Neighbor causing problems

Poor Farmer 830 · Sep 19, 2010

Ok so I live in town that is basically built in a swamp. So when it rains we have water standing in the road way and in the neighboring yards, well one neighbor happens to take more water than anybody else, its been this way for the past 40 years well after a recent dispute with a neighbor he has decided to haul tandem load after tandem load of clay into his yard and is gonna build it up to push water off on the neighbor, Im not read up on the laws for this, but does anybody know if this is legal or not

bill mart · Sep 19, 2010

in western ny if the area has water on it for more than 75 days a year it can be considered a wetlands and becomes untouchable.Bill M.

Gun guru · Sep 19, 2010

Well.......a homeowner/landowner isnt allowed to upset/disturb the natural drainage flow. Basically if this guy wants to bring in 1000 yards of clay fill then its okay as long as he doesnt damn up water on somebody elses land. At least that is the way the building codes are written in my area.

Check with an attorney to get the real law definition.

Looney · Sep 19, 2010

Move.

TomH in PA · Sep 19, 2010

That's probably illegal, check with your township. In general you can't change runoff in a way that causes problems for neighbors.

Poor Farmer 830 · Sep 19, 2010

Looney your name fits you well

Phil in Pa · Sep 19, 2010

Why do you want to troll these nice folks here, loser?

John T Country Lawyer · Sep 19, 2010

Farmer, to begin with riparian rights or natural drainage is a very specialized area of the law about which most general practice attorneys (and most lay persons) have little knowledge MYSELF INCLUDED. That being said, in general a person LIKELY DOES NOT have the right to upset or alter the natural drainage if such were to cause harm to his neighbors adjoining land. I see no harm in protecting ones own property butttttttttttt if so doing harms his neighbor hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm probably NOT legal.......

MY BEST FREE PROFESSIONAL LEGAL ADVICE is to consult LOCAL counsel who practices this specifica area of law and who is familiar with your states laws and DO NOT hang you hat or bet the farm on opinions voiced on a tractor chat board. A relatively small amount of money spent with a local attorney (experienced in this field) NOW could save thousands farher down the road.

If I were more familiar with the detailed facts and your states specific laws Id be more then happy to assist you butttttttttttttt given the circumstances I wouldnt want to offer bad advice which could cause harm, so can only advise you seek PROFESSIONAL guidance elsewhere.

Best wishes n God Bless

John T Country Lawyer in Indiana

Jon Hagen · Sep 19, 2010

Same deal here, filling a wetland will get you in big trouble.

omahagreg · Sep 19, 2010

In Omaha we have drainage codes, but just one county south-Sarpy-it is said they have NO drainage codes. I have no personal experience with this, but, if so, would indicate that each county has different rules, etc. Consult with someone in your area would be my advice. Greg

redtom · Sep 19, 2010

In my township that is illegal. In 86 after a 100 year flood, those in low areas that had the money deciced to raise their houses about 4-5 cement blocks and bring in fill. That was ok where there was only a house or two in the mile, but in the "burbs" it did exactly what you are describing. It was stopped. And in one case the guy had to take the fill out.

JDseller · Sep 19, 2010

John T is right in that you should check with a local lawyer. It has been, my experience, that you can"t back up water on your neighbor. He can fill in to keep water out of his house as long as it does not push water back on his neighbor. There have been many disputes around here the last few years as we have been very wet here. I have two neighbor suing each other over a supposed blocked tile line. One claims his ground is wetter than it used to be so the other must have blocked his tile line that crosses the other. I have looked at the tile line outlet. It is running full stream. It just has been too wet for the line to keep up but you can"t tell the one a thing he knows it all.

Goose · Sep 19, 2010

Sarpy County always seems to be a bit different.

Several years ago, I got a speeding ticket from a Sarpy County Deputy just after I'd crossed the Hiway 6 Platte River bridge coming from Ashland. I was still on the bridge when I saw him and slowed down.

He followed me clear to the curve towards Gretna before he pulled me over. I suspected he wanted me to be a couple miles into Sarpy County before he stopped me because the Saunders/Sarpy County line is the middle of the Platte River and I probably could have made a case that I was still in Saunders county and out of his bailiwick when he hit me with the radar.

As it was, I was in Papillion on business the day of my court date, but for $28 I just said "He11 with it" and paid it.

paul · Sep 19, 2010

Town & county rules are going to apply most to that.

It is not at all uncommon to raise property in a town setting, so you might have an uphill battle.

Very specific to the laws in your town.

