Flood control system

A flood control system for use with a building sewer line connected from a building to a city sewer line to prevent back flow of sewage in the line into the building during a flood which includes an underground tank installed in an in-line position with respect to the city sewer line and with at least a portion of the tank lying in a plane below the building sewer line. The city sewer line is cement encased at its point of juncture with the building sewer line beneath the building. The tank has a fluid pump mounted therein and connected by an overhead standpipe for pumping waste fluids from the bottom of the tank back into an inner sewer line for discharge exteriorally to a city sewer line. The tank further has a manually operable gate valve mounted therein. The gate valve is operably connected at one side to the city sewer line and connected at another side with the building sewer line. The gate valve includes a back flow valve which is operable to permit sewage flow only in one direction through the gate valve and in turn through the building sewer line and then to the city sewer line but which back flow valve is physically held in a closed position by any reverse flowing waste fluids to prohibit waste fluids back flowing from the city sewer line into the building and into said gate valve so as to hold the waste fluids and to prevent them from entering the building during flood conditions. The back flow valve is so positioned relative to the gate valve whereby the gate valve is located in the tank but between the back flow valve and the city sewer line permitting the back flow valve to function to shut off the sewage fluids flowing from the city sewer line in the event that the gate valve is left in an open position.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a flood control system and more 
specifically to an apparatus for regulation of sewage flow from a building 
to a city sewer line and also for inhibiting back flow of waste fluids and 
sewage from the city sewage line into the building during flood 
conditions. 
In the past, there have been a number of different types of so-called flood 
control systems and apparatuses, but none of them have performed 
satisfactorily towards the end of preventing sewage spills into the 
basements of buildings when city sewage lines are flooded. The past 
failures of the previously existing flood control systems have come about 
as a result of incomplete engineering and improper design by the equipment 
maker and the installer. Based upon my experience, I believe I am the 
first to provide a new and improved flood control system and/or apparatus 
where a tank is provided and installed in an underground location housing 
a gate valve as well as a pump activatable by means of a float type on-off 
switch. The tank is installed so as to be preferably in an in-line 
position relative to the sewage line leading from the interior of the 
building to one side of the tank and then a second sewage line is 
connected from an opposite side of the tank and telescoped into a 
pre-existing city sewer line located underneath the footing of the 
exterior building wall. The city sewer line must be encased in cement 
beneath the footing to inhibit any back flow of fluids into the basement 
and/or beneath the footing into underlying regions beneath the basement 
floor. 
Based on my past experiences going over many years, many so-called flood 
control systems installed in previous years fail because the sewer line 
underlying the footing is not embedded in concrete and because of the 
failure to provide a flood control apparatus having the features of my new 
construction wherein a single tank has both the gate valve and the pump 
mounted therein and with the tank being installed in an in line position 
as discussed above. Other prior art systems have been used employing a 
gate valve and a pump but not in the unique improved arrangement having 
the improved operating characteristics found in my system or apparatus. 
As mentioned above, various types of flood control units have existed 
before other than the one just described in particular attention is 
directed to U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,922 issued to Levi I. Oury on Feb. 13, 
1962 entitled "Flood Control Unit". 
That patentee here discloses a more complicated flood control unit 
significantly without any gate valve or standpipe and further requiring a 
weir and a series of compartments in order to control sewage flow through 
the housing 11 which structures are not found in my unit or apparatus. 
This type of unit is more costly to manufacture except for the absence of 
the gate valve and the standpipe found in my system. This prior art is 
believed to be more difficult to assemble the components of the flood 
control unit and to install the same in an underground system beneath a 
basement. 
Other less pertinent U.S. Patents known to me generally concerning flood 
control apparatuses are listed, as follows: 
______________________________________ 
U.S. Pat. No. 
Patent Title Inventor 
______________________________________ 
2,718,238 
Flood Protecting Back Water 
A. Simko, Sr. 
Trap 
2,739,662 
Backwater Sewer Trap 
A. Sofia 
3,115,890 
Flood Control Valve 
M. Greenbaum 
4,019,304 
Method of Temporarily Water- 
Rolando E. Timm 
Proofing Parts of Buildings 
in Anticipation of Floods 
2,421,066 
Flood Control System 
Elra F. Howe 
______________________________________ 
As I indicated, various disadvantages have been found to exist with the 
various flood control apparatuses as disclosed above and from other known 
constructions of which workers in this art are aware. 
