My sump pump currently pumps out a decent amount of water and it just pumps the water into my backyard which turns into a muddy mess. I have been thinking about having the sump pump water go into a waterfall and flow into a small pond. But I'm not sure about a couple of things:
1. Is the water coming from the sump pump OK to possibly build a pond with?
2. I'm thinking that I will probably need another pump in the water to cycle the water to the waterfalls when the sump pump isn't running so the water isn't stagnant
3. How do i handle overflow water if the sump pump pumps more water than my pond can handle?
I'm looking for any design ideas or suggestions how i can turn my muddy mess into some kind of garden or pond feature for my yard

Buried around the footing of your basement foundation wall will be "weeping tiles". These tiles collect excess ground water so as to eliminate the hydrostatic pressure which would otherwise cause water to want to leak into your basement wall. So, what you're sump pump is doing is pumping ground water out onto your yard. This water is perfectly suitable for watering your lawn or a garden.

If it were me, I would buy something called a "rain barrel" which will be a great big 500 gallon galvanized tank. Have the sump pump and the gutters on your house and garage feed water into that rain barrel.

Connect a valve to the bottom of that rain barrel, and use the water that collects in it to water your lawn, water a garden or provide water to the pump in a water feature.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,