It's said that good fences make good neighbors, but that can get complicated when your neighbor builds a drainage system that flows right past the fence, which is exactly what happened to a homeowner who turned to Reddit for help.
In the r/landscaping subreddit, the OP shared a photo of their neighbor's drainage system, saying, "it's wreaking havoc in my yard."
"Every time we get heavy rain the side of my yard that's downhill from this new drainage system turns into a river. Assume the remedy is to put in my own system?"
Redditors in the comments offered helpful suggestions to the OP on how to deal with the watery mess, especially because it can be a legal issue on top of a landscaping one.
"I would be talking to the city. In my town a neighbor cannot divert water to a neighboring lot. They can not raise their lot above the average grade of surrounding neighbors," one person wrote.
Another person said that if they did want to install their own drainage system, the OP should "call a civil engineer and have a survey done. There is math they use combined with a water flow surface area and even can do a water retention test of the soil."
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Runoff from the neighbor can do a number on the OP's yard, like soil erosion and damage to their home's foundation, according to Arborist Now. Runoff can also pick up pollutants, such as herbicides and pesticides, and transfer them into larger bodies of water.
Neighbors who don't take others into consideration can hinder your ability to make eco-friendly choices for your own space, such as adding a native lawn or plants. Occasionally, they may even take matters into their own hands and destroy plants for what they presume are the right reasons or just straight up litter.
The best solution, as several Redditors mentioned, is to simply talk to the offending neighbor first before escalating to any legal solutions.
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