daisy,
If their house is relatively new, and their builder didn't comply with requirements, you might best go through the builder/developer for remediation. Of course, this means talking to the neighbors first and working with them. Most people don't want to cause problems for a neighbor, but if they don't know about an issue, they won't be doing anything about it. Keep very calm and pleasant when discussing this, (nothing you have written indicates you would be anything but genteel, that was only cautionary) as people 'get their backs up' when faced with potentially having to spend money to correct something that isn't causing them an issue.

We corrected a similiar situation on our old fixer-upper, and spent about $10,000 doing so, about ten years ago. We hired a local reputable landscape firm, who put in a swale along the side of the property, and a berm along the back of the property. That greatly reduced the water flowing into the middle of our yard, but some was still coming along the berm in the back, and around the end of the berm to get into the yard, so I wheelbarrowed in enough more clay soil to create a small 'speed bump' at that corner, which created a small spring wet spot, still on my property, but at the back, rather than the middle of my yard. Works quite well, and my sump pumps have stopped running.

The neighbors behind us weren't crazy about this, as now their water runoff stays somewhat on their property, but we consulted with the municipality on this, and did everything properly. We aren't directing our water onto their property, simply blocking their water from flowing further into our yard.

The original roughgrading work in the subdivision had the water flowing out to the front of each property, as you described was supposed to be the case for your property as well. However, some 35 years ago, when the subdivision was about five years old, several neighbors got together and hired a 'landscraper,' who buggered the whole thing up. Had the water flow been the way nature had designed, such as with a stream or natural slope to the land, we would not have been legally allowed to block the flow of water, but as it was caused by improper human design done wellafter the subdivision was built, we were allowed to correct this.

I would make this your number one concern, before building that house. If the situation isn't resolved peacefully, you will be building a house with built-in neighbor issues. :-(
Proceed carefully, cautiously, but thoroughly. I would get some advice from professionals, such as a real estate attorney. Such are the costs of building a quality home. Certainly worth it to have peacable neighbor relations, in a home you enjoy. Best of luck.

I would start by talking to the engineering department for your town. Grading plans for new developments are typically overseen by a municipality for just this kind of reason. The developer should be held responsible for the issue which can be very expensive to repair. If the development is still under construction the town has quite a bit of leverage to get things done to cure this kind of problem.

As for a solution...well the first would be for the neighbor/developer to take care of their own water...but if that does not work you will need to channel the water out and around the usable parts of your property and continue on down the hill.

Landman

All that great advise about contacting your city's engineering department and building codes etc won't help the poster if she lives in a rural area or small town where zoning, building permits, and codes are the invention of the communists, the devil, or whoever is the latest bugaboo.

That is sad but true. Then you go to the County offices and complain. But it sounded like she was in a subdivision to me.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and the info. you have given me. It is a new subdivision (Louisiana) in a small town (suburb of larger city). My husband talked to the developer of the subdivision who said if it was his lot, he could do something, but it was sold to another builder, and that he could not do anything. So my husband phoned that builder and told him the problem and that we had grass sod being delivered this week. He said he would go and look at it. Saw the realtor at the house, so told her, and showed her the backyard. She said she would call the builder, also. The couple then moved in. My husband went over and spoke to them, and they said they would call their builder. Have heard nothing else from the builder, but the grass was delivered. We are expecting thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow.

Is this all something we could do on our own (going to engineering dept. of city, building inspection dept.....) or would it be something we should get an attorney to handle? Thanks for info.

Are you in the corporation of the city? Find out whose jurisdiction you are in. Talk to the city (or parrish or what ever political subdivision you are in) first on your own. Get a copy of their building regulations, subdivision regulations, or what ever they have. Ask the city engineer or building department to explain them to you and point out the relevant section. They will probably be pretty confusing. If your neighbors are indeed in violation of city code, the city should be the one to send them a letter telling them so. If that doesn't get results, or your city is a chicken (most likely will not want to get involved and say it is a civil matter), find a local attorney who deals with land and realestate and get them to write a letter. Good luck.

You should go yourself to the city departments to get the ball rolling. Get the grading plan, verify the drainage pattern it's supposed to be (not draining onto you) and get the city to force the builder of the other lot to fix the problem. The city should be on your side. It's good that you have made people aware of a problem, especially your neighbor. Only contact an attorney if your neighbor's builder refuses to do anything or the city won't help you. Involving an attorney is a last resort. However, if the builder or city balks, threatening to contact an attorney may prove effective :)

Take pictures while it's raining/gushing, assuming the weather forecast is correct...

