What does your documentation say? Was there a drainage plan filed? Do you have subdivision covenants which address this? Is there a swale built into your yard somewhere? Have you altered the landscaping or grading in your yard? How long does the water stick around?

an aerial view might help us understand the relationship of your lot to the rest of the homes

Thank you for getting back with me! I've been reading through my bylaws for the HOA (which is currently being run by the subdivision developer) and it looks like there is a subdivision plan which covers the drainage swells and easements on file with the city. That plan is most likely where my builder is getting his "natural flow to the north" information from. I haven't gotten a copy of this plan myself, yet.

Our HOA bylaws basically state that grading for drainage has already been done and that homeowners aren't allowed to change the grading or established swells. I do have a small "swell" in my front yard on the right side (the side without my driveway). But, it was my left side of the backyard that flooded so bad and it's specifically the rear left side that says soggy. When it rains, snows, or we have ice accumulation, there's a portion of the rear left side that says wet for at least one day, to as much as over a week (depending on how bad the rain). It's been over a week since our last average rainfall (not a shower, but not heavy either) and that area is still damp today. About 3 or 4 days after that average rain, there was still standing water in that area. That particular area is almost like a oval shaped indentation in my yard. Here's a picture of it, although I'm not sure if it clearly shows the indentation. I've marked it in red, and you can see where the recently laid black top soil is under the fence. Since we've lived here (8 months), the water runoff has eroded the original topsoil and grass that used to be along the fence in that area.

I've also included the most recent (that I could find) aerial pic of our neighborhood. You'll notice that the house that was pictured on the right in my previously posted "flooded backyard pics" is just being started in the aerial pic below, so that was probably taken in October or November of last year. I marked my home in red and the four lots that stretch out behind me I've marked in black. There are no drainage ditches or easements between our homes. I share my fence with my neighbor to the left, right, and the two houses immediately behind me. Also, the two homes immediately behind me are both not yet finished by their builders. Both yards are still just clay dirt and construction junk and piles of dirt are piled up everywhere, which is one of the big reasons why you see so much red in the water from the flood pictures.

Thanks,

Crystal

It looks like a drainage swale (what you are referring to as "swells"...?) goes through your property and continues below the fence (you have boxed in red.) First thing I would do is follow that swale outside of your property and see where it goes. Search to see if someone has obviously blocked/dammed the path of water flow. If you find such a blockage, document it with photos & follow up with builder. Second thing I would do is consult a lawyer with all of your documentation. My guess is that the builder will do endless songs and dances unless there are some teeth -- lawyer teeth -- in your request to fix this problem. First, learn everything you can (with video camera in hand) about how the water is actually flowing through your neighborhood. Follow the water outside of your property during a rain event.

I don't believe that the indent in my yard is a swale, or if it is, it hasn't functioned as one for many months. When I look over and under the fence, into my neighbor's yard, there is no such indentation. His soil and grass are level to the fence and I'm not seeing any sloping. On my side of the fence, when we moved in that indentation was there, but it didn't extend all the way to the fence. My soil and grass right along that fence line used to actually meet the fence and the indentation was a more circular shape that was set a foot or two away from the fence. Now, 8 months later, the indentation has grown into more of an oval shape. I measured it today and it's about 13 foot wide (at the widest point) and 10 foot long (at the longest point).

We are supposed to get some rain this week, potentially heavy. So, I'll be documenting the water flow. I doubt I'll involve an attorney. In the last 16 months, my husband has completed a 7 month Middle Eastern deployment, our family completed a short notice military transfer from NC to TX, and now my husband is preparing to leave for a year long tour to Korea. All of these things result in financial expenses for us personally and we just aren't willing to spend money on an attorney at this time.

I plan on obtaining a copy of the filed documents regarding the subdivision plans. The HOA bylaws state there are "plans and specifications" approved by the City, County, and State Plan Commission for this subdivision. So I'm going to attempt to find out if there is supposed to be some sort of swale or drainage system on or near my property. The HOA bylaws indicate that no homeowner (including builders and subsequent developers) shall alter the "placed drainage swales and easements within this subdivision" and if they are interfered with or disrupted they will be replaced at the homeowners expense. Once I'm clear on the documented drainage systems, I'll investigate whether or not they have been interfered with. If so, I'll be approaching the HOA (which is under the control of the developer) regarding the violation.