--->Paul

Old Roy · Sep 19, 2010

That's because He lives in the Wash. DC area.
Maybe he can't help it -- LOL

bc · Sep 19, 2010

Sounds like you are probably in a flood plain. All controlled by the feds through state and local planning and zoning. Give your local planner a call. The very problem you mention is why they usually require a permit to do it. Flood plain maps start at 100 year flood plain levels and then down to constant drainage such as a creek. Sounds like you are in an area that probably requires flood plain insurance on your house. Around here the city won't fix drainage issues. It is all up to the landowners to pay individually unless they want to petition for a tax benefit district and pay specials.

Old Roy · Sep 20, 2010

OOPS!! I got it wrong
: Beaufort
Country: United States Georgia

MarkB_MI · Sep 20, 2010

IANAL, but I believe there's plenty of case and statutory law that says you can't do anything that increases the water flowing from your property to your neighbors. That's why you see catch basins next to big developments: When you add buildings, parking lots and paved streets to land, it increases runoff.

That said, it's probably a civil matter, meaning you and your neighbors need to hire a lawyer if you want to stop this guy.

Kansas Cockshutt · Sep 20, 2010

Goose,

brings to mind the song...

I told him who I was and that I was working steady.....

Traditional Farmer · Sep 20, 2010

I predict the 2nd fellow will spend lots of $$$ trying to stop the 1st fellow and both will be poorer and the lawyers will end up richer and neither #1 or #2 will be happy about the out come.

wilson2 · Sep 20, 2010

I would suggest stopping in to visit your local Soil and Water Conservation District and NCRS DC to see what laws and watershed requirements is in your area. They are there for urban and rural support.

hoosierhog · Sep 20, 2010

My father did that. the neighbor behind him owned the land were there was the flood drains and he refused to maintain them. so after a close call of my fathers workshop and crawlspace being flooded the following year he brought in the fill dirt now when it rains the neighbor behind him who wont maintian the drains gets flooded big time and dads workshop and house is safe. i dont blame the guy for wanting to raise the ground but there must be a better way of doing it.

PreciseFarms · Sep 20, 2010

I had water standing on the North side of my house. I'm 15ft off the property line and my other neighbors are the same for approximately 30ft between houses. I took a box blade and cut a drain in a half circle to move it to the other side of my lot, which drains toward the neighbors. My other option was to put in a french drain with a pump and pump it up to the ditch at the road, which would have put the water in the exact same place as my drainage ditch. They got the same water either way at the two houses below me as I simply moved the water the way it went before my house went up. My dad always said you can turn water loose but you can't back it up. There is a huge difference. These two neighbors are the two lowest lots and thats all there is to it, nothing they can do but move somewhere else.

Allan in NE · Sep 20, 2010

Sounds to me like he's the only one with any sense. :>)

Allan

Allan in NE · Sep 20, 2010

Sounds to me like he's the only one with any sense. :>)

Allan

JMS/.MN · Sep 20, 2010

Pun intended?- raising property is an uphill battle? I used to confuse people, saying, "from here on down, it"s uphill all the way".

slim · Sep 20, 2010

Short answer is if he doesn't do anything to restrict or block drainage he is probably ok. If he does something to cause water levels to increase (get deeper) on his neighbors or causes any new land to flood or even causes already flooded land to be inundated for a longer duration then he is probably not ok.

Longer answer is if he is filling a wetland, he may be in a heap of trouble for different reasons.

Bottom line is that everyone better think long and hard before getting any government agency involved because the outcome may not be to anyone's liking. It could get into each side hiring lawyers and engineering firms and could turn expensive quickly. It could also cause the entire area to be deemed a wetland with nobody being able to do much of anything on their own property.

slim

dhermesc · Sep 20, 2010

I doubt there's anything that can be done, nor is there much reason to worry about what he's doing. The chances of his building lot being a wetland are very remote - otherwise his house wouldn't be there.

Even if the area floods building up his property will do almost nothing to change water levels in other people's lots unless your entire town is extremely small (a block or two) and built in a bowl. If the area that floods is a square mile, imagine the enormous area he'd have to fill just to raise the water level 1/2 an inch. If everyone in town started filling in their property to raise the ground level there might be an issue.

Unless he's violating a building ordance I seriously doubt there's much you can do. I also seriously doubt what he's doing will effect anyone anyway.

msb · Sep 20, 2010

Lots of old towns were built on swamps. Weren't good for anything else and a lot in town sold for cheap. Best thing to do is organize the swamp dwellers and get the thing drained. That is why I took on the tag of mudsockbob. I lived in one of those towns that was platted in a swamp. Finally got it drained about 15 years ago.

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