Neighbor & his water..?

[GEB]

About 4 1/2 years ago we bought this 6.5 acres of bad land with a decent house.
Nothing but hard work trying to get the property in nice shape.
We had some issues with flooding so all the neighbors agreed to have this
so called creek cleared out to get the water moving and it works well now.
Come to find out the neighbor behind me has a 4in white PVC pipe at the very
edge of his property pumping water on my property.
After 4 /12 years I have spoke with this guy twice!
Cant even get a wave out of him? Nor does he really get along with the other neighbors...
I did ask him about the drain running off onto my property, his reply was
he had no idea what it was or where it's coming from!....OK!
Needless to say this drain is keeping the back side of my property wet
6 months out of the year.
We have a very high water table, I'm guessing it's a sump pump from his basement?
The pipe is about 6in's from the property line, all the water comes to me.
This just dont seem right, nor does his attitude can I make him somehow
stop pumping water on me?
The creek also runs through his property plus he has a pond, either place
would be better to dump water rather than on me.
It's sad, all of the other neigbors are friendly and helpful, I might add
I would have surely helped him relocate the drain with the correct attitude.
Long story short, is he wrong, can I stop it?
TIA
GEB

 

[johnk]

When the pipe is dry glue a PVC cap on the end then you'll see if its coming from his property. I'm sure he'll be talking to you then.

 

[thatguy]

I would say YES you can stop it, but finding the righ autorities may be a little hard... I would start with a call to the local government office that handles environmental concerns. If that doesnt work you can try the same department on the State level. They probably would be interested in what source the water is.. If its gray water (sink etc) or worse they would be more concerned though.

Just how much water are we talking that keeps the property 'wet' 6 months a year?

Good luck

Brian

 

[shvl73]

I would do exactly as johnk suggests.

 

[randy41]

i would go along wih johnk's suggestion since your neighbor already stated that he has no idea where its coming from. i would even tell him that i was going to do that ahead of time.

 

[riptides]

Can someone explain to me, given exsisting hydrology maps and ground contours, how one can prevent your neighbors water from coming onto your land?

Isn't water suppose to follow the "lay of the land"?

So, not trying to be smart, but how do you know your neighbor is in the wrong here?

-Mike Z.

 

[davemhughes]

We all want good neighbors, but we know what we get. Getting anything done is going to be hard. As soon as they perceive this as a domestic type squabble nothing will get done. The guy should be more considerate and I sense you do not want a direct confrontation with him as you are looking to call someone. I went through something sort of like this when we lived in Missouri near Dixon and its time consuming and wears on your patience down to say the least.

In all honesty I think your best course of action is to be direct with him. State what the problem is and that you want him to fix it.....give him a time frame to have it fixed also or this could take 2 more years. Usually if you say something like "I can dig it out with my front endloader for you or cover it up to stop it draining onto my property if you want?" He will do one of 2 things.....fix it or ignore you. If its fixed then great, if not I would push up some dirt to where the drainage runs back onto his land and simply because I was having to do this I would design it to where when it rains my dirt pile washes dirt into/around his drain pipe......eventually your problem will become his problem when that drain pipe stops up with dirt.

People move into the country for different reasons......some for peace and quiet, some for the scenic views and country life. But some because they have personality disorders (@$$hole) and can not get along with people. A good fence might be a good idea also. We are blessed so far with good folks around our land.

 

[turbo36]

Can someone explain to me, given exsisting hydrology maps and ground contours, how one can prevent your neighbors water from coming onto your land?

Isn't water suppose to follow the "lay of the land"?

So, not trying to be smart, but how do you know your neighbor is in the wrong here?

-Mike Z.

This only applies to naturally occurring water, not re-directed or "pumped" water.

 

[shvl73]

Can someone explain to me, given exsisting hydrology maps and ground contours, how one can prevent your neighbors water from coming onto your land?

Isn't water suppose to follow the "lay of the land"?

So, not trying to be smart, but how do you know your neighbor is in the wrong here?

-Mike Z.

The fact that its being piped onto his property makes me believe the neighbor is in the wrong.
The neighbors inability to admit knowledge of the waterpipe despite it orgin from his side of the property line makes me think there was no agreement with the previous owners.

 

[riptides]

This only applies to naturally occurring water, not re-directed or "pumped" water.

Can one add to naturally occurring water? What do they do with sump pumps? Is it location specific, locality specific?

-Mike Z.