The developer actually lives just up the street from me. He built a house that sits (all by itself) on top of a hill that overlooks the entire subdivision. His house is lined up directly in front of my street. I've thought about just emailing him (as the head of the HOA and developer) the flooding pictures with a question asking if this is normal for this subdivision. If he cares, he might actually do the investigating for me. He might care, since he still has several more empty lots to sell.

try looking for a "grading and drainage plan" in the county records. I'm also in West Texas -- sort of (a New Mexico suburb of El Paso), but in a dryer area, but I also have similar provisions in my covenants. There is a swale in my yard running the length, but it's subtle. My excess storm water is supposed to flow down the side yards to the street.

You say that the flow of water is supposed to go to the North -- do you have an outlet for the water to go that way on your property? Laying sprinklers and sod could definitely obliterate it if they did it wrong. The clay soil you have is also a problem, as it doesn't drain well. I have sandy soil, and my flood waters pool in the swale but so far have been absorbed within one day. I don't know what the effect of the sod is on the drainage.

I wouldn't put up with a swampy, mosquito prone yard either. You might have to change the landscaping to incorporate a rain garden or some other solution. You might do some research into rainwater harvesting -- you can contour your land to direct water to plants, etc. This isn't what the HOA covenants contemplate, but too bad. I can't help you with a french drain or "fixes" -- just some thoughts to consider.

P.S. You say the water is supposed to go to the north -- which way is north in your photos? (sorry, I'm directionally challenged.)

I've found some of the plans from the city through their online databases. I've included pictures of a "water" plan for my street, the "water" plan for most of the streets in my subdivision, and the "city plan" for most of the streets in my subdivision. The "water" plan shows the flow of the sewage lines and the drainage easements. The "city plan" shows the contour elevations and the sewage lines. If anybody has any thoughts on what exactly these plans are indicating, I'd love to hear it. My education and experience is in aircraft electronics, business management, and freight logistics. So, I'm just guessing and assuming when I try to decipher these plans.

I'm hoping the "Plat" (as it's referred to in the HOA bylaws) will show a grading plan and/or the established swales. If I can't find it online, I'll make a trip to the county auditor.

Violet - Because of our west Texas location and the drought it was in, I really didn't think to worry about the drainage of our lot. It doesn't rain that often here, but apparently when a heavy rain happens my yard doesn't take it very well. I've been reading in these forums about the issues of clay soil and I definitely agree that it is a huge factor for why my yard has standing water for days after a rain. The developer and the builders knew that all of the land in this area was clay soil, so I feel like they should have planned for that when thinking about drainage. I'm researching rain gardens and rock gardens and I'm willing to do that. I just want to get to the root of the problem before I start trying to fix it.

Things we don't know ....

Did you have a contract with the builder to construct the home? If so, was there terms concerning drainage?

Is the ground elevation near the back of your house a minimum of 2 feet higher than the top of street curb in front of your house? Is your house built with a slab foundation?

If you answer no to the first question, you are unlikely to get any real help from the contractor.

If you lack the elevation difference and the house is on a slab, you're screwed, get used to a wet backyard.

pls8xx - We didn't have a contract with the builder. In July, the military ordered my husband to transfer to TX with a less than 60 day report no later than. We weren't given much time to procure a home.

The ground elevation near the back of our house is definitely more than 2 feet higher than the top of the street curb in front of our house.

Our house is built on a slab foundation.

Okay, so is there any obstruction in the side yards between the back of the house and the street curb? Is there any mechanism to encourage the excess storm water to go that way?

your poor trees are drownded!

As an aside, I'm so sorry you'll be stuck in West Texas for a year without your husband. Very unfair!

Violet - there aren't any obstructions in my side yards.

There seems to be a small swale in my front side yard on the right side, which leads down to the street. Not sure if you can it in this picture, but this is my right side yard.

The tree planted in this side yard, was planted after the flooding. I don't think it would be an obstruction to water flow. But, I wanted to say, other than grass, there was nothing in this right side yard when the flooding occurred.

My front side yard on the left side is my concrete driveway, which is on a good downward slope to the street. The driveway does extend all to the way up to my fence. You'll notice I do have a small patch of grass, maybe a foot wide that is a part of my property, to the left of my driveway but it also follows the same downward slope to the street.

