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need advice

H

huberm

Golden Member
I just bought a new house a few months ago. Since then there have been a couple of storms come through dropping a decent amount of rain and each time my yard flooded. After looking for the source of the water, I found that a neighbor down the road is dumping water from his sump pump in his basement out into the street and it is running into my yard and several other neighbor's yards.

I had someone putting in insulation in the crawl space when we got some of this rain and he said water is just seeping in from this, and if I don't fix it my foundation will eventually fall apart.

I called town council members and they told me there was nothing they could do. I am furious that they are unwilling to help me and my neighbors out of this situation. I have not been able to talk to the owner of the house dumping the water in the street because I work weird hours and each time I've gone over there no one has been home.

What should I do now? I don't want to raise a stink, but I can't just sit idle and let my foundation crumble.
 
How could the water from one sump pump in a basement do that much damage? It would have to be a ton of water to flood your yard to the point that its doing that much damage, plus flood several other neighbors yards.
 
sand bags is a quick solution
Long term I think I would leave a polite note on the guys door with your phone number. He probably doesn't realize he is doing anything wrong.
Avoid getting with the neighbors and trying to solve it as a group unless you have to, that just puts people on the defensive.
 
1) leave them a letter co-written by all of you describing the problem asking them to contact you/neighbors when convenient to resolve this issue among yourselves

2) if the other homeowner proves difficult or aggressive obtain a sufficient amount of epoxy and back fill the outflow pipe enough to cause the pipe to burst in his basement or burn out his sump pump
 
Originally posted by: Kalmah
Dig a trench around your yard so that it turns into a moat.. then build a draw-bridge.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the gators!

OP: Have you talked to the guy yet? Like someone else mentioned he may not even know he's doing anything.
 
Originally posted by: K1052
1) leave them a letter co-written by all of you describing the problem asking them to contact you/neighbors when convenient to resolve this issue among yourselves
Click to expand...

This.

Too late now but your home inspector should have been able to detect water issues with your foundation.

As mentioned already, his single sump pump could not create this much water build-up in your lawn and foundation. Sounds like your house is located in a crappy wet area. You may want to look into installing a sump pump yourself.
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
How could the water from one sump pump in a basement do that much damage? It would have to be a ton of water to flood your yard to the point that its doing that much damage, plus flood several other neighbors yards.
Click to expand...

this
 
hard to believe there's no code violations i.e. neighbor causing water damage to surrounding property.
 
If a single sump pump's worth of water being dispersed across a street is enough to seep into your foundation I have a feeling that having him move his drain to a different area is not going to solve your problems.
 
Don't ask the other guy about it and post on an internet message board.
Oh wait, you already have that covered.
 
Ok Op, is there anywhere else the guys pump out-fall could be located? If he got a permit, or the builder installed it, you may be barking up the wrong tree. Keep in mind that your neighbor has every right to protect his home. Also, it's not his fault if the city designed the streets and gutters poorly.
Yours, AND, "several other neighbors yards", wow! and I thought I had a hell of a pump.
By your description, he would have to be pumping something in excess of 500 gallons, man that's some kinda ground water for a single residence, where ya'll live?, a swamp?
 
Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
Ok Op, is there anywhere else the guys pump out-fall could be located? If he got a permit, or the builder installed it, you may be barking up the wrong tree. Keep in mind that your neighbor has every right to protect his home. Also, it's not his fault if the city designed the streets and gutters poorly.
Yours, AND, "several other neighbors yards", wow! and I thought I had a hell of a pump.
By your description, he would have to be pumping something in excess of 500 gallons, man that's some kinda ground water for a single residence, where ya'll live?, a swamp?
Click to expand...

when it rains its spews out a ridiculous amount of water. There will be a constant flow from his house for a good 8-10 hours.

I"m guessing he could probably hook the discharge up to his sewer line?
 
I too am amazed that 1 sump pump could do this (is he tapping into your well?)

Do you have a sump pump?
Do you have a retaining wall (I think that's the right word) to funnel the water away from your house?
Do you have ditches to funnel water away from your house?

If the city council won't do anything he's probably in the clear.
 
The problem is not your neighbor it is the drainage in the street. If his pump is causiing this infiltration just imagine what would happen if it rained!

If designed correctly yhe street drainage system should carry the water SAFELY away but that does not seem to be happening.

Report it again as an issue to the city ... your street flooding, not your neighbor.
 

It is a poor diagnostic to blame on the neighboor since everyone on your street have the same problem. It could be that you all living on top of a rock (could have underground springs) with poor soil (clay) therefor the water doesn't percolate well. Best solution is to move to a better location, or install 2 pipes system, or install a drain field.

 
Sounds like yo have more problems than a neighbor dumping water from down the street.

Doesnt your street have seweg drains? If so, why isnt the water draining into that?
And why doesnt the water runoff your lawn? Even if your neighbor pumped directly onto your lawn the water shouldnt pool. It should runoff to lower ground. Preferably into the street or into a ravine behind the house.

Sounds like whoever did your landscaping didnt do a very good job. The problem is your landscaping, not the neighbor.
 
Originally posted by: huberm
Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz
Ok Op, is there anywhere else the guys pump out-fall could be located? If he got a permit, or the builder installed it, you may be barking up the wrong tree. Keep in mind that your neighbor has every right to protect his home. Also, it's not his fault if the city designed the streets and gutters poorly.
Yours, AND, "several other neighbors yards", wow! and I thought I had a hell of a pump.
By your description, he would have to be pumping something in excess of 500 gallons, man that's some kinda ground water for a single residence, where ya'll live?, a swamp?
Click to expand...

when it rains its spews out a ridiculous amount of water. There will be a constant flow from his house for a good 8-10 hours.

I"m guessing he could probably hook the discharge up to his sewer line?
Click to expand...

I don't know if the rules are the same everywhere, but where I live that would be a very serious offense. Putting storm water into the sewer system brings hefty fines. You can't even sell a house without having the township come out and verify your downspouts don't drain into the sewer system.
 
This is not an issue the Town Council would be able to address anyway. Call the building inspector, the sewer committee and whatever local environmental agency that has jurisdiction of the area.
 
edit: forgive me for not reading the entire post first


connect to the sewer line? using ground water in the sewer line might have code violations against it. I thought it was common practice to send water from a basement sump pump out onto the street / into storm drains.

Sounds like it's a city problem to me. They need better drainage in this area.
 
I think you are getting a lot of good advice here. If it is causing problems on more than one property, it seems like you should examine the drainage design of the street and address that. In addition, the drainage design of your property should be able to deal with this, as well.

Originally posted by: huberm
I just bought a new house a few months ago.
Click to expand...

Have you spoken to your real estate agent about getting information from the prior owner regarding this issue? If this existed before and was not disclosed during escrow when you bought the house, you may need to talk to a lawyer (though I admittedly know nothing about Indiana real estate law) Do not wait to do this since the statute of limitations may be only a year.

MotionMan
 
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