One Massachusetts resident is dealing with the fallout from their neighbor's poor DIY drainage fix.

"My neighbors DIY'd this concrete slab recently, which now dumps all of their rainwater directly into my driveway," the disgruntled homeowner said. "They made no effort to contact me prior to doing this."

They shared several photos in the r/landscaping subreddit to illustrate the problem. In the final image, it's clear that the runoff is flowing directly onto the original poster's slanted driveway instead of toward the street. 

Considering the seasonal weather of Massachusetts, the homeowner has even more cause for concern. 

"[What] I'm most worried about with this is snow melt in the wintertime dumping into my (fairly steep) driveway and basically turning it into a perpetual black ice machine," they said.

While the homeowner knows "this will 100% be my problem if left unmitigated," they tried talking to their neighbor, but it didn't help.

Several commenters reminded the OP about their rights concerning potential water damage. 

"That's awful," one said. "I would contact your city's code enforcement."

According to law firm Doherty, Dugan, Cannon, Raymond & Weil, P.C., under the reasonable use doctrine in Massachusetts, a landowner can alter surface water flow if it doesn't cause unreasonable interference on other property, but some reasonable harm may be permitted. 

For example, according to Pulgini & Norton, LLP, an appeals court judge ruled in favor of one defendant since the water accumulation they caused for the plaintiff didn't interfere with their house or driveway.

What is your least favorite lawn chore? Mowing the grass 🌱 Blowing leaves 🍁 Blowing snow ☃️ Something else 🤔 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

In the OP's case, their driveway is clearly affected and will be even more so if it freezes over. 

As one person commented, "That concrete slab will also be a black ice machine from the roof run-off." 

Another expressed, "That's going to be a f****** death trap by January from the ice buildup."

The Massachusetts homeowner has work on their hands before winter sets in due to the neighbor's lack of consideration. Sadly, such disputes often happen with close or shared property lines. 

Some have made drastic changes, such as cutting down all nearby trees, destroying someone else's mature trees, or spraying herbicides that killed a native gardener's plants. 

A French drain, rain barrel, or self-sustaining rain garden are some better alternatives for the New England homeowner to collect drainage without affecting someone else's property.

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