Look Dad! I should have been a plumber! We had an unfortunate back up of waste water at the homestead about a week ago. As a result, this little thingy here--we'll call it the water softener drain--got clogged up. I had to cut the old one at the pipe you see running in the back there, and build a new one.
I improved upon the previous design by adding a trap with a thread rather than just a curved piece. That way, if it clogs in the future, I can just unscrew it! Genius...