I don't currently have any drains or trenches in my side yards.

But, no flooding occurred in the front yard or on the sides of my house. It was concentrated to the backyard, at the rear fence line and the left side of the fence. Here's a picture of the flooding of the left side of my backyard flooding.

Here's a shot of the middle of the backyard flooding.

And, here's a shot of the right side of the backyard flooding. I wish I had taken better pictures, but I wasn't really thinking about documentation at the time.

Regarding being alone for the next year, I've done it numerous times before. My husband is on his 23rd year of active duty service. We just usually have more time between the last homecoming and the next going away. This time will actually be better than the last because we're in TX. My family is from the DFW area and East TX area. For me, west Texas is much better than NC (our previous base) when he's away.

okay, you certainly do have a problem, and I would absolutely bring it up with the developer, the city, the landscaping company and anybody else in the chain.I think you have done a good job in setting out the problem and documenting it--not an engineer or landscaper. I do not know how to fix it, but you will probably get more ideas from those on this board who are more knowledgeable than me.

And kudos to you being a military spouse, and your husband for his service. Glad you are happier in Texas.

Looking at one of your maps, the overall lay of land slopes to the right ... which would be leftward in your picture of the back yard. That's the logical direction the water would flow to get out. What you said earlier sounds like your neighbor has not maintained the swale, but filled it in, effectively damming water from escaping your yard. If he has done this, you must pursue it or forever suffer.

Isn't there a law that says you cannot let your rainwater etc drain onto someone else's property?

Check with your city and home builders association before seeing a lawyer.

As yardvaark says.

Everybody's rain water must drain onto someone else's property. Otherwise, it can never go away. Everyone who lives at a lower elevation is in the escape path for your water. No problem as long as someone doesn't block it.

"Everybody's rain water must drain onto someone else's property"

huh? Mine goes to the storm drain in the street--I suppose that's the City's property, though.

and why not capture the water for plants instead of letting it go to waste? I guess that's a whole 'nother story, and probably won't help the OP here.

Exactly. Every drop of water that leaves your property has to go somewhere that is not on your property. It's going onto private or public property, but the point is it's leaving yours. In a good rain, more water leaves your property than soaks into the ground.

well, the water that soaks in never does leave the property, right? It gets put to use by plants. So besides solving the riddle of where the excess water is coming from, other than the sky, if indeed there's a problem with the grading or neighbor interference in the flow and not just too much rain too fast, you have to provide for an egress for the excess stormwater, regardless of the origin.

I'm just trying to think this through. In areas that have sudden, severe storms, inadequate infrastructure for drainage, and soil which does not absorb water -- like mine, does the water have to come from "upstream"? Can't it come from just above?

I do like the idea of a rain garden in that spot. You would need plants that can withstand periodic flooding. Maybe somehow raise the grade up in that corner? And maybe a french drain would be appropriate, or some other way of making a channel to the street on the low end of your property where the water can escape.

Crystal: Please take my rambling thoughts as being merely from a sympathetic new homeowner. YV and others are here are pros and should be listened to carefully. I agree that it does need to be fixed! have you received any feedback from the developer or local authorities?

We build low spots here to capture rain. I graded my yard do this and when it rains my yard is "flooded". Looks like the backyard pictures posted. We also have several neighborhood that have flood irrigation...flooded to 3-5" every 2 weeks. When I saw the problem pictures I see it as a plus. There are an amazing number of plants that do really well in such conditions. Trees too.

Per the arial photo, it looks like the neighbors to the left and right of you have altered the grade on their side of the fence. One neighbor has planting beds and the other has added a building. It's hard to tell from the photo how high, if at all the planting beds are. But it looks like the low side of the swale was filled in to make the ground level for the building. The erosion pattern in that yard suggest that this is what happened also.

To me, it seems the plan was for the water to flow from the back and right side, under the fence, through your left side neighbor's yard and out to the cul-de-sac. When they leveled the grade for the building, it acts like a dam and now you have a lakefront property.

I don't know what you should do. :( good luck.

Bingo!

It would be a bad mistake to allow this to go uncorrected.

