Water from neighbor's yard.

[juice3250]

Some of the responses here just seem crazy to me...

I would just wait until you've cooled down about it, and then just go talk to her. If she's like half the people in my neighbourhood, all she did was hand a check to a contractor and was then happy when they fixed it, it's quite possible she never actually asked what they did to correct her water problems!

Exactly my thoughts. Although it is good to research the laws in my area. I don't foresee her having a problem when I go and talk to her. And I have no intention of getting the Township involved in any way. I'm hoping that the contractor who fixed her water drainage/water in her basement problems will be able to come back out and take a look and alter or change the flow of the water. The Township allows the sump pumps to discharge into the storm sewers so I'm assuming that's where mine discharges. It's possible that she went with a cheaper more affordable solution.

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[torqueman2002]

We live in SE Michigan, Oakland county. We have generally the same soil conditions you do.

Water drains to our back yard from our neighbors yards on all 3 sides.

Each spring water would collect in the back yard and there would be a spot with standing water. Some times water would find it's way into the basement during a mid-winter thaw/rain, when the ground is too frozen to carry off the water.

Two years ago we sunk 2 dry wells in the back yard. Trenched between the wells and from each well around the 2 sides of the house and out to the street-side drainage-ditch.

The wells have filter-cloth covered 4" drain pipe between them and out to the ditch.

This has solved the standing water problem and mid-winter thaw problem.

 

[juice3250]

We live in SE Michigan, Oakland county. Water drains to our back yard from our neighbors yards on all 3 sides.

Each spring water would collect in the back yard and there would be a spot with standing water. Some times water would fine it's way into the basement during a mid winter thaw/rain when the ground would be too frozen to carry off the water.

Two years ago we sunk 2 dry wells in the back yard. Trenched between the wells and from each well around the 2 sides of the house and out to the street side drainage ditch.

The wells have filter-cloth covered 3" drain pipe between them and out to the ditch.

This has solved the standing water problem and mid-winter thaw problem.

I'd be interested in hearing more details about this. Did you hire someone to do the work? If so, may I ask who? I honestly haven't a clue where to begin if I were to start something like this.

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[LB-1911]

I'd be interested in hearing more details about this. Did you hire someone to do the work? If so, may I ask who? I honestly haven't a clue where to begin if I were to start something like this.

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Your introduction to dry wells......

Give the link below a look -
https://www.thenaturalhome.com/drywellinstallation.htm

Might be something for them to consider.

 

[torqueman2002]

I'd be interested in hearing more details about this. Did you hire someone to do the work? If so, may I ask who? I honestly haven't a clue where to begin if I were to start something like this.

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Sure thing.

We used a trencher for a good part of the job, rented with trailer from our local hardware store.

That worked well until we got to the back yard area with the tree roots. Then it got slow going and the roots needed to be removed by hand digging/cutting.

We laid about 2" of pea gravel in the trench for drainage, laid the drain pipe and connected the dry wells and pop-up drains near the street-side ditch.

We also tied in the roof down spouts.

If you pre-cut the sod and set it aside, when you back-fill (leave it proud about 2" for eventual settling) lay the sod back and it is nearly invisible.

Set the top of the wells at ground level. The connection knock-outs will guide you how deep to trench (add 2" for pea gravel).

The extra dirt (plus new top soil) was put in the back yard to raise the low spot and reseed washed away spots.

I had top soil and the gravel delivered from Angelos, and picked-up the drain bits 'n pieces from HD. The pipe comes in large rolls, you might want to get that too from a place like Angelos.

It's a big job, but with help (2 friends) it can be done in a week-end.

 

[dbabicky]

**** like this is why am so happy I live in the middle of no-where with my nearest neighbor being 1/2 mile away as straight as the crow fly's. (and that's my Brother)

 

[btdobie]

This really depends upon where you are located, but my local municipality allows storm water to be dumped into the storm sewer in front of your house. You could check with your city and see if they will allow that. If they will, a 2" hose hooked to the sump pump outlet isn't very expensive.

 

[revkev6]

and before you go raising a stink.. make sure your sump pump isn't plumbed into the sewer pipe in your home. that is NOT the storm drain.

 

[rburke65]

OP......Where are you located? I get so tired of asking folks......

 

[AirJunky]

I live in Southeastern Michigan. In Washtenaw County.

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OP......Where are you located? I get so tired of asking folks......

Then read the thread. He already answered it.

 

[Jackfre]

Not sure I'd want the original meathead contractor involved

 

[05r50]

Just make sure that you know the rules for your location.

Your county drainage engineer may be of help and also a soil water conservation group as well.

I've been dealing with a neighbor that pumps his sump out to his front ditch and then onto me since last August.

