My neighbour has a sump. Does that mean I need one?

Not by itself, though on a flat street it is a hint worth following up. Lots differ by a metre of fall over a short distance around here, and the question is what your own drain can reach by gravity.

Can I put a dry well in the back garden and drain everything to it?

Possibly, if the groundwater level is below the bottom of it, it sits at least five metres from the foundation and the ground falls away from the house. Those three conditions are what separate a dry well from a hole that returns the water to your own soil.

How long does a sump pump last?

We are not going to invent a figure. Ask the installer for the make, the warranty, and the service interval, and treat those as the honest version of that answer — a pump's life depends far more on how often it cycles than on the badge on it.

Is a sump a sign the perimeter drain has failed?

No. It is a sign the site cannot drain by gravity, which is a property of the land rather than of the pipe. Whether the drain itself has failed is a separate question and the camera answers it.

A contractor wants to install a sump and pump. Does my house need one, and what are the rules for a dry well?

Do you actually need a sump pump?

Direct answer · reviewed 2026-09-22

Read the Code sentence in the order it is written. A pump is required where gravity drainage is not practical — which means the first question is not what pump to buy, it is whether gravity is available. On a lot of Greater Victoria properties it is, because the ground falls toward a street, a ditch or a lower corner of the lot, and a passive drain that works by slope has no moving part to fail during the storm that matters. A sump is the right answer on a flat site, on a low-lying lot near sea level, or where the drain would have to run uphill to reach anything. It is the wrong answer when it is being used to avoid working out where the existing outlet goes.

Conditions and exceptions

If you already have a pump that works, none of this is an argument for removing it. It is an argument for asking why it was needed before you replace it with a bigger one.
A drainage layer of clean stone, used instead of pipe, must be graded to a sump by the Code regardless of slope.
Flat low-lying areas — parts of Esquimalt, Sidney, the Gorge waterway edge, low Saanich farmland — are where gravity genuinely runs out.

Scope, clean, repair or replace

Local evidence

Every figure below is quoted from the source shown or is our labelled estimate. Verified dates are the day we last checked the source; a figure whose check is overdue is withheld rather than shown.

When does the Code require a pump?: Only where gravity drainage is not practical — in that case an automatic sump pump shall be provided to discharge the water from the sump pit into a sewer, drainage ditch or dry well; Read the other way round: where gravity is practical, the Code does not ask for a pump · A granular drainage layer, used instead of pipe, must be graded to drain to a sump conforming to Article 9.14.5.2; Province of British Columbia (BC Codes) · quoted · verified 2026-09-22
Sump pit requirements: At least 750 mm deep, at least 0.25 m² in area, and covered; the cover must resist removal by children and be airtight; Where gravity drainage is not practical, an automatic sump pump must discharge the pit to a sewer, ditch or dry well (Sentence 9.14.5.2.(3)); Province of British Columbia (BC Codes) · quoted · verified 2026-09-22
Where a dry well is allowed to be: Only in areas where the natural groundwater level is below the bottom of the dry well, not less than 5 metres from the building foundation, and located so that drainage is away from the building; Rules out the soakaway dug just outside the wall, which is a common homeowner improvisation · On a high water table site a dry well may not be an option at all; Province of British Columbia (BC Codes) · quoted · verified 2026-09-22
Where a foundation drain is allowed to discharge: To a sewer, a drainage ditch or a dry well; A dry well may be used only where the natural groundwater level is below the bottom of the dry well, and must be at least 5 m from the foundation (Sentences 9.14.5.3.(1) and (2)); Province of British Columbia (BC Codes) · quoted · verified 2026-09-22

The sentence, and what it puts first

Only where gravity drainage is not practical — in that case an automatic sump pump shall be provided to discharge the water from the sump pit into a sewer, drainage ditch or dry well

That conditional is doing real work. It means a pump is a fallback, not a default, and a quote that includes one should be able to say what made gravity impractical here. Acceptable answers sound like: the outlet is above the level of the drain, the lot is flat, there is no storm connection and nowhere legal to put a dry well. A less acceptable answer is that nobody traced the existing discharge.

