[yogamind]

Hi. The 2 pictures I put here are of an area of our yard where water is accumulating from higher up on the hill. The house I live in is like 100 years old. The pictures show a shed from a new housing plan next to our yard, but that is not ours.

So, the new houses have been there for a long time like 10-20 years and no water drainage problems have occurred. When the neighbor who owns that fence decided to start clearing the land next to our properties, water has been draining and sitting in our yard like a mush pit.

The yard's slope is not too much actually, but the neighbor has built up his back yard and put a pool in.

I think I need to get some of that plastic drain tubing or something and dig a trench but I don't know where to begin or end it. The area to the right of that skinny dead tree in the middle of the picture with the vines is where the water is sitting. I am taking the picture from dry grass in our yard. If I were to turn around, our yard slopes downward to the road for about 100ft or so. So I would need to dig a tremendously LONG trench?

Anyone have experience with this and would you be willing to give advice? Thanks. Am I responsible for this or would the neighbor be since they caused the water drainage problem? It doesn't matter really, I just need to know how to do it myself so I can fix the problem.

[Stonehenge]

pictures showing elevation issues seem to always be hard to convey what's going on.

If your house is 100 years old, it's unlikely there was a drainage plan when it was built. But there may be for the newer homes in place. You should probably start by talking to your neighbor, explaining the situation. If things don't progress with that route, contact the city and see what they have to say.

If in the end this is your baby, you can start by creating a collection area along the lot line - this is done on golf courses all the time. Excavation a trench, maybe 8" wide, 8" deep, drop a 4" corrugated, perforated pipe starting in the area where the water moves from the other property to yours, and ending where the pipe can drain the excess water and will be be carried away. Connect the perf pipe in the area where the water enters your property to a non-perforated pipe to carry the water away (a destination where the pipe can be "daylighted" to drain the water - possibly a drainage swail). In the area where the water drains to your property, fill that part of the trench with pea pebble or some other stone that will allow water to filter through. Fill the rest of the trench with the excavated soils, then seed it. In time the pea pebble area will fill with grass and will serve as a catch for that runoff.

Good luck.

[yogamind]

I think it is my "baby" unless the township would intervene somehow. The area on "our" side of the fence really needs help with dead trees and brush and all kinds of ugly foliage. It used to be all woods and brush on the neighbor's side too, until they decided they wanted to clear it up and put a fence. Now, the area that used to surround the yard that was basically woods, needs some tender love and care to make it look good against the neighbor's fence. Maybe the neighbor would help - doubtfully though. Thanks again. I just need to dig in, literally.

[rye]

i think your neighbor is outletting the filter backwash from his new pool onto your yard directly or indirectly - not acceptable in most parts- but some pool contractors will do it. I have seen this before. carefully observe where exactly the water is coming from, I'll bet it is the pool. Gather your facts, then politely ask neighbor to remedy.

[yogamind]

I really don't want to make this post a complaint, but you may be right. Both us and another neighbor (from the old houses) received citations from the county because someone complained about the ugly woods area - although it has been like that for probably 110 years, way before the new plan was put in 20 or so years ago. Thanks for the heads-up.

I will have to trample through the marsh to get to the area that fills with water.

[jshilan]

From your explanation of the situation I would strongly suggest that you call a local landscape contractor that understands grading and drainage. It might be a simple fix or a complex one. The money you will save by having the correct solution will be money well spent. I suggest you call someone in before you potentially create a situation with your neighbors, the town and yourself.