Based on my recent studies, I have found a number of ways to improve the 
above-discussed flood control apparatus and the following discussions 
relates to that subject.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In a flood control system for use with a building sewer line connected from 
a building to a city sewer line to prevent back flow of sewage in the line 
into the building during a flood, the improvement of an underground tank 
installed in an in-line position with respect to the city sewer line and 
with at least a portion of the tank lying in a plane below the building 
sewer line, the city sewer line being cement encased at its point of 
juncture with a building sewer line beneath the building, the tank having 
a fluid pump mounted therein and connected by an overhead standpipe for 
pumping waste fluids from the bottom of the tank back into an inner sewr 
line for discharge exteriorally to a city sewer line, the tank further 
having a manually operable gate valve mounted therein, the gate valve 
being operably connected at one side to the city sewer line and connected 
at another side with the building sewer line, the gate valve including a 
back flow valve which is operable to permit sewage flow only in one 
direction through the gate valve and in turn through the building sewer 
line and then to the city sewer line but which back flow valve is 
physically held in a closed position by any reverse flowing waste fluids 
to prohibit waste fluids back flowing from the city sewer line into the 
building and into said gate valve so as to hold the waste fluids and to 
prevent them from entering the building during flood conditions, the back 
flow valve being so positioned relative to the gate valve whereby the gate 
valve is located in the tank but between the back flow valve and the city 
sewer line permitting the back flow valve to function to shut off the 
sewage fluids flowing from the city sewer line in the event that the gate 
valve is left in an open position. 
According to other features of my invention, the standpipe is connected at 
one end to the pump in the tank and is operatively connected at an 
opposite end to the city sewer line for discharging fluids from the tank 
to the sewer line and a check valve is located in the standpipe for 
prohibiting the back flow of sewage fluids from the city sewer line into 
the tank. 
According to still other features of my invention, the manually operable 
gate valve including a wheel which is rotatable for actuation of the valve 
to open and shut the same, the wheel being connected to a rotary shaft, 
the rotary shaft having valve member in its lower end for opening and 
closing the gate valve passageway. 
Yet other features of my invention concern the tank having a two-piece lid 
structure with means securing the lid structure to the tank in a secured 
assembly therewith, one of the lid halves being free of any projections 
through the lid half from the interior of the tank, the other of the lid 
halves having the standpipe and the rotary shaft connected to the wheel 
extending through the lid. 
Still further features of my invention concern a flood control system for 
use with a building sewer line connected from a building to a city sewer 
line to prvent back flow of sewage in the line into the building during a 
flood, the improvement of an underground tank connected to the city sewer 
line and with at least a portion of the tank lying in a plane below the 
building sewer line, the city sewer line being cement encased as its point 
of juncture with the building sewer line beneath the building, the tank 
having a fluid pump mounted therein and connected by an overhead standpipe 
for pumping waste fluids from the bottom of the tank back into the 
interior sewer line for discharge exteriorally to a city sewer line, the 
tank further having a mutually operable gate valve mounted therein, the 
gate valve having an internal axially extending gate valve passageway, the 
valve being secured at an outer wall of the tank and with said passageway 
being co-axially aligned and operably connected with the city sewer line, 
the gate valve including a flapper valve mounted in said gate valve 
passageway which is operable to permit sewage flow only in one direction 
through the gate valve and in turn through the building sewer line and 
then to the city sewer but which flapper valve is physically held in a 
closed position by any reverse flowing waste fluids to prohibit waste 
fluids back flowing from the city sewer line into the building and into 
said gate valve so as to hold the waste fluids and to prevent them from 
entering the building during flood conditions, the flapper valve being so 
positioned relative to the flapper valve whereby the gate valve is located 
in the tank but between the flapper valve and the city sewer line 
permitting the flapper valve to function to shut off the sewage fluids 
flowing from the city sewer line in the event that the gate valve is left 
in an open position, the standpipe being connected at one end of said pump 
in said tank and at an opposite end being operationally connected to the 
city sewer line for discharging fluids from the tank to the sewer line, 
and a check valve being located in said standpipe for prohibiting the back 
flow of sewage fluids from the city sewer line into the tank. 