It matters because of what a pump is. Everything else in a perimeter drain is inert for fifty years. A pump is a motor with a float switch, on a circuit, that gets asked to work hardest on the night the power is most likely to be out.

If you do need one, what the pit has to be

At least 750 mm deep, at least 0.25 m² in area, and covered; the cover must resist removal by children and be airtight

The cover requirements are the part that gets skipped. A pit has to be covered, the cover has to resist removal by children, and it has to be airtight — which is about soil gas and indoor air as much as about water. An open sump in a finished basement is a fairly common sight around here and it is not a small deviation.

The other question to ask is what happens when the power goes out, because that is when a pump is carrying the whole system. Battery backup, a second pump, or an alarm are all reasonable answers; no answer at all is not.

Ask what made gravity drainage impractical on this property, specifically.
Ask where the pump discharges to, and confirm it is one of the destinations the Code names.
Ask what the pit dimensions and cover will be.
Ask what happens during a power outage, and what the failure looks like if the pump dies unnoticed.
Ask who services it, and how often.

Dry wells, and the rule that rules out most homemade ones

A dry well is a legitimate destination — the Code names it alongside a sewer and a ditch. To a sewer, a drainage ditch or a dry well But it comes with conditions that quietly disqualify the version most homeowners picture.

Only in areas where the natural groundwater level is below the bottom of the dry well, not less than 5 metres from the building foundation, and located so that drainage is away from the building

Five metres from the foundation is the number to remember. A pit of drain rock dug in against the wall to take roof water is not a dry well in the Code's sense; it is a way of putting water back into the ground you are trying to keep dry. And the groundwater condition matters on the low, flat parts of the region, where a dry well can spend the wet season sitting in the water table it is meant to drain into.

Reading a quote that includes a pump

A pump adds a recurring obligation to a system you would otherwise forget about. That is worth accepting when the site requires it and worth questioning when it has not been explained.

What the answer should sound like
Question	A reasonable answer	A reason to get a second opinion
Why a pump?	The outlet sits above the drain, or the lot is flat with no ditch or connection	It is what we always install
Where does it discharge?	A named sewer connection, ditch or compliant dry well	To the existing line, unspecified
What about the power?	Backup, alarm, or an explicit acceptance of the risk	It has never been a problem
What maintenance?	A stated interval and what to check	None needed

Questions homeowners ask

My neighbour has a sump. Does that mean I need one?: Not by itself, though on a flat street it is a hint worth following up. Lots differ by a metre of fall over a short distance around here, and the question is what your own drain can reach by gravity.
Can I put a dry well in the back garden and drain everything to it?: Possibly, if the groundwater level is below the bottom of it, it sits at least five metres from the foundation and the ground falls away from the house. Those three conditions are what separate a dry well from a hole that returns the water to your own soil.
How long does a sump pump last?: We are not going to invent a figure. Ask the installer for the make, the warranty, and the service interval, and treat those as the honest version of that answer — a pump's life depends far more on how often it cycles than on the badge on it.
Is a sump a sign the perimeter drain has failed?: No. It is a sign the site cannot drain by gravity, which is a property of the land rather than of the pipe. Whether the drain itself has failed is a separate question and the camera answers it.

Your next step

A pump belongs in the conversation only after the existing discharge has been found.

Check whether you are being quoted the right scope

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Sources

British Columbia Building Code 2018, Division B, Section 9.14 — Drainage — Province of British Columbia (BC Codes), accessed 2026-09-22

Code and municipal requirements are quoted from the sources above; price ranges are what named local companies publish, and the companies that publish them sell the work. Nothing here is a diagnosis of a particular house: only a camera in your own drain can tell you what is wrong with it. Report a correction.