thanks that just brightened my soaked day.