New homeowner overwhelmed by dangerous issue caused by neglectful neighbor: 'I clearly need to do something sooner than later'

Whether it's a strict homeowners association or an irresponsible neighbor, homeownership can be frustrating at times. One Redditor turned to the r/Landscaping subreddit for help when a neighbor's mistake created a waterfall in their garden.

"Best way to deal with this?" asked the original poster desperately after sharing photographic evidence of the disaster.

Best way to deal with this? Short but steep hill, uphill neighbor has tons of water dumping out here, no water management on their side
byu/HoneyBadger302 inlandscaping

In their plea for help, they offered some context, writing that when their neighbor's "old retaining boards … were rotting out, he replaced them this summer, but they did NO water management with it."

In the photo, water can be seen pouring out of a hand-built retaining wall, eroding the ground around it. "Along with that, it appears they have since diverted a ton of their runoff to this spot, with nothing to manage it, which makes it a big problem for me, as that hill is steep and uphill from my house," explained the poster.

Irresponsible neighbors make it challenging for homeowners to enact impactful, environmentally friendly measures on their own property. This waste of water is not only exacerbating erosion and wasting water (and money) but also prevents the OP from planting such things as native, pollinator-friendly plants or a useful vegetable garden there.

The OP also expressed some frustration that the neighbor has been purposefully flooding their property, mentioning that it wasn't a problem in the first year of homeownership. 

"I have a feeling they have diverted more water to this area and it is definitely becoming a problem now. I doubt that neighbor will spend money to have those retainers done properly, since he didn't do it properly to begin with."

The OP added: "I clearly need to do something sooner than later - more than willing to put in labor, but I just bought this house and don't have a ton of money for paying expensive contractors." 

Though experiences like this can feel overwhelming, Reddit was quick with some helpful solutions. 

"Honestly, if you're looking for something cheap and not a ton of work, I'd go with gravel-filled trenches or small berms along the slope," offered one commenter. "... Plus, adding some low-maintenance ground cover like creeping thyme or clover can help stabilize the soil and blend everything in."

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The OP liked this idea, as part of their initial frustration was that the neighbor seemed unwilling to front the costs to fix the problem themselves. "Seemed like something I could do with my limited tool set and not a massive investment," they said.

"If you can't avoid the runoff, you're just going to need to install a more permanent drain, whether it's above-ground or more of a french drain," one commenter offered, while adding the advice to talk to the neighbor again. "Directing your runoff directly into a neighboring property is usually illegal, so if that's the case, you probably have some recourse."

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