flooding

[G37y]

Two householders close to me have had about 2 inches of water flooding inside their houses, the water has run into their gardens then into their houses from an adjoining field which is higher than their property, they seem to be under the impression that this is the responsability of the field owner and are asking him to do remedial work to make sure it does't happen again. Can anyone tell me if I am right in presuming that the problem is theirs not his? I don't own the field but do rent it and wish to stay on good terms with both sides and not get drawn into this if I can avoid it.

[88V8]

....Can anyone tell me if I am right in presuming that the problem is theirs not his? ...

"The general approach is that the landowner is responsible for the land drainage of their land. This can create problems since legally a person owning lower-level ground has to accept natural land drainage water (that is, spring water, ground water or surface water run-off) from adjacent land at a higher level," it explains.
"The exception to this is where the owner of that adjacent land has carried out “improvements” such that the run-off from the land cannot be considered ‘natural’ – for example if the entire back garden has been paved over.
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/s ... lations-UK

Our cellar floods... a half inch... due to runoff from surroundings fields. Our problem. Hard cheese.

V8

[Lootman]

....Can anyone tell me if I am right in presuming that the problem is theirs not his? ...

"The general approach is that the landowner is responsible for the land drainage of their land. This can create problems since legally a person owning lower-level ground has to accept natural land drainage water (that is, spring water, ground water or surface water run-off) from adjacent land at a higher level," it explains.
"The exception to this is where the owner of that adjacent land has carried out “improvements” such that the run-off from the land cannot be considered ‘natural’ – for example if the entire back garden has been paved over.
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/s ... lations-UK

Our cellar floods... a half inch... due to runoff from surroundings fields. Our problem. Hard cheese.

Agreed. i live on a hill and I am very conscious of drainage. I accept water from higher properties and encourage my water to continue its natural gravitational attraction to find a lower level.

My one worry is as you describe. I have installed a network of perforated pipes under my back garden which capture water and provide it with an effortless path to my downhill neighbour. In theory he might complain although he is probably not the type to be that aware.

My basement used to flood but no longer does.

[G37y]

Thanks for the replies, I cannot say I'm surprised. I think I will keep my head down no one likes the bringer of bad news so I don't think I will mention this to the two householders.

[88V8]

..."The exception to this is where the owner of that adjacent land has carried out “improvements” such that the run-off from the land cannot be considered ‘natural’ – for example if the entire back garden has been paved over.[/i]...

...My one worry is as you describe. I have installed a network of perforated pipes under my back garden which capture water and provide it with an effortless path to my downhill neighbour. In theory he might complain although he is probably not the type to be that aware.
My basement used to flood but no longer does.

We are on the receiving end of land drains, clay, laid perhaps 200 years ago. Unlike modern technology, they still work very well, except perhaps the drain that I suspect runs past the corner of our cellar which is likely blocked lower down, that is to say on our own land.
Even if that were not the case I do not feel that I can hold the present farmer responsible for the acceleration of water onto our land, even if I could prove the consequences

V8

[bungeejumper]

For what it's worth, laying french drains is a doddle and highly cost-effective. Totally transformed our garden, which had been swampy in places due to the run-off from adjoining fields. We were lucky to have somewhere convenient to run the water to, though. (An established land drain leading down to the road, and a handy soakaway under a tree.)

Basically, a foot-deep trench with either a specialised plastic pipe encased in gravel (or just drill some holes in a length of B&Q's finest downpipe), or simply filled up with a few tonnes of coarse road scalpings which you can get for free if you ask nicely. We've tried both methods, and on balance I'd say that the scalpings have done a better job.

BJ

[9873210]

For what it's worth, laying french drains is a doddle and highly cost-effective. Totally transformed our garden, which had been swampy in places due to the run-off from adjoining fields. We were lucky to have somewhere convenient to run the water to, though. (An established land drain leading down to the road, and a handy soakaway under a tree.)

Basically, a foot-deep trench with either a specialised plastic pipe encased in gravel (or just drill some holes in a length of B&Q's finest downpipe), or simply filled up with a few tonnes of coarse road scalpings which you can get for free if you ask nicely. We've tried both methods, and on balance I'd say that the scalpings have done a better job.

BJ

As I understand, it is better to wrap the gravel or scalpings in the correct landscape fabric. This keeps fines (silt) out of the drain. Depending on soil and water conditions, without the barrier the drain could clog in less than a year.

[Lootman]

For what it's worth, laying french drains is a doddle and highly cost-effective. Totally transformed our garden, which had been swampy in places due to the run-off from adjoining fields. We were lucky to have somewhere convenient to run the water to, though. (An established land drain leading down to the road, and a handy soakaway under a tree.)

Basically, a foot-deep trench with either a specialised plastic pipe encased in gravel (or just drill some holes in a length of B&Q's finest downpipe), or simply filled up with a few tonnes of coarse road scalpings which you can get for free if you ask nicely. We've tried both methods, and on balance I'd say that the scalpings have done a better job.

Yes, same here as described (less eloquently) upthread.

I used perforated pipes in the garden and to go around retaining walls. And french drains in my basement as a last resort.

Of course all of this presupposes that there is lower ground to divert water to. Those who live in low-lying depressions do not have this options. The house I sold in 2010 that bordered a river had no such luck, albeit only after I sold it.

Don't be that guy in the gully

[bungeejumper]

Of course all of this presupposes that there is lower ground to divert water to. Those who live in low-lying depressions do not have this options. The house I sold in 2010 that bordered a river had no such luck, albeit only after I sold it.

Our daughter lives in a Welsh town where many of the houses, including hers, have a wet sump in the cellar, which is cleared by an automatic electric pump that only kicks in when required. A primitive device, but it gets the job done. No, I don't know where the water is pumped to. The gutter downpipe, I suppose?

BJ

[Lootman]

Of course all of this presupposes that there is lower ground to divert water to. Those who live in low-lying depressions do not have this options. The house I sold in 2010 that bordered a river had no such luck, albeit only after I sold it.

Our daughter lives in a Welsh town where many of the houses, including hers, have a wet sump in the cellar, which is cleared by an automatic electric pump that only kicks in when required. A primitive device, but it gets the job done. No, I don't know where the water is pumped to. The gutter downpipe, I suppose?

Probably although of course that pipe/sewer that takes water away from her property itself needs either a vertical drop, or else some kind of pressure, to successively transport that water away.

The one time that house of mine almost flooded, the threat came not from the overflowing river out back. But rather from backup from the main sewer in the street out front. At one point water was shooting up from the street drains rather than, ideally, doing what a drain is designed to do. The drain became the threat rather than the solution.

[bungeejumper]

The one time that house of mine almost flooded, the threat came not from the overflowing river out back. But rather from backup from the main sewer in the street out front. At one point water was shooting up from the street drains rather than, ideally, doing what a drain is designed to do. The drain became the threat rather than the solution.

For most modern houses, of course, the sewers and the street rainwater drainage pipework will be two separate systems. Or at least, that's the way it's been since about 1970. But in rural areas, and in smaller towns too, the pipework is still shared all the way down to the sewage processing plant. Hence the fact that heavy rain sends sewage overspill into the rivers.

Out here in the Wiltshire sticks, our rainwater goes down to a couple of soakaways in the garden. For which we get a £17 annual rebate on our water bill. From there, it meanders underground through farmland for a couple of miles before it joins a small tributary of the river Avon. We're doing our bit to keep the rivers clean!

BJ