Surface Water diverted into our garden query

davidw123

Good afternoon!!

Wanted some advice as we are wondering how best to go about this... 

We have moved into a new build property and had considerable issues with the garden being damp (typical new build issues) anyhow, a year later and after having drainage put in is much much better, however we still have some issues on the upper tier and investigated why...

Our house is overlooked by two garages, one of which has guttering and its guttering looks as though its being diverted directly into our garden rather then flow naturally. There is a water barrel there is which is always full, but the water often comes at such a speed it just spurts out and past this point...Is this allowed? I have no idea on water drainage laws other then allowing it to flow naturally and landowners have the right to protect their property.

Any advice? I'm not sure if I should approach the owner, or add a flexi pipe or something to divert this towards the ground or into a soakaway? (there is a small piece of land about 30cm in width between our two properties which the builder owns that I could probably dig out).

**Just an added bit of info: we have our own detatched garage on the bottom tier directly infront of this garage so naturally this floods into this area and we are trying to avoid long term problems **

Thanks!

Apodemus

Cheapest option might be to just add another 90 degree bend shoe to that downpipe, so that the water goes into the barrel  during heavy rain. 

Jeepers_Creepers

That barrel is almost always full, so would be overflowing in any case.

Is this 'ok'? No. It should be taken to ideally a soakaway, or - if the houses have them - a surface water drain. Possibly, if old enough, it might even have a shared surface water/sewer drain. Basically, it should be going to where, say, the house's DPs go.

How to sort this? By a friendly approach. Big friendly smile and manner, but you point out that this section of your garden is almost always wet, and you suspect it's largely due to that DP since you've seen it on a number of occasions overflowing directly towards your garden.

You will know very quickly what sort of person you are dealing with.

How would you react to a neighb approaching you about water coming from your DP on to their land? Correct, you'd be mortified, apologetic, and would examine ways to sort it. That's what they should be like too. If they aren't, you just calmly express surprise that they think it's ok, and ask how they'd react if t'shoes were on t'other foot.

(Always, I think, worth quietly recording these first approaches, just in case things go pear-shaped - you can demonstrate your complete reasonableness, and their belligerence. An alternative, is to have a witness - not right beside you, but clearly within earshot - that usually makes folk behave better).

If they are adamant that you can go get stuffed, then you call up the LP on your house insurance for guidance. And possible action.

You have photos of this gushing water? Cool.

Do you think the issue is caused by that DP end shoe directing the water towards your land? If it simply emptied downwards, wouldn't your land also become wet?

I guess a small excavation of that 30cm width and filled in with coarse chippings would help, but only if this was able to drain away somewhere - can it? It's not a 'proper' cure, tho', as soakaways should be well away from the property walls.

Apodemus

Jeepers_Creepers said:

That barrel is almost always full, so would be overflowing in any case..

Yes, but the barrel is sloped towards the wall, so any overflow will go down the wall and may meet up with whatever drainage might have been installed when the garage was built.  At the very least it will give the water a chance to soak into the ground on the neighbour's side of the fence, rather than shooting over the top of the barrel to meet the fence.  With a bit of luck, a perpetually wet garage wall might make the neighbour sit up and take notice and do something about their property, particularly if it is soaking through the wall and into the garage.

Section62

Apodemus said:

With a bit of luck, a perpetually wet garage wall might make the neighbour sit up and take notice and do something about their property, particularly if it is soaking through the wall and into the garage.

I think the red brick wall is a retaining wall holding up a raised base the pre-fab garage is built on. So it is unlikely overflow from the barrel will come through the garage wall in a way the owner will ever notice.

I also think the wall is indicative of the real problem (the gutter and barrel being a distraction) in that the ground level appears to be sloping significantly down towards the OP's property.

So even without the gutter and barrel, I suspect there will be runoff from the neighbour's garden into the OP's.

Furthermore, the level difference is likely to make it difficult to drain the garage roof into the rainwater drainage provided for the house, unless the house has unusually deep sewer connections.

Also, the garage 'next door' has no gutter at all, so rainwater from that is free to fall onto the ground and flow under the OP's fence.

I think the best solution would have been a cut-off drain along the OP's fenceline discharging into a surface water sewer or decent soakaway.

The OP says he has had drainage put in - we need to know what that consists of and where it is relative to this fence. A sketch plan would help a lot.

Rdwill

Here's my water butt.

The pipe on the right is lower than the pipe feeding the butt. When there is excess rain, the water flows along that pipe about 30 feet to the front of the garage where there is a drain. It's just held in place with a few sizeable stones.

You could probably rig a similar system for less than a tenner.

Norman_Castle

The walls a mess which looks like its had previous repairs. The barrel is clearly a bodge possibly put in place to prevent further damage. No reason for the downpipe not to reach the ground or into the barrel. If the neighbour is uncooperative a piece of clear plastic will keep the water off your fence. 

Apodemus

Section62 said:

Apodemus said:

With a bit of luck, a perpetually wet garage wall might make the neighbour sit up and take notice and do something about their property, particularly if it is soaking through the wall and into the garage.

I think the red brick wall is a retaining wall holding up a raised base the pre-fab garage is built on.

Thanks! Yes, that explanation makes the whole situation a lot clearer!

davidw123

Thank you so much for everyones comments and inputs. I've had a closer look and think i'm considering a couple of the suggestions; namely the 90 degree bend and probably a flexi-pipe attachment (although I expect I probably shouldn't be touching their property at all)

If you look at the photos you can see the land which the garages themselves sit on slope to the right. The garage with the guttering is on a higher incline so I hope by doing this I can divert the water down this natural slope and avoid it going into my property altogether. If anything it'll probably end up in their neighbours whom doesn't have any guttering on their garage anyway.

Any further thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Many thanks!

Section62

davidw123 said:

(although I expect I probably shouldn't be touching their property at all)

No, you have no right to make alterations to their guttering without their permission.  In this case there isn't even a doubt about who it belongs to, as there could be if it was on a shared gutter and the pipe was exactly on the boundary.

Some people would get really upset if someone else interfered with their property, some to the extent they would seek legal advice.

Whether or not your neighbour will find out, or care, is something you'll know better than us.

And to be honest, I doubt it will make very much difference - except on the occasions the barrel is not full.  As soon as it is full, the water will just overflow and find its way to the lowest point.

davidw123

Section62 said:

davidw123 said:

(although I expect I probably shouldn't be touching their property at all)

No, you have no right to make alterations to their guttering without their permission.  In this case there isn't even a doubt about who it belongs to, as there could be if it was on a shared gutter and the pipe was exactly on the boundary.

Some people would get really upset if someone else interfered with their property, some to the extent they would seek legal advice.

Whether or not your neighbour will find out, or care, is something you'll know better than us.

And to be honest, I doubt it will make very much difference - except on the occasions the barrel is not full.  As soon as it is full, the water will just overflow and find its way to the lowest point.

In this case, I'll pop round I'd rather not the hassle anyway lol and atleast i'm giving them the oppurtunity to fix. 

Thanks everyone Case closed.