Clear storm drains -or- reroute downspout?

[SGKukov]

Hey guys!

First post here... i'm a new home owner. Wouldn't normally be able to afford a house but i got a really great deal on this place. The previous owner was in a nursing home and needed to sell it. Good house, but because of lack of maintenance a few things need a'fixin. Small things. One of them is the gutter downspouts. They run into storm drains (i dont think code permits this but they were grandfathered in) however the storm drains are clogged with caked up dirt. When i first moved in, during storms the basement would get some water coming in where the drains were.

I know roots can grown in the drains from time to time and act as bridge that lets dirt accumulate, but this looks really bad to me, the dirt comes up to ground level along with the water, it pools there and stays for days after the rain has stopped. I did a temporary fix by running a big pvc pipe to by pass the storm drain and divert the water away from the house... but it goes across my walkway leading into the back door, functional but looks bad.

Does anyone have any experience with unclogging these things or if its even worth it? I am right about to just cap the gutter where the down spout is, put a new drop outletto the right side of my back door (see pic) then i can run a downspout there put a splash guard and route the water away from the house above the ground. There is also the problem that it seems like the gutter is pitched to left, i'm not sure if i can raise it up a bit or if i need to.

What do ya'll think? Please let me know if better pictures would help. Thanks!

[HayZee518]

drains

you are correct in assuming that code does not permit those downspouts to drain into your drainage system.
So.....
The next best thing would be to channel the downspout water away from your house.
Two ways are possible.
Install a 45 degree elbow with a length of downspout away from your house -or-
install a roll up downspout, made of plastic. hooks up to a 45 elbow. when it rains it
fills with water and unrolls itself.
only drawback is you have to roll it back up after the rain.
Another possibility is to dig a trench, again away from the house, with a french drain.
install plastic drain tile in the trench to the french drain.
there's holes in the plastic drain so some water will leach out into your soil on the
way to the french drain.
A french drain is a pit lined with gravel to leach water into the ground.