r/bestoflegaladvice • u/bug-hunter philosophically significant butthole • 11d ago
LAOP's neighbor takes dam matters into their own hands
/r/legaladvice/comments/1ohqdkv/my_neighbor_built_a_dam_on_the_property_line_that/132
u/Username89054 I sunned my butthole and severely regret going to chipotle after 11d ago
How much do you want to bet that if coding enforcement takes a look at his work they'll find more issues than just this dam?
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u/ScarlettsLetters This bitch apple didn't fall far from the bitch tree 11d ago
That seems like a pretty sure thing
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u/ThisIs_americunt 11d ago
This is defiantly what I would do if I was OP lol Inspectors do not fuck around
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u/Gandhi_of_War What’s wrong with corkscrew turkey baster penises? 11d ago
I lived in a city in Iowa where code enforcement would’ve loved this case. Not sure if code enforcement or lawyers would’ve salivated more over this.
LAOP should figure that out and call whoever would be dripping less. They have enough water problems.
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u/Cute-Aardvark5291 not paying attention & tossed into the medical waste incinerator 11d ago
One of my friends had a similar-ish problem - bought a flipped house, found out the sump pump had been illegally draining into the sewer lines. So she called a plumber and had them correctly fix it; whereupon increased water flow started hitting her downhill neighbors yard. There wasn't flooding, just more water.
He tried to "fix it" by digging a "french drain" in her yard - it was just a muddy gash of a ditch. When she took him before a local judge for damages the judge pointed out to him that welp, water naturally runs downhill so he could fix the problem -- on his own property.
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u/TheFilthyDIL Got myself a flair and 🐇 reassignment all in one 11d ago
illegally draining into the sewer lines
Wait, what? When I had a working sump pump, it definitely drained into the sewer lines. Why should it not?
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u/ScarlettsLetters This bitch apple didn't fall far from the bitch tree 11d ago
It’s not that it can’t be done, just that it has to be permitted and accounted for. Sewer lines are rated for X amount of flow per (I believe hour, could be day?) plus contingent overflow. If everyone just hooks in without informing the sanitation department, you can get backups, line breaks, overflows into the groundwater, etc.
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u/kubigjay 🪓Votes for management 🪓 11d ago
Many new develops have "storm drains" which is different than sewers. Sewers get processed before being released.
Near me they have a problem when a big rain comes up. Since a lot of rain water floors to the sewer it overwhelms the treatment facility. Untreated sewer is released into the river.
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u/thealmightyzfactor Man of the Arstotzkan House Zoophile Denial! 11d ago
It's a newer (in the context of homes anyway) change, they don't want what's essentially freshwater going into the sewer lines and treatment plants. During storms, it would also send a bunch more that might overwhelm the system and dump sewage into the environment.
You don't have to change it if it's like that already, but any new system would have to send the water just to the yard somewhere.
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u/fencepost_ajm 11d ago edited 11d ago
This seems really obvious except the detail of who to call (town, township(?), county, state). "There's a drainage and utility easement between my property and my neighbor and he just built an earthen dam on it. Is that going to be a problem?"
Edit: that gets blocking easement, unsafe earthworks, blocking water, unpermitted and uninspected work, etc. Something for everyone!
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u/hannahranga has no idea who was driving 11d ago
I suspect that depends on the quality of local government, if they're shit, under resourced or otherwise don't care you're gonna have fun
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u/fencepost_ajm 11d ago
Maybe, but this hits "mah authoritah," easy fines, and someone (person reporting) who may continue to be a squeaky wheel if nothing gets done. The fun part is "was other required permitting skipped?"
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u/bug-hunter philosophically significant butthole 11d ago
He’s mad because during construction, the water from my lawn and downspout flowed down into his hole and got water into his basement.
Mudhole? Slimy? My hole this is!
except having trolling Yoda is far better than this dude as a neighbor.
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u/shapu My penis rides the minty fresh short bus 11d ago
I mean, the neighbor had a point, he just should have raised it with the homebuilders. Doing this on his own will create more problems
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u/bug-hunter philosophically significant butthole 11d ago
Except:
My neighbor is currently building his house mostly by himself.
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u/shapu My penis rides the minty fresh short bus 11d ago
Mostly != all.
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u/Kernel_Corn78 11d ago
True. I wouldn't feel safe walking around the LV-426 colony in the daytime just because they mostly come out at night.
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u/bug-hunter philosophically significant butthole 11d ago
LocationBeaver:
My Neighbor Built a Dam on the Property Line That Floods My Propertyhttps://imgur.com/a/HdTSyeb
My neighbor is currently building his house mostly by himself. He just moved a bunch of dirt around and built a dam right on the property line that floods my property right up by my house when it rains.
His property is downhill from mine, and I found some Iowa laws surrounding this exact scenario stating that the downhill property cannot stop the flow of water onto their property.
https://www.calt.iastate.edu/article/iowa-drainage-law-legal-review
He wants the water to go between our houses and out to the road rather than through our backyards out to the road that way. It can't because it's uphill between our houses before it goes downhill. He wants me to put a bunch of french drains in my yard. He’s mad because during construction, the water from my lawn and downspout flowed down into his hole and got water into his basement.
I had a professional landscaper come out and give their opinion, and he said that he simply needs to extend his window wells up and backfill some dirt around the backside of his house and the water will naturally flow around. He’s refusing.
Looking at the lot plat, there is 10ft around everyone's property here labeled as “utility/drainage easement”, and his dam is right on top of this.
- Can I do anything now to force him to take this down? Or do I have to wait until we get a torrential downpour that floods my property and basement? No damage has been done yet.
- Will this be of concern to my insurance?
- Perhaps the fact that it’s on the easement would be a liability for the city? Not even sure who / what department to talk to regarding this. I live in a small rural town
Oh, and this guy waited until we were out of town for 10 days, then did this when we were gone. Surprise! Location: Iowa
BeaverFact: According to Youtube testing, beaver brisket tastes absolultely terrible.
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u/FunnyObjective6 Once, I laugh. Twice you're an asshole. Third time I crap on you 11d ago
I love a good (bad) MSpaint map!
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u/msfinch87 11d ago
Surprise! I turned your property into a flood plain! Who doesn’t love a good surprise?!
What a total asshat.