downspout disconnections
May 13th, 2007
When I moved into my home about 4 years ago, I noticed that the eavestrough (aka gutter or rain gutter) drained directly into a pipe next to my house. I had never seen this before, but it seemed very common for the homes in my neighborhood, and downtown in general. I later learned this pipe fed directly into the sewer system, or if I was unlucky, directly into my basement.
Fortunately, most (not all) of the water avoided my basement, but it seemed odd that it would go directly into the sewer rather than feed my lawn. Redirecting this flow of water means a drier basement and avoids unnecessary load on the sewage system, which seems like a win-win. But, with a new old-house, we were quickly overwhelmed with other projects and quickly forgot about it.
A year or so later, my better half learned of the City of Toronto Downspout Disconnection Program - which provides free disconnection of the downspout and reworking of the existing eavestroughs to divert the runoff to your lawn. Sweet. Sounds like an even better idea now that I don’t have to do the work myself! So we called and registered for the program.
6 months after applying, I got a call from the city for a ‘consultation’. I spoke to the consultant about our disconnection needs, we walked through the options, signed the paperwork and was told a local professional would complete the job when a few more jobs were queued up on the street. A month or so later, I was told that it was my disconnection day and by the time I got home from work, the job was done. It was a quality job, and exactly what I discussed with the city employee. No complaints… other than the 60+ year old neighbors thinking I’m nuts… but I’m getting used to that.
If your home’s eavestroughs are still connected to the sewage system, have them disconnected. You won’t have to water your lawn or garden as often, and it will help reduce the load on our sewage system (thus save energy, and reduce water pollution).