Yet other features of my invention concern the tank having a two-piece lid 
structure with means securing the lid structure to the tank in a secured 
assembly therewith, one of the lid halves being free of any projections 
through the lid half from the interior of the tank, the other of the lid 
halves having the standpipe and the rotary shaft connected to the wheel 
extending through the lid. 
Still further features of my invention concern a flood control system for 
use with a building sewer line connected from a building to a city sewer 
line to prevent back flow of sewage in the line into the building during a 
flood, the improvement of an underground tank connected to the city sewer 
line and with at least a portion of the tank lying in a plane below the 
building sewer line, the city sewer line being cement encased at its point 
of juncture with the building sewer line beneath the building, the tank 
having a fluid pump mounted therein and connected by an overhead standpipe 
for pumping waste fluids from the bottom of the tank back into an interior 
sewer line for discharge exteriorally to a city sewer line, the tank 
further having a manually operable gate valve mounted therein, the gate 
valve having an internal axially extending gate valve passageway, the 
valve being secured at an outer wall of the tank and with said passageway 
being co-axially aligned and operably connected with the city sewer line, 
the gate valve including a flapper valve mounted in said gate valve 
passageway which is operable to permit sewage flow only in one direction 
through the gate valve and in turn through the building sewer line and 
then to the city sewer line but which flapper valve is physically held in 
a closed position by any reverse flowing waste fluids to prohibit waste 
fluids back flowing from the city sewer line into the building and into 
said gate valve so as to hold the waste fluids and to prevent them from 
entering the building during flood conditions, the flapper valve being so 
positioned relative to the flapper valve whereby the gate valve is located 
in the tank but between the flapper valve and the city sewer line 
permitting the flapper valve to function to shut off the sewage fluids 
flowing from the city sewer line in the event that the gate valve is left 
in an open position, the standpipe being connected at one end to said pump 
in said tank and at an opposite end being operationally connected to the 
city sewer line for discharging fluids from the tank to the sewer line, 
and a check valve being located in said standpipe for prohibiting the back 
flow of sewage fluids from the city sewer line into the tank. 
According to still further features of my invention the flapper valve, if 
it should be corroded or clogged with protein accumulations allowing waste 
fluid to leak there through whereupon the means for activating the pump 
can be caused to operate and to turn the pump on and discharge the leaked 
fluid from a flood back into the city sewer line to prevent sewage from 
leaking into the building. 
Other features of my invention relate to the tank being parallel sided and 
internally free of baffles, partitions and weirs thus preventing the free 
flow of sewage floods there through and to leave an internal area of the 
tank open for ready access for service of the pump and gate valve. 