I am worried about our septic system/ lines and standing water. We live in the county limits the land around us has approx. 8 acres each. Our neighbor is building a second home 25 feet from our line. He has approx. 100 loads so far of dirt dumped in front and some on the side and in the rear of his property. Is it against the law to change the water flow of the surrounding land and to cause water to back up in our yard due to him raising his land?

Here is a link that might be useful: landscape design forum

>Have heard nothing else from the builder, but the grass was delivered.Maybe calling in an air strike would help. The crater left in their back yard by one of those precisely targeted 1000 lb. bombs like we were shown being used over and over during the Gulf War should be adequate to trap and contain surface runoff on their side of the fence.

If you've been paying income taxes for years don't worry about the cost, you're entitled.

In other words, if you have a new question start a new thread. And don't link to the thread you're already posting in. Also, I doubt anyone here knows the laws in your area - you'll have to call your municipality.

Actually I was satirizing the lack of response the first poster was already starting to get from builder etc. and the general nature of this problem, how frustrated they might have been becoming. A 1000 lb. bomb would certainly get everyone's attention. So gratifying, too.

A neighbor behind us also has a mostly hidden pipe that empties onto our lot right at the fenceline. I haven't done anything about it, only noticed it during an extra rainy spell when it was gurgling loudly. Probably doesn't do much the rest of the time, might even be watering one of my trees.

Wondering if Daisy10 found a solution to the problem...
I know this is very late, however I had the exact same problem with a new home in a development where my builder didn't own the lot behind us that was spilling water into our yard. We ended up solving the problem ourselves by creating a 2 foot wide trench (about 1' - 1 1/2' deep) along the perimter of the fence and filling it with stones (fist size). This now acts as a spillway for the water run off and directs the water where we dont mind it going.
Hope that helps.

I think the earlier suggestion of putting in a bog garden is an absolutely superior idea and would probably require the least physical labor and financial investment of any of the possible solutions. As much as you've received some really fantastic advice other than landscape design, lawsuits between neighbors never make for long term peace in the neighborhood, regardless of the fact that its the builder and not the neighbor who screwed up, IMO.

Planting a weeping willow will take a decade or more of growth before it visibly improves the wet condition allowing healthy turf to grow in the area. One of our other neighbors tried this and after 9 years still can't grow grass because of the multiple floodings per year.

When we moved into our house six years ago we immediately noticed we had the same problem, only in reverse. The yard that got all our run off water several feet deep multiple times each year also has about six other yards that drain into it and, I think because the flood-yard is by far and away the largest, all the other neighbors basic attitude is 'so sad, too bad, MY yard's fine!' The flooding got so bad sometimes that their yard overflowed and flooded back into half of our back yard. So, we built a very large mound, about 4 feet tall (probably 200 wheelbarrows full) along that side of our fence out of very heavy rocky clay soil which had been recently dug out for the foundation of a new home. (The contractor laughed at me when I explained to him why I wanted the fill dirt for free - he said if I could move it I could have it :D) There is a steep slope at the back of the mound which goes down to soil level right at the fence (which is chain link, fortunately) and the slope is much more gradual in the front, where the water is coming from, which is how we avoid the washing-out issue. The VERY best part is that I've been able to install the most beautiful perennial garden on this crescent shaped mound that gave me over three times the planting area than I would have had if the soil had remained flat and sloping away from our house, flooding several times a year. We now retain all of our own ground water, have no need to water the grass between the house and the garden mound, have no apparent flooding in our yard ever and we eliminated the flood on his side of the fence in the same shape but twice as wide as our berm. No, there were no complaints, offers of assistance or thanks by the owners of the yard we helped, even though we discussed the problem with them and volunteered to do similar berms for them on the other sides of their yard (they refused) but WE sleep well at night knowing we 'did the right thing'.

I'd be concerned about a pond or bog garden made using somebody else's runoff being spoiled by pollutants, such as roof de-mossing chemicals, at some point.

In my old neighborhood, the water drained two ways: on each lot from back to front through the side yards, and as the area was slightly hilly, downhill through everyone's backyard from left to right.
Or at least once upon a time on paper.
After the gas company and cable and phone and water companies screwed up the grading in everybody's side yard, it only drained from left to right across everyone's backyard---and did so so efficiently that we didn't notice until the woman at the bottom of the hill built a raised garden along the entire fence on the left side of her back yard.
Um hmm...
PLEASE don't build a barrier along your fence to keep the water out--this will flood all your neighbors!

I did fix the problem--mine was third from the bottom of the hill--by regrading my side yards and forcing all the water from the entire street down my side yards (along hardscape paths--no erosion) to the street.
But not before my nextdoor neighbor downhill lost her AC unit to high water. We won't discuss her deck, her siding, or her garden...