In Ohio, the law is "reasonable use". Meaning he has the right to drain onto me, and the court would decide if my rights supersede his right.

His pump puts out a minimum of 300 gallons a day depending on the high water table we live on.

On a rainy spell our sumps run every 10-15 minutes.

I went to a lawyer last week and the answer is maybe the neighbor will respond to a letter. But it will prob cost me more than it is worth.

So far I've spent about $5k to re grade my yard and I still can't keep the yard dry.

All my neighbor ever says is "he will get back to me".

 

[juice3250]

That's not encouraging for me.

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[bdamico]

That's not encouraging for me.

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Um. That's why I gave you the law and said to read it. It's good to know what your rights are and your leverage is before you go asking your neighbor to do anything.

 

[the_saint]

We are forced in our neighborhood to have drainage / swales with the land graded properly to minimize water intrusion.

Suddenly doesn't seem so bad. All water is dumped away from your house, and once it hits the property line it flows either to the back, which is graded away from the land, or towards the street.

Seems odd that you would keep low points on your property, especially if there are structures/houses/patios etc located there. If you have a retention pond/body of water that makes sense but otherwise seems odd.

I would get them to dump the discharged water in another direction, or as you said build a dam as long as it has somewhere to go.

 

[Lotek]

Then read the thread. He already answered it.

I'm thinking that was a hint for the o/p and others to put their location in their profile so it shows up under their avatar. That way you don't have to search through a four page thread for the information...

 

[Blue XJ]

I live in Southeastern Michigan. In Washtenaw County.

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I'm not too far from you in Macomb county, and at least in the city I live in, the sump pump can not be drained like that. It has to be tied into the sewer system, you can and will get fined for having it dump onto the ground. My neighbor just had to pay about $10k to have his whole yard dug up and a new pipe ran from the house to the sewer because the old one fell apart. If it's against code, she has to fix it regardless.

 

[juice3250]

I agree. It should discharge into the storm drain. Even if I build up a burm or dig a trench to divert it away from my yard, it's only a matter of time before other neighbors behind us complain. At most, it delays the problem.

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[pmiranda]

Is there a storm drain at the street? It seems like BS if the street is draining into your yard, and the only place for runoff to go is you and your neighbors' yards.

 

[juice3250]

I went out there and started to dig a small trench to channel the water to the back of my property along the fence line. The cocktail is that if have to add probably 3 to 4 yards of dirt to build up enough to keep it out. But that amount of standing water is not good and is a breeding ground for insects. My kids can't even play back there because it's turning into a holding pond of about 200 square feet.

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[juice3250]

Is there a storm drain at the street? It seems like BS if the street is draining into your yard, and the only place for runoff to go is you and your neighbors' yards.

The street is in front of our house. Her sump pump is draining in the back of her house. It's possible there's a storm drain at the back of the property, but I honestly have no clue.

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[pmiranda]

I'd definitely be asking around with all my adjoining neighbors about the history of drainage. When we bought our current house I noticed a berm behind all the houses on the street. At first I thought it was just the lazy tract builder piling up the dirt from foundation work but after talking to the neighbors I learned that it had actually been added after rainfall from the greenbelt was flooding the yards. I'm glad I asked around because I had been planning on digging out a level bike path in it behind our back gate!

Back in post 22 you noted the property slopes down from the street, so maybe the city/county would have some ideas about the right way to drain gutters and sump pumps. I wouldn't go out of my way to get the neighbor in trouble but the contractor that did her drains might be compelled to redo/extend them to the street where I'd guess there is a storm drain.

My neighbor's downspouts run to daylight near the street so they don't flood our yards.

 

[juice3250]

I'd definitely be asking around with all my adjoining neighbors about the history of drainage. When we bought our current house I noticed a berm behind all the houses on the street. At first I thought it was just the lazy tract builder piling up the dirt from foundation work but after talking to the neighbors I learned that it had actually been added after rainfall from the greenbelt was flooding the yards. I'm glad I asked around because I had been planning on digging out a level bike path in it behind our back gate!

Back in post 22 you noted the property slopes down from the street, so maybe the city/county would have some ideas about the right way to drain gutters and sump pumps. I wouldn't go out of my way to get the neighbor in trouble but the contractor that did her drains might be compelled to redo/extend them to the street where I'd guess there is a storm drain.

My neighbor's downspouts run to daylight near the street so they don't flood our yards.

Normal rain water drainage hasn't been a problem. It was only when she had a company install her sump pump and discharge into the yard. I printed out several sheets from our Township staying the ordinance of where it's supposed to drain. I'm going to give those to her so she has something to show the contractor. Hopefully it will compel her to get it fixed if she knows she could be fined. If you look back in the thread, I copied the link. It states that it is to tied into the storm drain/ sewer system. I really don't want to get her in trouble. More than likely she had no idea what they were doing to fix her water problem in her basement. So it falls on to the contractor who did the work to properly fix it.