Yet other features of my invention relate to a flood control apparatus for 
use with a building sewer line connected from a building to a city sewer 
line to prevent back flow of sewage in the line into the building during a 
flood including a tank for underground connection to the city sewer line 
and with at least a portion of the tank being adapted for lying in a plane 
below the building sewer line, the tank having a fluid pump mounted 
therein and connected by an overhead standpipe for pumping waste fluids 
from the bottom of the tank back into the building sewer line for 
discharge exteriorly to the city sewer line, means for activating the pump 
should fluid waste accumulation exceed a predetermined level, the tank 
further having a manually operable gate valve mounted therein, the gate 
valve having an internal axially extending gate valve passageway for 
cutting off fluid flow into the passageway from either direction, the 
valve being secured to an outer side wall of the tank and with said 
passageway being co-axially aligned with a tank opening in the outer wall 
of the tank and further being adapted for operable connection to a sewer 
line which in turn is operably connected to the city sewer line, the gate 
valve including a flapper valve mounted in said gate valve passageway, the 
flapper valve being so positioned relative to the gate valve whereby the 
gate valve is located in the gate valve passageway but between the flapper 
valve and the city sewer line with the flapper valve being structurally 
oriented to shut off the sewage fluids flowing from the city sewer line in 
the event that the gate valve is left in an open position, the sewage flow 
only being permitted in one direction through the flapper valve past the 
gate valve when open and in turn through the building sewer line and then 
to the city sewer line but which flapper valve is physically held in a 
closed position by any reverse flowing waste fluids to prohibit waste 
fluids back flowing from the city sewer line into the building during 
flood conditions, the standpipe being connected at one end to said pump in 
said tank and at an opposite end being operatively connected to the sewer 
line for discharging fluids from the tank to the sewer line, and a check 
valve being located in said standpipe for prohibiting the back flow of 
sewage fluids from a city sewer line into the tank. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a flood control system or 
apparatus for installation in a hole 11 in a cement basement floor 12 
contained in a building 13. The building 13 has an exterior building wall 
14 that is carried on a cement foundation 15. A cast iron city sewer pipe 
or line 16 is encased in cement 17 as the line 16 extends under the cement 
foundation 15 at the area which the exterior vertical building wall 14 
merges with the foundation 15 in accordance with certain important 
features of my invention. This sewer line 16 extends beneath the cement 
foundation 15 into the underneath above the basement floor as seen in FIG. 
2 where it is connected to other sewer lines hereafter discussed. 
Where the flood control apparatus 10 is to be installed in an existing 
residence or building, it is necessary that the hole 11 be cut in the 
cement basement floor. After the hole has been cut, an underground tank 18 
is installed in an in-line position with respect to the sewer line 16. 
When installed, it will be observed that at least a portion of the tank 
lies in a plane below the interior sewer line 16 as seen in FIG. 1-3. The 
tank is preferably made from a suitable steel such as 3/16" thick, and can 
be plastic or epoxy coated to minimize rust. The tank may also be made 
from fiberglass if desired. 
According to features of my invention, a manually operable gate valve 19 is 
mounted interiorally of the tank 18. The gate valve 19 includes a housing 
20 for encasing the components of the valve. A tapered valve member 21 is 
mounted in the housing. A manually operable wheel or handle 22 is 
connected to a valve actuating shaft 23 at its upper end. The valve 
actuating shaft 23 has threads 24 provided at a lower end thereof securing 
the shaft 23 to the tapered valve member 21. As indicated in FIG. 3, the 
shaft 23 is mounted in a suitable bearing 25 to permit the wheel 22 and 
the valve member 21 to be freely rotated within the housing 20. 
The gave valve 19 has a horizontal sewage valve passageway 26 provided 
therein. As is seen in FIG. 3, the gate valve 19 is so mounted within the 
tank to permit the sewage passageway 26 to be co-axially aligned with 
interior cast iron sewage pipe lines 27 and 28 located at opposite sides 
of the tank 18. The sewage pipe lines 27 and 28 may be secured by quick 
connect couplings (not-shown) to threaded tank flanges 29-30 which flanges 
are welded at opposite sides of the tank to permit disconnect threaded 
connectionof the pipes threaded or passageways 27 and 28 with the tank 
flanges 29-30 on the tank 18. The sewage pipe lines 27 and 28 along with 
the city sewage line 16 are all pitched at 1/4" per foot with the high end 
of the pipe being beneath and building and with the low end of the pipe 
being where the city sewer line exists the building and then it continues 
with its downward pitch to the point where it enters into the main sewer 
system. 
The passageway 26 has a sump 31 mounted in vertically spaced relation with 
the valve member 21 when the valve member 21 is in its up position as 
shown in FIG. 3. The valve member 21 is movable from its up position as 
shown by the full lines to its closed position as shown by the dotted 
lines at 32. The valve 21, when in its closed position, rests against the 
interior wall of the passageway 26 in overlying relation to the sump 31. 
As the valve member 21 is moved against the interior wall of the 
passageway 26, any material that may be accumulated along the bottom wall 
of the passageway at the area of the sump 31, can be sheered or forced 
into the sump so that the valve member 21 can move in a relatively 
unimpeded manner into snug sealed engaged position against the interior 
wall of the passageway 26 to shut off sewage flow through the passageway 
26. 
