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Old 03-17-2013, 06:21 PM
 
8,563 posts, read 12,339,419 times
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Since you've posted your question in the Garden forum, why not at least consider the possibility of developing a rain garden?

There's lots of info you can find online. Here's one source:
Rain Garden Design Templates - What is a rain garden?

Our back yard always had water which would pond for a few days in the spring or after a large rain storm. Instead of viewing it as a negative, however, we enjoyed the wildlife that it attracted and realized that if it didn't pond there, it would need to go someplace. Sometimes it's best to leave things alone and to just learn to live with what nature provides.
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Old 03-17-2013, 07:24 PM
 
11,113 posts, read 19,477,898 times
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I'm glad I ran across this thread. After being in this house now since early November, it's been daunting to learn that my neighbor has 2 downspouts embedded in the soil (one each at front and rear roofline) .... and they drain right out into my yard. She has another blackcorrugated pipe which I understand takes water from her sump pump into a raised flower bed off the rear corner of her house, and that also empties out into my yard. Evidently this has been going on since the homes were built. (This is a private community in an HOA, private streets etc. The developer is long gone.) Nothing was disclosed in the seller's disclosure which is part of the sales contract, that there are or have been any soil or grading issues. It is very obvious this has been going on a long time; someone evidently put a swale over on that side my house house at some time in the past. I'm not sure this is a County engineering issue; but do know enough that this could be expensive if the situation got contentious which I don't want to have to deal with.

So I called the neighbor (who lives behind closed drapes and blinds like a recluse), does not interact with anyone in the neighborhood, etc. You get the picture. I was quite careful how I approached the subject with her, and said I'd like to work out something neighborly to alleviate the problem. Well, she said: "Thats the way the Lord wants it to be". okayyy. I sure didn't expect that response, but it evident she had no intention of talking about it. Kinda' "tough luck to you".

Towards the front of the dividing line between my lot and hers, there are underground utility boxes sticking out of the ground which get about half inundated with water in a major rain. I was wondering if maybe the utility companies would come out and move them and maybe install a culvert. I do believe, however, that the downspouts coming off her roof should be directed out to the road and to her backyard in some manner. Purposely dumping all that water on to my lot is just not right.

Any thoughts? thank you.
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Old 03-17-2013, 07:37 PM
 
3,339 posts, read 9,323,635 times
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I woiuld call the city and ask what you can do. Some municipalities don't allow you to channel storm water onto neighboring property. Others do. I think it's the most UN-neighborly thing a person can do.
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:54 PM
 
2,063 posts, read 7,754,658 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marlinfshr View Post
Thanks for the reply's. I somehow had a feeling it would be more involved then I was hoping. Things usually are for me.

As far as the wetlands issue, this definetly is not. Though I live on the coast, I'm in an actual community on a 1/4 acre corner lot. My backyard is fairly narrow and the neighboring house sits close to the property line with a small side yard. Of course, his house is on a high spot like mine is. Of course in this flat area a "high spot" is not very high. Just enough so all the water drains away from the house. The big low spot is in my back yard.

I was hoping to get you to understand that before you plan anything that you will need to find out what you may or may not do, legally. NY, NJ and Maryland have strong interests in protecting watersheds and wetlands and the laws to make you comply.

In blue above you say you know it isn't a wetland....How do you know that it isn't a wetland? If you haven't had someone inspect it, who knows what they are looking at, you could be under a very mistaken assumption. I worked as a volunteer in conservation for many years and wound up working with experts on wetlands delineation, restoration and planting. Part of my eventual job was advising contractors, homeowners and builders on the law and how to work with it until a few years ago. I had to take courses in stormwater management for my work.

Many, many people would tell me they absolutely knew that their water "issue" was not a wetland. Invariably they were very wrong. Determining what is and isn't a wetland actually requires a lot of knowledge. People are trained and certified before they can determine the difference between a puddle and wetlands. Wetlands are not just marshes on the shore and can be in the middle of a subdivision.

I can list 20 different ways you might be able to work with what you have but if there is a law for you area that says wetlands may not be filled in or changed you won't be able to do half of them. If you fill in a wetland, turn it into a raised garden bed, a rain garden, a dry creek, a swale or pond, (it doesn't matter which ) and your state or local government have laws against doing so it doesn't matter that you don't "think" if is a wetland, you will still be fined and in many places with really stringent laws on the books will also have to pay to undo your work, and then pay for the remediation to put it back to being a wetland.


QuilterChick if your HOA does not have anything for you to work with and the neighbor isn't interested you may want to check with Town Hall. Generally many municipalities have some rules on the books about where and how roof drains can be drained, where as how you handle a creek or drainage ditch can sometimes be left up to property owners. The longer you leave it be the less likely that you can get anything changed. No one should be dumping water like that on their neighbor's property, that's plain bad behavior.
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Old 03-18-2013, 05:59 AM
 
11,113 posts, read 19,477,898 times
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I agree, thank you J&Em. Here in western NC, some things are "different"; my property is in the County, outside of city limits. County rules and regs vary; I've checked with the County Engineering Dept., the woman, Chief Engineer, was helpful but not helpful at the same time if you get my drift. She was evasive on what the code was at the time the land was subdivided. I am going to call again this week and see if someone can actually come out (only 12 mi. from the County office) and take a look at the situation. There may also be an issue that the former owner deliberately did not disclose this on the seller's disclosure because she also intentionally covered up something else important that I may pursue along with this drainage issue. Another important reason not to use a Realtor who is both representing the buyer and the seller! (Dual agency). I don't want to get an attorney, but will do so if necessary.
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Old 03-18-2013, 09:43 AM
 
Location: MD's Eastern Shore
3,678 posts, read 4,811,513 times
Reputation: 6350
Quote:
Originally Posted by J&Em View Post
I was hoping to get you to understand that before you plan anything that you will need to find out what you may or may not do, legally. NY, NJ and Maryland have strong interests in protecting watersheds and wetlands and the laws to make you comply.

