Neighbors are flooding our yard! *Update -more help please-

[lil' maids in a row]

Our neighbors have recently made changes to their yard that has caused more of their rain/sprinkler water to run off into  our yard.  They have also recently put in new sod and some new plants (although it is the dead of winter here and it is all brown).  We have had lots of rain, ice, snow and they are using their sprinklers every other day!  Our yard is a standing puddle!  I just took the dog out this morning and they have watered yet again (even though it is very cold, cloudy and most likely going to rain today anyway).  Our yard is soaked there is a river running down the road and puddles everywhere.  

 

Would I be out of line to send them a polite e-mail (we are friends) and let them know what is going on and ask them to ease off on the watering?

 

Obviously we need to make some drainage improvements, but something has to give until we can make that happen.

[kewb]

If you are friends I would tell them what is going on and work together for a solution.

[lil' maids in a row]

Would this sound okay in an e-mail?

 

Hi there!  I hope you all had a great Christmas.  I have a huge favor to ask you.  The ground is so soaked from all the rain and ice that we have had lately that when you run your sprinklers it pours into our yard.  We have always had problems over there (Patrick is looking at some drainage improvements).  Do you think there is anyway you could reduce the amount of watering that you are doing at least while the ground is so wet?  Maybe a bit of hand watering instead, or setting your sprinklers for shorter periods with more days inbetween?

 

Thank you so much,

[maize]

 

Would this sound okay in an e-mail?

 

Hi there! I hope you all had a great Christmas. I have a huge favor to ask you. The ground is so soaked from all the rain and ice that we have had lately that when you run your sprinklers it pours into our yard. We have always had problems over there (Patrick is looking at some drainage improvements). Do you think there is anyway you could reduce the amount of watering that you are doing at least while the ground is so wet? Maybe a bit of hand watering instead, or setting your sprinklers for shorter periods with more days inbetween?

Thank you so much,

I might leave off the part about having always had trouble over there, but leave in the part about looking into drainage improvements.

[mytwomonkeys]

I think it sounds very nice :)

[mytwomonkeys]

Agreeing that you shouldn't say you've always had issues though -- it isn't really relevant

[Farrar]

You may have some drainage issues, but so do they.  Their water shouldn't drain to your yard even if your yard could handle it.

 

But that said, the email is very polite and kind and hopefully you'll get a positive response.  It doesn't matter too much who's at fault if you can work together to alleviate the issue together.

[Mommyof4ks]

I would knock on their door and show them what you are talking about. They may not even go out there enough to notice. If you can both come up with improvements that will fix the problem, then it is not a blame game.

 

Emails are rarely taken kindly, because tone and such are not known. This is more of a face to face situation IMO.

[jenamiles]

I think the email sounds good with the modification from other's comments; however, I think this is one time where a personal conversation and not an email would be better.  Email's can come across much ruder than intended.  If you are friends, a quick phone call with pretty much the same words would be less confrontational.

[laundrycrisis]

I would go next door and say, "Hi there !  Didja know you folks are turning our yard into mud soup ?  Please stop...pretty, pretty please....thanks !   Oh, I almost forgot, I made you all these fresh muffins.  Happy New Year !"

 

 

[Seasider]

You may have some drainage issues, but so do they. Their water shouldn't drain to your yard even if your yard could handle it.

 

But that said, the email is very polite and kind and hopefully you'll get a positive response. It doesn't matter too much who's at fault if you can work together to alleviate the issue together.

When establishing new neighborhoods, developers carefully build in swales and drains/French drains to allow proper water runoff between houses so that water is neither left standing nor directed towards foundations. When a homeowner makes substantial landscaping changes, it's really their responsibility to ensure proper drainage. Your email is very nice, but I agree that you should speak with them with an eye towards them being responsible for remediating the drainage issue to handle the new runoff. If you get a rainy spell you won't be able to ask them to turn the sprinklers off!

[lil' maids in a row]

Well I modified the e-mail and sent it.  The respose was not very receptive.  They said that they just installed a new lawn and needed to water it constantly so it wouldn't die (although it is all brown and not growing now because it is winter ).   I wish I could think of a way to let her know that watering so much that MY yard is full of puddles isn't really helping her new grass.  Any ideas on a polite and friendly way that I could convey this via e-mail (we are stuck with e-mail because Santa brought us the flu for Christmas and I have no voice and don't want to infect anyone).

