When a neighbor clears land and then yours begins to flood (how much, heat)
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A few years back my neighbors cleared several (bunches) of acres at the back of my land to make way for a pasture. They fenced it in...looks great. They have horses back there now. They had hoped for green pastures.
Turned out- mud. Tons of it. And what once was wooded forest on their side is mud slides. And what once was wooded forest, natural area on my end is now swamp.
I just don't know what to do.
My neighbors don't feel any responsibility to make any corrections to my property. And legally, they don't have to....as 'time' is on their side. I should have made 'complaint' within the first year...and being a good neighbor, I didn't.
I enjoy living out in the woods and just would rather fix things rather than fight....but how in the world do I fix this? I am a do it yourself-er....but I'd call someone for this...but who?
This isn't accessable by road and is 2 acres away from the nearest road. After giving it alot of thought....there is a creek that sits about another 2 acres....but the neighbor didn't drain into it for some reason...they let it drain into my property....and it isn't the best smelling stuff.
I'm sorry to heat about that. One of our neighbor's in TN did the same thing. We talked to them and they never fixed anything and they own the equipment to do it.
How much property do you have?
I would call in a grader and ask what they can do. You might be able to dig out a ditch on your side of the property line to divert the water. Is the creek on your property? If not can you get permission to drain their overflow into the creek. If you can drain into the creek, you can run a pipe underground and drain it out.
To block off the new "mud" view see if you can find evergreens or bamboo. Bamboo grows and spreads like crazy but if you leave a section on both sides of it you can mow it down and maintain it. If you can't mow it be careful because bamboo is very invasive. It also won't grow through water like a creek.
Good luck and check with a local grader. A grader will drop their equipment, probably a backhoe, at the road and drive it into your property.
Now that they have done this, it may be a protected wetlands area. Trench on your property to facilitate surface runoff, and plant water loving trees. You'll have to check to see what is allowed, but willows and poplar and locust come to mind IF the land is far enough away from your buildings that they are safe from falling trees.
In the many years I was in the insurance claims business I handled several situations like yours. You may have a legitimate claim for damages against your neighbor.
In the many years I was in the insurance claims business I handled several situations like yours. You may have a legitimate claim for damages against your neighbor.
The OP's post says that too much time has passed for her to have a legal claim against her neighbor.
Does the Agricultural Department at one of your local colleges offer advice/instruction? I know some big colleges will come out & give advice for free.
Call a county extension agent to come out and take a look and offer suggestions. This could fall under the categories of soil/water conservation. The landowner who made the alterations may have responsibilities that they overlooked at the time they cleared the land.
It also might be an issue to the state water quality and/or environmental authorities.
I have an acquaintance whose neighbor did something similar except that he build a pond to capture the runoff. When that pond overflowed during a period of heavy rain, the sudden influx of water flooded my friends house to a depth of a couple of feet. He DOES have a claim against his neighbor and the state is after him too. This is in Texas.
Your local government's stormwater management department also might be able to get involved, especially if the neighbor did the work without the proper permits or clearances. I've seen people cited and required to return the land to the original contours after being found to not have the appropriate permits (local, state or federal). This next observation is going to vary as to location but many areas are now requiring that stormwater be contained/handled on the original property or, if channeled off-site, various structures and remediation/mitigation to be done. This is especially true if the runoff is adding to the nutrient load of local waterways.
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