So, here's the latest: Last week I obtained copies of the "Platt" for my street and most of the other streets within my sub-division. While they are helpful in identifying property lines, easements, and the designated detention ponds, they don't mention anything regarding the "placed drainage swales" that are referred to in the HOA restrictions. So, I still don't have anything that says for sure I'm supposed to have a swale in my yard that runs into and through my neighbors yard (although, I do think that is what the developer intended).

Last night (well, this morning - a bit before 3am) we had a good storm. The tornado warning woke me and I thought I might as well take some more pictures. It was dark, so they aren't great quality. But, here's what happened this morning:

Along Left Side of Fence

Left Side of Fence and Left Side of the Rear Fence Line

A wide angle view of the Left Side of Fence and Rear Fence Line

Left to Middle Portion of the Rear Fence Line

Middle to Right Portion of the Rear Fence Line

I tried to get a video of the water flow, but it was pretty dark. Plus it was still lightening and I didn't want to step out into the yard. So, the two videos I shot are pretty poor quality. But, I could clearly see the water flowing horizontally from the right side of my yard to the left. It comes in on the right side in two places - one is from under the right side of the fence from my neighbors yard to the right of me and the second place is from under the right side of the rear fence line from the yard of the new home that's being built behind and partially to the right of my property. The water flows from those two places and into the "swale" in my yard and then travels down my yard to the left side of my fence, where the "swale" basically ends because the yard of the neighbor on my left is on a higher grade against the fence. So, the water then backs up or dams up and then floods out to my left rear fence line, all down my left side fence, and overflows from the "swale" on the left side of my yard and the middle of my yard.

I've now emailed my developers who are also the directors of the HOA. I sent them pictures of the "lake" from April 17th and pictures of the "river" from last night. I basically said that I believe something has interfered with or altered the "placed drainage swales and easements" and is either causing water to be diverted into my yard (when it shouldn't be) or is causing a blockage somewhere in the flow of drainage after my yard. I then asked them what they thought I should do; if they thought I should contact the city.

I'll give the HOA/developers a couple of days to respond and if they don't I'll send my emails and pictures to the HOA address on file via registered mail. If I don't get a response from the mailings I'll contact the city to get some sort of official determination of how this water is supposed to flow into and out of my yard. I'll then use that to file an official complaint with the HOA regarding a violation of "restriction 26 - maintaining placed drainage easements and drainage swales".

I'm hoping it doesn't have to get this involved. The developers have owned a company called "Lawn Tech" for at least 10 years and it specializes in excavation. I believe they used their Lawn Tech company to clear and grade the land prior to selling the lots for building. So, I'm hoping that they will recognize the issue in my picture and take steps to have the drainage problem corrected.

I do believe that my neighbor on the left choose to (at some point prior to us moving in) alter the grade of his backyard in order to avoid having water from my yard flow into his. Shortly after we moved in, I remember him telling my husband that when the builder was installing the sprinkler systems in my backyard it malfunctioned and ended up flooding his yard. I think that's when this neighbor decided to re-grade his property, so that the land on his side of the fence would be higher than the land on my side of the fence. He told us he has access to construction equipment from his job; I recently watched him use a bobcat to pull up a tree from his backyard and then smooth out the ground afterward. So, I think he did the re-grade himself and either didn't know that the yards were graded that way for a reason or he didn't care.

I think this was correctly "nailed" by landlover81 and everything you add corroborates it. Your yard slopes downhill toward the left so that's the only place water can escape ... and right smack across the lot line, in the way of the obvious drainage path, is a building! That the neighbor next door has access to grading equipment and can operate a bobcat makes it about as likely he is the cause of this problem as is possible! Make no mistake about it, you have been harmed and your property devalued. While it's good to be civil in your dealings in getting this corrected, it's not good to let any of it slide.

Latest Update: The developer and my builder both came to my home at the same time late yesterday morning. They both recognized that I have a problem. The developer told me "The lots in this neighborhood are supposed to have their water flow around the house and to the street". As he said this we were standing outside in my backyard behind my house and he used his hands to draw a sort of u-shape in the air around my house. The developer seems to want to focus on correcting the issue of water coming onto my property from the houses behind me. The builder seems to want to focus on creating a better/larger swale on the right side of my yard (there's a small swale in my front right side yard that flows down to the street, but it's not able to really handle much water, so he wants to enhance it so that more water that's coming in on the right rear of my yard will go ahead and drain down to the street via my right side front yard instead of most of that water flowing to the left side of my backyard, as it's doing now) and then the builder wants to create some sort of drainage system along the left side of my fence and in the left side of my front yard that will drain the water that does reach the left side of my back yard into the left side of my front yard and then down to the street. They said they would work to put a plan together and get it taken care of.