I'm going to suggest that you find a way to channel the water THROUGH your yard quickly and with a minimum of fuss.

The State and not your local City has Jurisdiction over water law. Look For State Water Law Code

My neighbor floods my yard from overfilling the pool. They are renters. I hate to plant a bog garden because the next renters, or who knows, new owners, probably won't flood the yard, so my planned-bog will end up dying. My yard was graded (a 35 year old home in a neighborhood) 6 weeks ago to start a yard makeover and it has been flooded three times since. Any suggestions? My soil is clay, making it worse because it holds this pool overflow water, where I want and had my organic garden, for so long, we can hardly get any work done anyway. It is now a messy muddy mess. Their side is patio and rocks, a tiny bit higher than my side, damaging the fences with water saturation too. This can't be good for my house foundation either, and I am not rich. I shouldn't, in a perfect world, have to pony up $$$ for damage these renters are causing my home from direct, preventable, simple irresponsibility. I am not sure about digging a trench (I have drainage pipes underground in another part of the yard) and installing pipes but I think water gets backed up at the front lawn point, and I have a nice front yard I would rather not dig up and destroy too. I am seeking ideas, and may actually look into the berm so I can use the hill for planting pretty things, up higher so flooding won't wipe them out, and so watering is on my shoulders.

You need to start a new thread with your subject, instead of tacking on to someone else's old thread. In your thread, you should also show a photo showing where the water is coming from, and how. People want to see for themselves that what you say is accurate.

Peachyhiker80, copy and paste your question and start a new thread, uploading your photos as you did here. I'm sure you'll get some good feedback.

I had a successful resolution to a similar situation. Our builder disposed of excess soil from construction at the back of our uphill lot which created a berm at the base of a slope. Water was blocked from normal slow downhill flow toward my house. When construction behind me sloped their backyard down hill as it originally was, the berm eroded and nearly foot deep trenches formed in my yard. Our builder refused to correct the drainage. It turned out that there is state or local ordinances that construction cannot change the course of water. We enlisted the aid of the City Street Dept which contacted the builder because the berm had done this. The City ended up digging a swale along the slope at the back of our yard, filled with gravel and ran it to a nearby creek. Then they filled trenches and planted 10 crabapple trees. The builder was charged for all of this. My advice-check with your City government about ordinances and be firm. This can be dealt with!

We have a similar issue currently with our neighbor changing the amount of water draining off their property onto ours. We are headed to small claims court. Would love to know how the original poster of this thread worked out for them?

Is there following up on how to solve the issue?

Thank you so much! Great info- I am in dallas and experiencing this issue! You saved the day

Our subdivision is brand new construction and we just closed in February 2018. Since the rains have been picking up, I've come to learn that all connecting neighbors water is draining into our backyard (lot). The "Subdivision Grading Plans" does not have water draining lot to lot (backyard thru backyard). It has it draining from backyard to front. It's overwhelming and realllly concernes me a lot. Dog feces, pesticides and whatever else is washing into our backyard not to mention washing away our sandy dirt (in our backyard, we still need to put sod) and where the water exits (from our fence) the sand is clogging up and the water was building up and I"m very concerned about flooding. Also, the water (that's flowing at a strong flow during heavy rain, has washed away all my Pennington grass seeds, fertilizer and top soil that I had tilled the outside of fence area). I have a video to show ... trying to attach now.

Not able to post video... not sure how to. I tried a few times.

Use the video link to post a video. It is right under the comment box in which you type your answer. At least that is where it is on a laptop. Might be different with the app. But as others have stated, best to post a new dilemma with all the relevant info.

The water flows off the Church parking lot into the alley into our yardHello there I live in a small town, we are fighting with the city an Church about water running in our yard, it caved in our basement wall an they refuse to do anything, what’s are options, been fighting with them over 15 years... plz give me some advice

Lisa Klein, start a new thread about about problem. Spell out the details as best you can and then corroborate them with clear pictures that show surroundings .. not just close-ups of water or caved in walls.

How do I start a new thread

Either use this link

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/landscape-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_29774

or go to the top left on this page at the top of the first post and click on Landscape Design to get to the same page as linked.

The click in the the box that says start a discussion. Give it a clear title that states the problem, add photos or sketches and descriptions in the main box by typing and adding photos with the camera icon. Then when the post is complete, in the next set choose only landscape design forum since nothing else is likely to address this issue, and then click submit.

recently neighbor alrered his land directing and channeling water flow into my land. He located the culvert facing into my property. Rain water goes directly to my yard. i live in a rural area in texas.