Should the building owner or the homeowner forget to close the passageway 
or the gate valve 19 during a time when the outside fluid line or sewer 
line 16 is flooded, a flapper valve or back flow valve 33 is mounted in 
pivoted aligned assembly with the passageway 26 on the housing 20. The 
pivot for the flapper valve is shown at 34 (FIG. 3). The flapper valve has 
ends 35 and 36 which are adapted to be positioned in lapped relation to 
form a closure with the housing 20 to close off the passageway 26. 
The sewage flow (FIG. 3) from the flooded sewer line is in a direction 
opposite to the direction opposite to the direction of arrows 37 and 38. 
The arrows 37 and 38 show the way in which the sewage normally flows from 
in the building in the tank 18 and then out of the tank into the sewer 
line 16. Should the sewage flow be reversed due to a flooded condition in 
the sewage line, then the flapper valve 33 would operate in its full line 
shown in FIG. 3 to close off the sewage flow to prohibit the sewage from 
discharging into the sump or housing 20. The dotted line position 39 of 
the flapper valve 33 shows the position of the valve when it is in an open 
position to permit sewage from inside the building to flow through the 
gate valve 19. 
The flapper valve or back flow valve 33 is preferably of a brass 
composition and includes a pivotal or swingable flapper valve member or 
plate 40 which is of a circular configuration. The plate 40 is positioned 
at a 22.degree. angle relative to the horizontal axis or the gate valve 
passageway 26. This valve member 40 has an inner annular valve face 41 
which is adapted to co-act with an annular fixed valve face 42 for snug 
leak proof enagagement when the faces 41 and 42 are in abutment. The valve 
member 40 is held shut by the force of gravity and its normal weight when 
the sewage flow from the building fails to generate enough pressure to 
force the valve member 40 from its closed (full line) position it its 
(open line) position 32 as seen in FIG. 3. 
An important objective of my invention is to provide a flood control 
apparatus or system that can prevent sewage from coming into the basement 
when it rises in the storm sewer or in the city sewer lines. To accomplish 
this end, we use the gate valve 19 and a pit and a pump 43 in the summer 
in the rainy season. The gate valve 19 can be opened in wintertime if 
desired, and if the pump 43 fails or it needs a new switch or a new pump, 
the valve 19 can be opened to permit sewage to flow direct through the 
valve passageway 26 into the city sewer line. Now the copper tubing or 
standpipe 52 is extended vertically and then is return bent and connected 
to the sewer pipe 55 to prohibit a reverse flow of sewage from the city 
sewer line into the basement. It has been my experience that all sewers 
leak including those that come into the basement of buildings and it is 
therefore an important objective here to prevent the sewage from coming 
into the basement. Should sewage come into the basement, the tank is 
provided with a screened seepage hole 56 positioned above the sewer pipe 
18 so that when the level of sewage rises to a point sufficient to cause 
the pump to run, the pump will then pump this sewage out of the tank into 
the city sewer line and thereby maintain the bottom of the basement floor 
dryer all year around. It will be noted that the seepage hole is located 
beneath the basement floor and hence it is contemplated that the sewage 
fluids that may enter the seepage hole would enter from a point externally 
of the basement under normal circumstances. Thus, if the sewer line 16 
leaked or if there was a crack in the basement wall 14, the water and/or 
sewage could flow into the seepage hole 56 and be discharged by the pump 
back into the sewer line as previously described. 
