Back flow valve but still flooding

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

chainXzero

Active Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
8
Location
NYC
I am in NYC, Queens area.

I have a back flow valve installed in my basement along the main sewage drain pipe to the street, prior to the toilet bowel and shower drain (see pictures). I recently had a flood where water was gushing out of the basement toilet bowel and shower drain. I opened the back flow valve cover and the valve seems to be freely opening and closing and seems to be functional.

My question is, how is it possible that water was getting passed the back flow valve and gushing through the toilet and shower drain in the basement?

Thank you for any feedback.
 

Attachments

  • 20210904_113311.jpg
    20210904_113311.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 8
  • 20210904_113316.jpg
    20210904_113316.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 7
The hurricane remnants caused havoc across the Eastern seaboard and all I could guess was that the pressure in the sewer lines was so tremendous that it was able to defeat the backflow device. Anyone else have any ideas?
 
Thanks. I don't know what my next course of action will be with this. I am consulting a plumber to explore more options. I am assuming it is going to be some sort of water pump installation that will be able to remove the water should it back up like that again. In terms of what kind of pump it will be and where I will install it, I do not know......
 
Remember that if the backwater valve is closed because of back pressure from the street any water that you use in the house is going to come out the lowest drain. It could have been water that you were running in house that was unable to drain because of a closed Backwater valve.
 
Remember that if the backwater valve is closed because of back pressure from the street any water that you use in the house is going to come out the lowest drain. It could have been water that you were running in house that was unable to drain because of a closed Backwater valve.

The water was coming out of the toilet bowel and the shower with tremendous force and volume. I got 2 feet of water in the whole basement. Are those volumes possible with some toilet bowel flushes and sink uses?
 
Queens flooded severely. It’s probably flood water backing up through the sewers.

That’s a nasty mess. It all needs to be ripped out.
 
Queens flooded severely. It’s probably flood water backing up through the sewers.

That’s a nasty mess. It all needs to be ripped out.

Yea man, I'm gutting the whole basement this Friday. Mold and mildew treat everything, scrape and paint. Probably just going to leave it nice and neat but unfinished. It's just not worth having a finished basement around here.
 
Quick question:

Can you install a massive gate valve along your home's main sewage line, that you can close shut during a severe back flow event? Is that even a good idea, or are there serious problems associated with such an installation?
 
Please draw your complete drainage system and include the elevation and floor levels. Let’s try to make a plan
 

Latest posts

Back
Top