"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

"waite" wrote in message
m...
Folks

Wonder if anyone knows best solution. I purchased my house 13years
ago. The previous neighbor paved 3/4 of his yard 25 years ago. The
pitch of the yard is directed into my yard. Approx. 6-10 times a
year my back portion of my yard floods. The previous neighbor has
sold to a new family...they have 4-6 cars on the paved area I wonder
what the run off is carring with it ie. oil etc. Is this legal and
if so what is my best remedy...my gardener suggested a pumping
system...$8,000.00 + maint. Please help


Have you politely asked the neighbour to abate this nuisance?

If he will not, as this is an international forum there are many different
possibilities regarding the law wherever you are.

First approach your local Municipal Council or other Govmint Authority to
see if they have a code or bylaw that covers the situation. It may be in
relation to disposing of ground water on their own property, not running a
parking lot or not polluting the neighbourhood. If they do have such a
thing make a complaint or do whatever is required to get them to act.

If there is no such law then you are on your own and this would generally
mean you have to commence a civil suit for damages. See your lawyer and
listen carefully about the likely cost and chance of winning before you
get
too wound up about it. It may be that such a suit:

- would take a long time
- cost a great deal
- have no certainty of success
- have no certainty of compelling the result that you want even if you
theoretically win.

In such a case it may be cheaper to take action on your side of the fence
(hard to say what that would be without knowing the lie of the land) or
just
endure it.

seems easiest to get the neighbour to do something voluntarily such as a
garden or grass along the boundary. My garage roof drained straight onto the
neightbours property when I bought this place 3 years ago. One of the first
things I did was dig soak holes either end of the garage and pipe the water
into them. Neighbours claimed not to realise the way my garage had drained
into their section.

If it is just water, depending on the lay out of your section, are you able
to install some type of french drain and hive the water off to one end of
your section?

rob