Also mounted inside of the tank 18 is a fluid pump 43. The pump 43 has a 
pump base 44 supported on pump base legs 45--45 on the bottom of the tank 
18. The outlet of the pump 43 is shown at 46 (FIG. 3). 
The pump 43 has a float 47 that is movable up and down vertically in 
accordance with the sewage fluid level in the tank 18. As the float 47 
rises, it activates a switch arm 48 to cause the pump to be electrically 
activated. Should the flapper valve 33 not close in its entirety, it is 
possible that some waste fluids may flow through the flapper valve from 
the city sewer line during a flood condition particularly where the valve 
becomes corroded or where waste bacteria and protein may accumulate on the 
faces of the flapper valve which would otherwise when free of such 
accumulations form a tight seal. In the event that such a leakage should 
occur through the flapper valve 33, and after the fluids would accumulate 
in the tank to a sufficient level, the float valve 47 would activate the 
pump's switch lever on 48 to cause the pump to commence operation and to 
pump out the fluids through the standpipe 52, then through the upright 
sewer pipe 55 through the T connection of the lne 55 with the line 27 and 
then into the city sewer line 16. It will be seen that the pump 43 is 
connected by an electrical line 49 and has a plug 50 that is plugged into 
a electrical wall socket 51 on an interior face of the exterior building 
wall 14 (FIG. 2). When the pump is activated, the fluid in the tank 18 is 
drawn into the pump and caused to be discharged through the outlet 46 
through a standpipe line 52. From a review of FIG. 2, it will be seen that 
the standpipe 52 is generally of a U-shaped configuration and has a pair 
of rubber connectors 53--53 which serve to enable segments of the 
standpipe to be quickly connected together to service the pump or check 
valve 54. Between the rubber connectors 53--53 is the check valve 54 which 
serves to prevent sewage flow through the sewer line 16 into the sewage 
pipe 27 vertically through the sewer pipe 55 and then into the standpipe 
52 when a flooded condition exists in the city sewage system outside the 
building. Thus, the flapper valve or back flow valve 33 and the check 
valve 54 both co-act to prevent sewage from flowing from a flooded sewer 
line outside of the building back into the basement so as to flood the 
basement. Should any sewage flow into the tank sufficient to activate the 
float valve, the fluid would enter pump inlet 56. The revolving pump 
impeller 58 would then pump the fluid out the outlet 46. 
It will be further seen in FIG. 2 that the tank 18 has a split lid 
structure 60 mounted thereon. The lid 60 is screwed in place by screws 61. 
Connecterd to the lid structure is an exhaust or vent pipe 62. A second 
exhaust or vent pipe 63 is coupled to the exhaust pipe 62 by a rubber 
connector 64. The exhaust or vent pipe 63 is in turn connected to a 
vertical exhaust pipe 65 (FIG. 1) which vents the tank 18 to the exterior 
of the building. Thus the pipes 62, 63 and 65 co-act to vent the tank. The 
lid structure is split into lid halves 66--66 with all of the pipe 
penetrating one lid half and with the other lid half being left 
unencumbered so that is can be readily removed to provide access to the 
interior of the tank 18 for service. The screws 61 serve to secure the lid 
halves to over one another along a line where they are annular flange 
lapped and at outer edges of the lid halves where they engage on tank 
angle 70. Synthetic gaskets 67 are interposed between the lid and its 
junctures with the tank. This gasket 67 also co-acts with a metallic strap 
68 and the screws 61 to permit the halves 66--66 to be securely attached 
together. 
As it will be noted in FIG. 3, the lid 60 is mounted on the annular flange 
70 that is welded at 71 to the side of the tank. Since the tank 18 is four 
sided, the flange 70 is also similarly shaped, and the lid structure 60 is 
also parallel sided. 
In the assembly of the manually operable gate valve 19 in the tank 18 it 
will be seen that the valve housing is located so that the axial valve 
passageway 26 is positioned co-axially of the sewer line 27. At this 
juncture, threaded bolts 75 are used to secure valve housing 76 against a 
tank sidewall 77. It will further be seen that the gate valve housing 76 
at its upper end, is secured by bolts 78 or other suitable fasteners to 
the lid 60. 
When the tank 18 is installed in place, the hole 11 must be dug 
sufficiently deep so that the pipe lines 27 and 28 can be aligned with the 
openings in the opposite confronting sides of the tank. After the pipes 27 
and 28 have been secured by couplings to the flanges provided on the tank, 
a square sided sleeve 73 can be engaged over an outer edge of the lid 
structure 60 and the sleeve can be pushed vertically downward until the 
upper edge 74 of the sleeve is flush with the top surface 12a of the 
cement basement floor 12. After the tank 18 has been assembled in the pit 
that has been excavated out of the basement floor, the open areas at the 
perimeter of the pit can be filled with gravel as indicated in FIG. 3, and 
new cement can be poured into the cavity to close the basement floor 12 so 
that no openings are to be found therein. 
