Overflow drain in Houston

[vsman]

Last couple of days Houston has had significant rain. We don’t have an overflow drain. Pool is about a year since we started the build- all I can recall is the PB telling me something about city of Houston code doesn’t allow for overflow drain. Obviously too late to do anything about-
1- is that true- no overflow drains allowed in Houston?
2- is it necessary?

 

[ChristopherDB]

I'd call up the city in the morning and ask them. I'd think they'd allow an overflow drain to discharge in the ground on your property. They probably just don't allow you to drain to storm drains or your sewage drain.

From what I've seen here in Florida the overflow drains they put in aren't a magic solution. It helps when water starts creeping high but a flash storm isn't going to instantly drain because the ground gets so saturated that the water has nowhere to go.

 

[pjt]

Last couple of days Houston has had significant rain. We don’t have an overflow drain. Pool is about a year since we started the build- all I can recall is the PB telling me something about city of Houston code doesn’t allow for overflow drain. Obviously too late to do anything about-
1- is that true- no overflow drains allowed in Houston?
2- is it necessary?

I would ask your PB to show you where that is written. The water has to go somewhere.

I would consider an overflow drain highly desirable in our area.

 

[evermanwa]

1 - I live south of Houston, and my pool has an over-flow drain. Similar area, so I'm not sure if the rules would be that much different. My pool is about 20 years old though, so rules might have changed?
2 - Someone near me doesn't have an over-flow, but they do have an electrical pump that they do use on occasion to pump out excess water into a drainage ditch in front of their house.

If I know we are going to have rain coming up, I just don't top-off the water level on Sundays like I normally would.