My neighbor is adding a huge building, deck and 2 large brick and mortar patios. The drainage is horrible already but this will be unbearable.

Contact your local planning, zoning or town office to ask For help. Most areas have some type of ordinance that addresses drainage from other properties. Then go talk to the neighbor with the ordinance in hand and courteously discuss the issue. If that doesn’t work, then decide from there the route you want to pursue.

Haha ... I wonder if ordinance in hand for drainage is better than talking to dog owners about their non-stop barking dogs. Have never found a dog owner who wanted to hear about it yet.

My neighbor put in a french drain a few years ago. A drain pipe above the ground at corner of his lot dumps all his runoff into my yard. After 2 years of this, my backyard is suffering. I have 22 mature trees in my yard, their root systems are coming to the top of the ground. Everything I have planted in backyard has died. When I dug up shrubs by my shed, ground was saturated and smelled horrible. My backyard used to retain some water in a 6x12 foot area in very back, water was gone in a few hours. Now I have to wait 2-3 days to mow my grass after a rain, because there is so much standing water. It takes me longer to mow, mower leaves trenches in yard and I am a muddy mess. I cannot make improvements to my yard because of this situation. I am so stressed, I don’t want to make anyone mad, but I cannot correct this problem I am not a rich woman, I need to know how to solve this problem.

hoosiergirl..have you called the city?..just today the city was at my house..the neighbors brand new drain lines go under their fence and dump about 2 ft from my property..the code compliance inspector is coming tomorrow..I feel your pain..I already have drainage problems..🙄

...

Rosario Leal, in Texas it is not legal to change the flow of water in a manner that negatively affects someone else’s property. We have friends who ended up having to sue neighbors who had diverted water onto our friends’ lot causing their attached garage to flood. They asked nicely to begin with and got nothing but rude answers. In court they were awarded damages, the cost to correct the problem, and attorney fees. Failing to follow the law and refusing to be a good neighbor cost those neighbors a bundle. It also made the rest of the neighbors less inclined to be friendly toward those inconsiderate people. What goes around comes around. 🙄

I feel your pain. We took our neighbors to small claims court we live in a small town the neighbors knew the attorney so we lost the case. The drain the neighbor put in is making a ditch in our yard, our tree is dying and the neighbors moved.

what a relief..the code compliance inspector was here today..my neighbors have violations..the city is taking control of the situation and forcing my neighbors to change their drain lines..

Congratulation! So happy for you! It is so frustrating to deal with people making selfish decisions. Treat others as you would like to be treated, always works!

We have this same problem, but it’s flowing into our septic field which was new in 2015

and our field is full and ready to blow out. And we are on a downhill to a lake.

Geri..I feel your pain 😥..

update..an inspection yesterday confirmed the lines are still in place and don't meet the code..the neighbors will now be fined..they're resisting making changes..fortunately the dry weather has prevented any flooding..

WOW. Sounds like my neighborhood. I am in Texas. The water that pooled in my yard my husband built a French drain. I have built flower beds on the side yard in hopes of keeping some of my water in my flowerbeds. Now I’m wondering if I lined up cinderblocks if that would help the process. I regret not building a retaining wall when we put in a new wood fence. But I’ve seen so many of those walls lean or fall over so I didn’t do it. Good luck to everyone

Sue Silva I have the same problem. My neighbors water end in my yard. When it rain I have a river in my yard. It is a new house less than one year old and the builder will not cooperate. A week ago I got a company to install a French drain with outlet to the street.
I sent the Bill $4000 to the builder and offered to split it
No answer. The French drain help with the river but I still have
Soggy surface water coming from my neighbor. I wished they put more than two catch basins. So stressful . Water is the worst problem for a house.

Midge.Steed, sounds like that attorney should not have taken your case. He has a clear conflict of interest. Perhaps you should contact your state Bar.

We bought a new house in RABBIT RUN subdivision in Broken Arrow, OK. There are major drainage issues here.
Spectacular Homes is still building but instead of having a plan they wait till there is a problem. The lot next door is sold but they have not built a house yet. There are drainage holes for the surrounding houses all going into the lot next door.
Our backyard has flooded twice now and water almost came into our house before they finally added a silt fence.
Pic 1 and 2 are the lot next door with multiple drain pipes from surrounding yards.
Pic 3 and 4 is out our back door when we flooded. Every time it rains hard we get very nervous.
We have a very small yard but can’t get builder to come out and slope our side yard to street. Not sure what to do. We are still under warranty. Any suggestions?
Just really don’t know what to do.