Downspout gutter to street - legality

[Sashi W]

I live in NYC, Staten Island.


I have called several different sewer and drainage companies and I keep getting different answers. Im having serious drainage problems with a faulty dry well. The earth around here is all clay and the well never drains. Five minutes into raining the backyard drain pipe that connects to the dry well turns into a up flowing fountain, flooding my yard. Sent a camera down and the dry well is full of water 2 weeks after a heavy rain. It's not draining at all. Its an 8ft dry well 10-12 feet down and the cost of digging it up, fixing or replacing is prohibitive.

Several plumbers have suggested routing my gutter water to the street. But is that legal? Some say yes, most say no. From conversations it would seem an underground pipe straight from the downspout out through my curb would be illegal. Again if anyone knows the truth please inform me.


If it's not legal, is there a way around it with a downspout diverters that are above ground? They are sold in catalogs and such, so if it diverted all the way to my property line and then the water overflowed into the street would that be legal?


One plumber spoke of daylighting a pipe connected to the downspout and terminating it at my property line as legal. These last 2 suggestions seem legal to me, but it's funny cus they both result in water being directed out to the street.


I can't find the laws about this stuff, so if anyone knows where I can read about it that would be great as well.

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[Vern Heiler]

You are not responsible to take care of the rain water that lands on your property. I own property in both North and South Carolina and have to pay additional tax to the county for rain water drainage as does every land owner. Drain it to the street, your probably paying for it anyway!

[Jim Luttrall]

Contact your local municipality. Rules vary by location, especially in this regard. Around here, no drywells are required, ever. The newer subdivisions will have water retention ponds to catch runoff from downpours. If you used a licensed plumber they should also know and obey your local rules.

[Steven Turetsky]

As Jim said; what is legal depends upon your local municipality.

I also live in NY, and although it is not legal to pipe the runoff into the street (where I live), it is done quite a bit.

I understand that repairing/reinstalling the drywell can be costly, but if it is included on your plans, then that is what is legal. If you want to do something else, in my opinion whatever you do (even if it could be legal), will only be legal if you have it approved.

[Billy Stephens]

Here's a brief history on how you got there. American Rivers | Staten Island, New York

[Steven Turetsky]

That's a very nice article.