One of the things that I wasn't used to when we moved to Kansas from Utah was the need for a sump pump. I actually had no idea what it was until we got our first house. In the floor of our basement there is a hole cut into the ground that gathers the ground water that drains around the house. In the hole is placed a pump that pumps the water out of the basement through a pipe that drains out of the side of the house.

It seems like our sump pump drains all of the time and it has created a swampy mess on the side of the house. The thing that kills me is the water it pumps out into the yard is crystal clear water and I hate to see it go to waste. Especially with the cost of water and how hot it has been.

So I spent a couple of lunch hours at Home Depot trying to put together how I could store this water. With the help of my neighbor we put together the contraption below. I cut a couple of holes in the side for the sump pump to drain into an overflow just in case it filled all the way up, and put a spic it on the bottom so I could put a hose on it to use to water our plants.

I went and checked it first thing this morning and sure enough it was filled to the top. So now I have extra water to keep on our plants. Hopefully it will continue to work the way I planned.