What a pretty stream, or What do I do about about the water my neighbor is spilling across my yard?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m looking for general advice, insights, and possible gotchas concerning a situation at my house in Connecticut.

When we moved in, one of the things our house came with was a stream in the back yard that meanders to a nearby creek. The stream actually begins on our land; springs are common in the area, and for a while, I just assumed that’s what it was. The water runs constantly, at roughly the same rate, year round. It’s carved a pretty nice channel for itself, so has obviously been running for some time.

But shortly after we moved in, I did some digging and cleaning up in the area, and as a result, found out that the water was actually coming out of a broken clay pipe. Given its constancy, I then began to think that someone had at some time redirected nuisance spring water across our land for drainage in the creek. Since the pipe was clay, I assumed it was pretty old, maybe even dating to 1930s around the time our neighborhood was settled. I am not aware of any easement on our property – researching this is already on my to-do list.

Last fall, however, I noticed some guys wandering around on my neighbor’s now vacant property and my own. Turns out that he had a prospective buyer for his house that backed out due to problems with water in the basement. These guys were looking into it, and were tracking pipe from there. One of them turns out to have been my broken clay pipe. It’s still not clear to me why the water flows out at such a constant rate, but at least now I know where it’s coming from.

But that’s the rub. Now I know. Part of me thinks that I should contact my neighbor now, demand that he fix it or remove it if there is no easement. I worry about future problems selling my own house. But on the other hand, I kind of like the resulting stream. It attracts birds and other wildlife, and is kind of pretty. And, I know from talking to my town hall a few years ago, my property is listed as having wetlands because of its presence, introducing yet another wrinkle. I suppose I have to consider how federal wetlands laws intersect with all of this.

So please advise me. You’re not lawyers, or at least not my lawyer, and I’m not really looking only for legal advice anyway – just insight from people who may have been in similar situations, or just know a little more than me about problems this may cause down the road.

These are the kinds of questions that I am wondering about: What should I do? Is it okay just to leave it? Should I contact a lawyer? If so, about what, exactly? Can a leaking pipe, even if it’s been leaking a long time, really make my land into federally protected wetlands, or has it just been classified as such in error, presumably by someone, like me, who noticed the water but didn’t realize where it was coming from? Does the fact that I now know where the water is coming from start any kind of timer for me to demand that my neighbor, or any subsequent owner of his house, fix it?

I sort of assume that there is no easement, since I sure didn’t get notice of it when we bought the house. If there is not, how does that affect things?

2

Yeeeahhh - that’s going to need a lawyer.

And now that you know the water is flowing from your neighbor’s house, you should probably get an environmental test done, as well.

3

As I was composing my list of questions at the end, I started to come to the same conclusion. Problem is that I’m lazy, and I just want someone to tell me that I don’t have to worry about any of this if I just want to keep my “stream.” :slight_smile:

4

I think you ought to find out why the water is flowing at a constant rate. It seems odd that a pipe discharging from a residence is always flowing. A wastewater pipe never flows constantly. So it might be a treated water supply pipe. If so, a lot of clean water is being wasted.

I agree with Merneith that you should have the water tested. But I would probably restrict the testing to determine only if is treated or wastewater.

As a Californian, if the water turned out to be treated I would feel duty-bound to notify water authorities and stop the flow. On the other hand, if it’s wastewater I would certainly stop the flow.

I suppose it’s possible that the pipe is a drainage diversion device. If so, I might let the neighbor know about the break – or not. After all, you enjoy the stream and if it’s as old as you indicate it doesn’t seem to have done any environmental harm.

5

Since the water is flowing more or less directly into a nearby creek, the local environmental authorities may even come test it for you.

Potential downside: if the pipebreak is on your property you could end up with some liability if something is amiss.

6

Having lived in CT, it sounds like it could be a part of a footer drain system. We had one that drained fairly constantly and redirected water from around our house to a creek at the very edge of our property.

Are you near a wetlands or marshy land?

7

What is the height difference between your neighbor’s land and yours? Would water naturally flow towards your backyard? Or is your land pretty much the same height?