I pointed out the fact that most of the water reaches the back left side of the yard and then backs up because the neighbors ground in the back portion of his back yard is higher than ours. That's when the developer said the that the water is supposed to flow to the street and he acted like it wasn't a problem for the neighbors beside us to have ground higher than ours.

So, that's where I'm at right now. The developer did say that he wouldn't be able to start working on the land behind us right now because the ground is way too soft and wet right now (both of those properties have no grass or landscaping, so it's just red clay mud at the moment).

I'm feeling very hopeful but still worried that they might drag their feet. They didn't act like they would drag their feet, but there's no solid plan yet and no dates set for when work will be done.

Sounds to me like they're abandoning the actual drainage plan for the neighborhood (of which your property would participate) and creating a special drainage plan just for you and your property. Trouble is, to drain that water all from your own property will screw up (make unlikable) your own grading. I would be irked (I'm using a nicer word) beyond belief. I would be inquiring to SEE the actual drainage plan that was approved for the subdivision. You should contact the city and inquire about this. Given that you may have little knowledge about interpreting the plan, I would consider hiring a drainage engineer as a consultant to interpret it for you. In fact, you might try to find out who actually did the drainage engineering for the developer, and and try to find out if someone at the firm could explain how the grading and drainage is supposed to work for the neighborhood relative to your yard. I can feel it. You're going to get screwed (with a hideous trench cut through your yard) if you don't be proactive about this. It is obvious from the picture where you drew the red box around the left side of yard that the drainage is supposed to occur out the left side of your back yard. And I will add that it is a stupid idea to try and intercept water flowing into your yard at the high (right) side. That isn't going to be meaningful. These guys are just hoping you're ignorant about everything, stay that way, and will settle for crap. Investigate the engineering. contact the city about same. find out how it was really supposed to be drained.

Im having the same issue with my new home

Hello, it's very interesting topic, and I am now in the same boat, my problem is almost the same, but did't bought the house yet, I saw the problem during the inspection bechase it rained the day before. When i first see the house it's dry. Talked to the seller and developer, the developer installed a french drain, but it did't solve the problem. Anyway, the sale will be closed in 4 days, if I can I will go out, but I am not sure if I can at this late, they can take my deposit, but my fear is they might sue me. Any idea please.

Thank you for the update and sharing your solutions. Horrible story, awful that you were unable to get satisfaction from your builder. Hope you're finally done with the flooding. April

I would add that you should educate yourself about the topography of where your home is located before you buy it and figure out where the stormwater is going to go. Water flows downhill and pools in low spots, and unless you see signs that the stormwater is being dealt with properly, it probably isn't. Developer hoping for just this kind of situation and that you buy your house during the dry season.

I know this an old post but I have the same problem. River in my back yard. I Noticed the problem 2 months after moving. I wrote the builder and sent pictures but he never responded. I kept calling and writing final
Ly after 8 months he send a crew and dug an awful trench and left the end of the trench lower than the ground
The first rain it was filled of water and did not drain. I had estimate for French Drain one for 6k and one for 4K
I wrote the builder and offered to split the cost but he did not respond. I learnt from Crystal to get the HOA involved which I did not know. I will write to them since the builder still building in the subdivision and see what happens.

Yes, old post,, Just some update, as agreed the builder installed the French drain on my back yard, they put dirt on top of the French drain , it should be gravel for proper drainage. But, every house in the neighborhood has the same problem and the HOA and builder end up installing French drain in every backyard, when the other houses problem is gone mine is also gone, now when it rains and floods my kids play on the mini creek and then the water disappear like magic in minutes. Since I raised the issues early every house benefited because of the awareness I created, also, I end up contacting the county and argued the dich is not built to design slope, they send surveyor and check the dich design and barely meets the minimum criteria, the issue is there.

Engage an attorney and have no further contact with the builder. I applaud your patience. Best of luck!