In blue above you say you know it isn't a wetland....How do you know that it isn't a wetland? If you haven't had someone inspect it, who knows what they are looking at, you could be under a very mistaken assumption. I worked as a volunteer in conservation for many years and wound up working with experts on wetlands delineation, restoration and planting. Part of my eventual job was advising contractors, homeowners and builders on the law and how to work with it until a few years ago. I had to take courses in stormwater management for my work.

Many, many people would tell me they absolutely knew that their water "issue" was not a wetland. Invariably they were very wrong. Determining what is and isn't a wetland actually requires a lot of knowledge. People are trained and certified before they can determine the difference between a puddle and wetlands. Wetlands are not just marshes on the shore and can be in the middle of a subdivision.
I appreciate you bringing it up but this is not a wetland. Yes, the particular community I'm in has wetlands within it. Both coastal bay and some ponds. But I am on what they consider a wooded, back lot. My insurance company does not insure in flood zones, wetlands or anywhere near water but had no problem with where my house is. This section of my yard is really the only part of my yard which gets sun and is dry. The only issues I've had was when 2 slow moving tropical storms passed over and a recent major winter rain from this last march storm. I've actually been happy in that I wasn't worried about my house flooding during those storms as the drainage system in this community is very good. It's just that I have this puddling which really bugs me and I was looking for a way to take care of it. It looks like its going to be harder to fix then I thought. Hopefully, we don't get any more tropical storms so this won't be an issue.

Perhaps I'll just fill in the smaller areas in the front yard where it pools instead as that would make the water drain into the drainage along the road.
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Old 03-19-2013, 11:21 PM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,585,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaMcG View Post
Bulldog is right. We had a low area that was filling with stormwater too, and we watched to see where it was coming from -- neighboring property of course. We didn't want to berm it up and back it up onto the neighbors' property, so we made it into a catchment pond that leads into a dry creekbed that we made at the same time. The creekbed cuts across the property and drains into a natural drainage area at the far side. This was a big project, but it has really managed the stormwater very well. It is also a nice opportunity to plant more stuff!
This is a beautiful picture.

As an aside...I know it's been 2 years but I wonder if there's something that should be addressed with the previous owner? If not legally, perhaps they could just let you know if it was always that way or if something happened suddenly. It's not someone's pipes leaking is it? I wonder if you could take the water and soil to a nearby college to have it tested...an ecology class or biology. Just to see what's in it. I wonder if, for example, your lot was the last one on a run. So it got the whole trees and boulders and maybe some silt in a pit that was eventually covered over with soil to make a buildable lot. Well, they thought it was buildable in the day. And now it's showing the results. I say this because I know of such a lot.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:30 PM
 
Location: A coal patch in Pennsyltucky
10,325 posts, read 10,581,616 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cully View Post
This is a beautiful picture.

As an aside...I know it's been 2 years but I wonder if there's something that should be addressed with the previous owner? If not legally, perhaps they could just let you know if it was always that way or if something happened suddenly. It's not someone's pipes leaking is it? I wonder if you could take the water and soil to a nearby college to have it tested...an ecology class or biology. Just to see what's in it. I wonder if, for example, your lot was the last one on a run. So it got the whole trees and boulders and maybe some silt in a pit that was eventually covered over with soil to make a buildable lot. Well, they thought it was buildable in the day. And now it's showing the results. I say this because I know of such a lot.
I think if this was true you would not have a drainage issue. My bet is compact clay soil that will not allow drainage and a grading issue that will not allow the water to drain off the area in question. I have had some small areas settle where there were tree stumps now rotting, but this area is too large for that explanation.
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Old 03-20-2013, 05:15 PM
 
50 posts, read 101,450 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaMcG View Post
Bulldog is right. We had a low area that was filling with stormwater too, and we watched to see where it was coming from -- neighboring property of course. We didn't want to berm it up and back it up onto the neighbors' property, so we made it into a catchment pond that leads into a dry creekbed that we made at the same time. The creekbed cuts across the property and drains into a natural drainage area at the far side. This was a big project, but it has really managed the stormwater very well. It is also a nice opportunity to plant more stuff!
Very pretty pond.
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Old 03-21-2013, 08:30 AM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,585,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by villageidiot1 View Post
I think if this was true you would not have a drainage issue. My bet is compact clay soil that will not allow drainage and a grading issue that will not allow the water to drain off the area in question. I have had some small areas settle where there were tree stumps now rotting, but this area is too large for that explanation.
Actually the issue with such a thing is what used to be called loosely sink holes...before the term became as horrific as it is today. And with all the construction debris in a giant pit, with any lake silt piled here and there and then some other soil dumped on top, it creates pocks.

I have a whole meadow of it second lot over from my house. From the small pools are striated pieces that are long narrow pools. The geese love to swim in the warmer water in the southern sun in these tiny pools all around the meadow. They warm up quickly in winter.

When dry in the great heat of a drought in summer it's not bad at all. But just a little rain in winter and it's a mass of mud and what we used to call sinkholes but now the less scarey pools or pocket pools or pock mark pools. The largest is about 10' by about 5'.

The other thing is if the wet area is where the sewer lines run. Could be a leak in the sewer line, however tiny.

There are studies showing that 50% of septic systems have a tiny leak after 10 years. Fixable. Just need to be kept up. Keeping up with septic systems is so significant that Center for Water Quality says in a watershed (with potential for leak into a lake or stream) they should be cleaned every 3-5 years.

Just saying there are some unsavory sources for the water that can be easily checked.
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