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[pmiranda]

OK, wow I missed that page of the thread with the town ordinance. Seems pretty clear that whoever put in her sump pump needs to fix that!

 

[Dan_inthewind]

Damn , I thought you had a water problem. Those pics don't show near the water I had to deal with.

I spoke to my neighbours on both sides. Spoke to my insurance and both neighbours were there during the adjusters visit.

My insurance paid my yard repairs, split the bill between the two neighbours insurance and I had a rider on my insurance policy that the claim was not counted in my history.

I would dig. Out a foot or two in width. Dig down two feet and fill to the top with gravel. Cover the gravel with rive rock and **** your have yard decoration and a place for the water to percolate away.

Good luck with it but start with a " howdy neighbour" and a nice chat.

 

[juice3250]

So after talking to her on Sunday, she is aware of the problem and seeking a solution to the water. She has been doing a lot of research of houses in our sub. Apparently there is no Storm drain system in our sub aside from the street. There is a newer sub that is connected to ours that obviously has a more extensive storm drain system. Also the plumber installed her sump drainage correctly and to code. To have it draining into the sewer is illegal. The storm drain is separate from the sewer Not sure where mine is dumping but I'm not going to pursue or research where mine is going.

I was one of the last neighbors to talk to her. Her neighbor behind her, was less than pleasant talking to her about it. She also had someone come out and told her to fix it would mean putting in an 8'x8' dry well costing her around $5000. I'm pretty confident that she's going to find a way to fix it or she's going to have all of her neighbors upset with her. I told her if there was anything I could do to help I would.

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[pmiranda]

Glad she's trying to fix it from her end. I'm a bit surprised the subdivision doesn't seem to have a drainage plan. I hope the lots were cheap and big! How old is the subdivision?
I guess it could be worse... there are a bunch of subdivisions here where one or more lots are in a floodplain since there didn't used to be rules about that.

I'm fuzzy on how a dry well is going to solve her problem unless it's lower than the basement... wouldn't anything that goes in it find its way back into her basement?

 

[juice3250]

Glad she's trying to fix it from her end. I'm a bit surprised the subdivision doesn't seem to have a drainage plan. I hope the lots were cheap and big! How old is the subdivision?
I guess it could be worse... there are a bunch of subdivisions here where one or more lots are in a floodplain since there didn't used to be rules about that.

I'm fuzzy on how a dry well is going to solve her problem unless it's lower than the basement... wouldn't anything that goes in it find its way back into her basement?

There was a link to one earlier in the thread.

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[UpNorther]

Years ago out at my dads, him and his neighbor got into a similar problem. The neighbor raised his yard by 6" of topsoil and all the new water runoff went into my dads yard. So in turn my dad raised his yard 8" to keep all the water back. The neighbor went up another 3" then, making all the water go back to my dads yard.
Keep in mind, the neighbor owns an excavating company, and my dad was a general contractor, so they each have the equipment and resources to keep "raising the bar".
My dads solution was to put up a 100' ft long x 6' high concrete slab wall , which he earth-bermed and landscaped very nicely on his side.
Problem solved !

 

[APEowner]

So after talking to her on Sunday, she is aware of the problem and seeking a solution to the water. She has been doing a lot of research of houses in our sub. Apparently there is no Storm drain system in our sub aside from the street. There is a newer sub that is connected to ours that obviously has a more extensive storm drain system. Also the plumber installed her sump drainage correctly and to code. To have it draining into the sewer is illegal. The storm drain is separate from the sewer Not sure where mine is dumping but I'm not going to pursue or research where mine is going.

I was one of the last neighbors to talk to her. Her neighbor behind her, was less than pleasant talking to her about it. She also had someone come out and told her to fix it would mean putting in an 8'x8' dry well costing her around $5000. I'm pretty confident that she's going to find a way to fix it or she's going to have all of her neighbors upset with her. I told her if there was anything I could do to help I would.

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Good on you OP for the way you approached that problem.

 

[brownbagg]

If it were me I would build a dam on my side of the fence. I am sure it wouldn't take too much dirt to keep the water on her side of the fence.

a dam or maybe a french drain, plastic pipe with holes covered in sand behind the fence, take the water somewhere where it is wanted. or grow a garden behind the fence.

you could lay a rail road tie behide the fence and most of the water stay over her side.

 

[Playwme]

Where does everyone else's downspouts discharge?

I'd be highly surprised if this whole issue is caused by her. She's just copping the flak cause her pipes are highly visible to everyone around. Standing water implies that all permeable soil in the area is already waterlogged and there's inadequate drainage on all lots.