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

Did you have a drainage problem before they reconfigured their yard? If you both had yards with serious drainage issues, you can't really fault them for fixing theirs even if it enhances your issues a bit. However, if their landscaping created your problem it shouldn't be your responsibility to fix it.

 

If their water is ending up in your yard, then it's not helping their grass and they're wasting money. Perhaps they could water much less, but much more often? They need to keep it wet, but they don't need water running all the time to do this. I'd suggest some sort of timer for their sprinkler. They need to soak their grass, but not the neighborhood. Isn't winter transplanting hard on the plants?

[Trish]

I was actually picturing there was a Curiosity in your yard, that a gaggle of neighbors were all flooding into your yard to gawk at.

[maize]

It is possible to overwater new sod. This page recommends 1 inch of water every other day, and states that the sod needs to be damp but not water logged. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/time-day-water-new-sod-41746.html

 

Perhaps sharing such information would help? Watering excessively is not going to help their new sod.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Unless the puddles are eroding your yard or creating a flood danger for your house (this was an issue for us before we put in a french drain), there really isn't anything you can do to force them to listen to you.  Right now it seems like the puddles are just a nuisance?  

[mumto2]

If you are in an area with some sort planning rules I would either read them or call the city. I know that one of our houses had very specific laws about not creating runoff into neighbors yards. If it is creating this kind of a mess in your yard they have obviously raised theirs too high. Before speaking or emailing them again I would want to know what the rules for your city/sub are. Yes, we had huge yard and fencing issues which ended a cordial relationship. Knowing that I was right legally helped my peace of mind tremendously. ;)

[Farrar]

As pointed out before, the water isn't even getting to the roots if it's all running off into your yard.  But if they're not going to cooperate, it's sort of beside the point.

 

What sort of neighborhood do you live in?  As in, what authority can you contact if needed?  Because I would kindly let them know that when new landscaping is done it's the responsibility of the landowner to ensure that it drains properly or legal action can be taken.  You don't want to, of course, you want to try to resolve this between neighbors, you value your relationship, blah blah blah, but you want them to understand that this is their responsibility.

[LMA]

I would call the Housing Inspector and the Water Authority and the Planning Board  to come look at your yard. They can tell you if anything can be done by your town or if you have to call someone to fix up your yard. Take videos and pictures of the watering from your neighbors and the runoff.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Yep, check with the city. We did a major backyard redo years ago (in part to correct our own poor drainage) and we knew going in that it was up to us to be sure that fixing our drainage problem did not cause or worsen drainage problems on our neighbors' property. We were very careful because we did not want to harm the cordial relationship we had or create a situation that would need to be corrected (more $$$).

 

You are not in the wrong here to be upset. They are in the wrong. And honestly, puddles are not merely a nuisance if you are trying to keep your own grass and landscaping alive and healthy, or even just keeping it usable on a daily basis. We lived in Texas, where the kids could and kid play year round and I would have been irate to have a flooded yard day after day.

 

Also, to me the biggest deal isn't even the current problem with the overwatering of sod. I could probably roll my eyes and deal with that. The real issue is that this will continue to be a problem whenever you get a heavy rain. We lived on a hill and never had to worry about house flooding, but I know that is not the case everywhere.

[sassenach]

We have friends whose whole house was flooded after a big rain storm came on the heals of their neighbor's relandscaping. They need to fix this.

 

Dear neighbor,

 

First off, let me apologize for not making this a face to face conversation, as we're still recovering from the flu and I've lost my voice.

 

Since the watering has to continue (and I totally understand that the new sod needs to take root), I think it's important that you take another look at your drainage issue. Your yard is now draining into our yard, and I think we can both agree that that is not a good situation. I'm concerned about both the damage to our landscaping, as we currently have a pond forming out back, and the bigger issue of storm drainage.

 

I trust that you guys will address this on your end, and we'll do our best to address any drainage issues on our end.

 

Thanks so much,

[bolt.]

"I understand that you need to keep that new sod well watered. It's a difficult time of year to try to get it to take root. But, of course, if some of the water is running off and ending up in my yard, that's not water that is helping your grass. It's excess. I'm sure there are ways to water your grass well, without sending so much extra water my way. Let me know if I can help!"

[lil' maids in a row]

Thank you for the great advice!  Feel free to keep it coming.  Bolt I really liked what you wrote, mind if I use that in an e-mail to my neighbor?

 

I am hoping that this whole situation is for the greater good and finally forces my dh to make some much needed improvements to our own yard.

 

 

[In the Rain]

Sassenach, that email is wonderfully worded.