GYMNASTICS PIT DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

The perimeter drain has to be lower than or below the pit floor and have a minimum of 2' of clean stone around the drainage perforated pipe.

Accumulated water needs to be drained to an area that is lower than the perimeter drainage system. This is termed as a Gravity Drain. The drainage pipe needs to have 1/4" fall per-foot the entire length of the drainage pipe.

If a gravity drain is not feasible, a lift pump located outside the pit is required. Perimeter drains from multiple pits may be connected and drained to one central lift station. The drain piping should have 1/4" fall per-foot drainage to the lift station. The lift station needs to have a clean gravel or crushed stone base of 8" to 10" with the pump resting on a concrete stepping stone. A concrete manhole or 3' diameter steel or plastic road culvert can be used as a manhole to house the lift station.

Caution! Do Not install a sump pump inside the pit to pump the water that is in the pit into a drain. There are two major reasons not to do this:

The first is you want to prevent water from getting into the pit. A perimeter drain that opens into a sump is an open pipe for water to get into the pit when the pump fails. Sump pumps fail for the following reasons. The most common cause is electrical outage or electrical circuit failure.

The second most common cause is pieces of pit foam or debris that gets into the sump and locks up the pump. When the pump fails, the open line floods the pit. Do not look for the easy, less expensive way. Pit drainage is one of the most important aspects of pit construction.