8

I’m near plenty of wetlands, but it’s not so marshy. There are a lot of spring-filled ponds and small streams nearby that drain into the nearby Wepawaug River, but the drainage is pretty good in most places, so no marshes. The portion of my land near my neighbor’s property line, however, is kind of marshy. Unlike the rest of the lot, it is always waterlogged for a few days after a rain in spite of the French drain we installed there. I expect that you’re right about the footer drain system; I would not be surprised at all to find out that there is pretty constant water seepage going on under the house next door.

Both of us are more or less at the bottom of a long and moderately steep hill. The leveled portion of his property where his house sits is probably about 4-5 feet higher than mine. In between us is a small wooded strip where most of the rise happens. On the far side of his property is a bank of earth about 8-10 feet high that was created when they graded his lot. Beyond that, the hill continues upward for another 400 yards or so before it crests.

A few other things I should probably have mentioned: We’re in a somewhat rural area. There is no water utility or sewer here. Everyone nearby has their own well and septic. The water under discussion looks and smells clean. I think that it’s more likely to be groundwater seepage than fresh water supply leakage, simply because my neighbor’s well pump would have to be running constantly if it were the latter, and surely he’d notice either the pump running or the exorbitant electric bill.

9

Have you contacted local government about this? You’ll need an engineer or equivalent professional to make a determination about the source of the water. Once that is known the path to a resolution will be clear if anything can be done at all.

10

Based on your geology and my experience with similar environments, I’d say it’s likely that your neighbor is send you the output from a sump pump. I know of places near me that have water entering the house foundation most of the year; basically a spring that emerges through the leaky walls. Many of the old foundations are stone, not poured concrete, and in areas with high water tables, or at the base of the hill or cliff, flowing or standing basement water is a major concern.

The cheap-ass solution is to install a sump pump discharging to the outside and downhill.

11

Not yet. So far, I’ve only spoken briefly to the guys from the private company my neighbor hired to look at the drainage problem in his basement, who more or less confirmed that that’s where the water is coming from. But I don’t have all of the details – my current best guess is that there are curtain drains around his foundation that feed into the clay pipe, but it could also be coming from inside the basement as Musicat has, on preview, just suggested.

12

I can’t advise you whether to require it to be fixed, or leave it alone. But I am on the board of my homeowner’s association and have dealt with a similar issue.

We have a resident who had a drain pipe leading from one of their downspouts then going underground, under their fence, and re-emerging on a neighbor’s property, causing severe puddling during rain. I became involved because the board is responsible for maintaining an access easement where this puddling occurs. I talked to the county code enforcement folks first. County code prohibits the redirecting of the natural flow of water from one property onto another. If water runs out of the downspout and then sheets off the property downhill to the house next door then that is considered natural, but you can’t run a drainpipe that streams the water onto another property. That is what is happening in your case, but any regulations would be specific to your own jurisdiction. First I would find out what those regulations are. It is likely that the county would give you all that information without the need to hire a lawyer. In my case the county sent a person out to meet with me and personally inspect the situation. She asked that we first just talk to the homeowner before the county got involved with issuing citations. As it happened the homeowner was very cooperative and severed the drainpipe on my request, redirecting her downspout.

Hiring a lawyer would not be my first move in this case. You don’t need to sue anyone. This should all be covered by county or local law, and the municipality should take steps to require any remediation that is necessary. A lawyer would only be necessary if you have suffered damages and need to recover.

First decide what result you want.

13

Lawyers aren’t just for suing people. Lawyers also give advice about legal matters, such as who to talk to when your neighbor is dumping potentially dirty water on your property but you want to keep it because you think it’s pretty.

I agree that the city might get involved but once they do, it’s all out of Kyrie’s hands.

14

I don’t know how Connecticut handles it, but in Wisconsin, if I had your problem, I’d first contact the neighbor, then the local County’s Soil & Water Conservation Department, then the State DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources). Our DNR has extreme control of wetlands and streams, man-made or otherwise, and should never be left out of the picture.

If the stream is a steady flow, it’s more likely a natural spring or artesian well that has been diverted; most sump pumps are cyclical and produce a pulsing flow, shutting off and turning on as needed. Springs are common at the base of hills. I know of some local artesian wells that are not capped (which might cause a pressure problem), and flow into a drainage ditch continuously.