The manually operable gate valve 19 is an industrial type valve that can be 
of a 4" type. It has a 125 lb. per square inch woring pressure. This type 
of valve is a gate valve that has a full opening when in an open position 
so that the effluvient can pass through the passageway 26 to the full 
extent of the 4" diameter of the sewage passageway 26. The gate valve 19 
is one that is radilly actuable and movable relative to the axis of the 
horizontal passageway through the valve. As the gate valve 19 is moved 
radially with the turning of the handle because of the tapered valve 
construction of the valve member a shearig effect is generated as the 
valve member is caused to move transversely or radially across the 
passageway into operating engagement with the tapered sealing surfaces of 
the valve body. To this end, should any material accumulate which might 
impede the action of the valve member, because of the mechanical 
advantages that are developed through the screw action as the valve member 
is caused to move radially into a closed position a shearing effect occurs 
and any refuse is thereby sheared and caused to move either laterally of 
the valve member or into the sump area marked at 31 in FIG. 3. 
The old type of flood control system known to me to have been used in 
earlier years is my work utilized a gate valve located outside of a sewer 
ejector pit or pump tank as contrasted to my prevent invention. In my new 
flood control system, as shown in the drawings, and as further described 
herein, the gate valve 19 is installed internally of the pit and with a 
flapper valve 33 according to other features of my invention. This 
arrangement simplified the installation of the flood control apparatus and 
also provides access to the apparatus for purpose of repair and 
inspection. With my new flood control system, it is now possible for the 
first time to eliminate the additional pipe lines that were required to 
service the old type of flood control system thus reducing the cost. Still 
further, a number of fittings can be eliminated that were required on the 
old flood control system. Still further, the amount of excavation required 
to complete an installation can be materially reduced thereby minimizing 
the cost of installing the new flood control system as opposed to the old 
one. 
Still another important advantage of my new flood control apparatus relates 
to the way that the flood control apparatus can be serviced. By locating 
the important components of the flood control apparatus all in a common 
tank rather than at separate underground placements, it is easier for the 
unit to be examined for malfunction and for service. 
As previously disclosed, the flapper valve operates to prevent the back 
flow of material from the sewer line back into the reservoir or tank. The 
flapper valve is non-functional when the gate valve is closed simply 
because the gate valve, of course, handles the back flow but the flapper 
there allows the system to function as though the gate valve were closed 
in the event of a rush of water, flood or some overflow of the sewer 
system from coming back into the house, and the owner of the house had 
forgotten to close the gate valve. 
With the flood control systems that were previously available and installed 
by me for a number of years, the underground pipes required extra 
diverting fittings and pipe lines that had to be installed from the pump 
for the purpose of permitting the pump discharge to be conveyed through 
the pipe line into the main sewer line downstream of the gate valve. With 
the prior construction, much more excavation was necessary, and a greater 
amount of floor patching was required and also the area in the basement 
has to be greater to allow the old system to be installed as opposed to 
the new system. According to my invention, the new sytem basically 
requires breaking into the main sewer line of the house and introducing 
one end of the sewer line into the tank or reservoir. In the reservoir we 
have the pump, the tank, the vent lines, and the flapper valve. The other 
side of the tank or reservoir is connected with the other end of the 
broken sewer line. In view of the simplicity of my new flood control 
apparatus and system, it is not possible that a "do it yourselfer" can 
make the installation himself. 
It is thus seen, therefore, that there is provided an improved apparatus 
and/or system in which the objects of the invention are achieved and which 
are well adapted to meet all conditions of practical use. 
As various possible embodiments may be made in the above invention for use 
for different purpose and as various changes might be made in the 
embodiments and method above set forth, it is understood that all of the 
above matters here set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to 
be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.