15

That’s why I suggested a footer drain, which basically surrounds the foundation and the water just seeps into it and drains out a collection pipe. It’s a constant stream (basically, depending on time of year and will increase if there are heavy rains) with no pumping action.

The OPs situation sounds like exactly where I used to live in CT and everyone who didn’t have a footer drain had wet basements. The only surprise to me is the drain going across someone else’s property.

16

If that ivory tower was at Yale, we might have lived pretty close to one another. In fact, my other next-door neighbor is a Yale professor, and until you moved, I used to wonder occasionally if you might be she. I no longer remember what it was, but you once posted something about yourself that was coincidentally also very descriptive of her.

Yeah, that’s kind of the crux of it. I lean toward wanting to keep the stream, but I also don’t want to find out 10 years from now that I can’t sell my house or that I’m liable for repairs and remediation because I didn’t address the problem when I first discovered where the water was coming from. I’m not sure these two desires are compatible, and I’m also worried about what sort of can of worms I’ll open if I start talking to official sorts of folk about it.

17

I was about 35 minutes north of that esteemed tower, but there were the occasional Eli faculty near me.

A lot of CT fits the marshy/wetlands description!

18

There are other non-lawyer experts you might also consult with. I know someone who does work very much like this for builders and homeowners. Her role is to identify the laws in question and conduct the environmental impact studies that would be required if any changes were going to be made. I’m sure California has plenty of people in similar roles.

Other than that, I agree with the people saying that you should first contact the neighbor, then the county and use the information you get from those sources in determining whether you need to talk to an attorney or other specialist, and it will let you be more specific about what issues need to be addressed.

19

If you search, there was a somewhat related situation we discussed a few months back. The poster had a drainage issue related to a pipe running from a golf course, and there had been issues with drainage for either his or his neighbor’s house. A lot of people participated in that thread, offering suggestions. You might find something of interest there.

This is the kind of thing for which you NEED a local lawyer who specializes in RE transactions/disputes. You also will need to seek as much info as you can from your local gov’t bodies. Easements, title, etc ought to be of public record. Drainage plans are required in most zoned areas.

There are also many unrecorded drainage tiles and such. Your lawyer will be able to help you respond if that is the case.

Good luck.

20

This is what it sounds like to me, too. There are two issues I see: potential flood damage and the wetlands.

Here’s the flooding red flag for me: your neighbor is having trouble selling the house because of flood damage to the basement, and your house is downhill from that one. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be in the same position, but it means you’re right to be concerned about it. How long have you been in the house? Have you seen how the area drains during spring snowmelt after a heavy winter? What about when the Wepawaug floods? How does that affect your property? When you’re talking about water damage, you need to think about the things that happen every five, ten, twenty years.

In this case, I’d recommend getting an engineer* to take a look at the property and the drainage. You mentioned a french drain near the property line with your neighbor, and I assume you have some kind of foundation drains around the house as well. In your place, I’d want to be sure that the presence of that stream wasn’t going to negatively impact your ability to keep your own basement dry during infrequent events. All this information goes into answering the question: what result do you want?

*I am an engineer, but I’m not your engineer. I’m not licensed in Connecticut, and even if I were I wouldn’t make any recommendations without seeing the property. Also, I always wanted to write one of these!
On the other hand, none of that might matter. The fact that your lot is listed as having wetlands is a BIG FUCKING DEAL. Artificially created wetlands, once they’re established, are regulated the same way as natural ones, so you may not be able to simply ask your neighbors to move the pipe - chances are you can’t. This is where you need a lawyer, because the presence of designated wetlands fundamentally limits what you’re legally able to do with your property. It has to be disclosed to any potential buyers, and it affects not just the portion of your lot that it flows over, but the rest of the lot as well - there are regulatory buffers around wetlands, so you (or a potential buyer) may not be able to add a detached garage or other structure, for example. That’s something that you should absolutely consult a lawyer about, because it affects the value of your property. Because your neighbor is potentially liable for that (especially if the current neighbor is the one who installed it), I disagree about talking to them first.

tl;dr: Talk to an engineer and a lawyer first, figure out what you want as an end result, and follow the professionals’ recommendations as to how to make that happen.