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Homeowner Forum / Construction / September 2005New road put in next to us- water issues
Recently the builder actually built the road up and poured it. We are now a corner lot. They really did a number here on us. They built it up very high (about 3.5' higher than my land) and my back and side yard, that runs adjacent to the road, now is very low and sunk in. the ground from the street slopes down steep to my yard. It rained Saturday, and my backyard was a lake, even though there is a yard drain there at the lowest point, it was clogged with mud and way to small to keep up with all the new water. My backyard looks VERY sunk in now. It used to be level with the land adjacent to my lot. But they built the road up very high to where it ramps up to several feet higher than my lot. The builder said he'd put a larger drain in. But simply putting a bigger "mouth" is not going to help much. He'd need to dig up and install larger pipe through much of my lawn. Building up my grade is another option, but the problem would then be that it would end up being higher than my house and the water would then come towards my house! He seems willing to work with me, but I don't know what to tell him I need done. aren't there laws on how high the grading can be? How could I check into this? > Recently the builder actually built the road up and poured it. ... They built it > up very high (about 3.5' higher than my land) and my back and side > yard, that runs adjacent to the road, now is very low and sunk in. ... > The builder said he'd put a larger drain in. But simply putting a > bigger "mouth" is not going to help much. He'd need to dig up and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > need done. aren't there laws on how high the grading can be? How > could I check into this? Who's the jurisdiction in charge? The county or city engineer would be where I'd start for what's needed. Should have been a drainage plan filed when the subdivision was platted. Can't really suggest what should be done 'cause don't know where the water should be going...where's the outflow from the existing drain now go? In a previous post 69strat wrote... > He seems willing to work with me, but I don't know what to tell him I > need done. aren't there laws on how high the grading can be? How > could I check into this? Is this a private road or a public street? If the latter then get the county or city engineer out to inspect and make the builder correct the problem.  SignatureBob Morrison, PE, SE R L Morrison Engineering Co Structural & Civil Engineering Poulsbo WA The simple, general rule of thumb is that it is illegal to change drainage. You can't dump onto a neighbor if it never went that way before. You can't prevent drainage that has existed. As others have said, if this a subdivision thing and if there is an AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) they would be the first contact. If the builder will work with you, it sounds much more productive than the attorney route. The main issue would seem to be - Where Was The Water Going Before? He has an obligation to keep the water going wherever that was or arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution. It sounds as if you may have mowing and landscaping issues in addition to drainage issues. Start getting things in writing and protest vehemently, don't procrastinate on this one. Get proposals, completion dates, and deadlines in writing or recorded. None of us can see the lay of the land or envision his reasons for raising the grade. If your land was able to surface drain the water before his work, he may need to develop whatever storm sewer system is required to maintain your drainage. You mentioned that you already had some type of storm drain/catch box inlet/piped drainage something which implies that you may have already been in a hole, but it must have been piped somewhere. Was this a personally owned drain or a development type intake? (top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) dgriff237@7cox.net > Recently the builder actually built the road up and poured it. > We are [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > How > could I check into this? Hey thanks everyone. Yes it's a subdivision with a new road put in. It ramps up and the ground from where the sidewald will be slopes steep down to mine. There are big storm drains put in the road. So the road will take care of all it's own water. He told me the sidewalk will be angled to dump towards the street allowing those big drains to take care of it. My issue is the slope of land that runs along the sidewalk that is new water for my land. If you highlight, copy and paste this link, you can get an idea of the situation. the lake is my backyard and there is a drain under there. You can see the new street in the far right, and the land sloping down is my concern. Thank you very much for your help. http://photobucket.com/albums/v215/stephjeff/?action=view¤t=MVC-076S.jpg In a previous post 69strat wrote... > My issue is the slope of land that runs along the sidewalk that is new > water for my land. If you highlight, copy and paste this link, you [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://photobucket.com/albums/v215/stephjeff/?action=view¤t=MVC-076S.jpg I'm guessing the drain is plugged or is too small to accommodate the runoff. If they just now putting a storm drain in the street, what does the drain in your yard connect to? Contact the local engineer having jurisdiction over the installation of the road. Tell him/her to come have a look and see what the engineer says about the issue. SignatureBob Morrison, PE, SE R L Morrison Engineering Co Structural & Civil Engineering Poulsbo WA Bob, you're right the drain is now plugged up with mud. I have been in contact with an official from the city. He saw the situation and says they (the builder) needs to address it. It's just I don't know what to tell him to do. The builder is asking me what I want! Shouldn't they have the engineers to figure this out right?! I told the builder that I don't want that extra water running on to my land and would like it directed away. But that looks impossible now. It's like they put the road in, thinking oh his yard drain will take care of this water from the sloped grade which is about 3 feet high. My whole side yard is soaked. I cannot mow for days after a rain. The city engineer is also looking into why my basement has been getting ton of water when it rains. It turns out back in May, this builder dug up and connected to the fire hydrant on the front tree lawn and screwed something up there. Tests from my sump show that there is chlorine in the water. I have been getting flooded basements all summer. Never had a single problem until this guy started digging up around here. It's like these people don't know what the hell they're doing. > Bob, you're right the drain is now plugged up with mud. I have been in > contact with an official from the city. He saw the situation and says [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > had a single problem until this guy started digging up around here. > It's like these people don't know what the hell they're doing. I think you need to talk to the City Engineer and have him look at the road drainage as well. It appears there probably should be one or more culverts through the roadbed to allow the water to go wherever it used to go. It's not your responsibility to tell the builder how, it's his to fix it. The City should be able to help but depending on the size of the city and the individual(s), they may or may not have sufficient time and/or interest/resources to really deal with it properly unless you continue to force the issue. In a previous post 69strat wrote... > Bob, you're right the drain is now plugged up with mud. I have been in > contact with an official from the city. He saw the situation and says > they (the builder) needs to address it. It's just I don't know what > to tell him to do. It is the City Engineer's responsibility to make certain that the installation meets the design criteria of the city code. I would contact the city engineer again and tell him that you are not an engineer and need to have him speak to the contractor about a remedy for your situation. The City Engineer should not approve the installation of the roads and drainage until this situation is corrected. Non-approval theoretically means that the builder must stop selling lots and building houses. You may need to get you city council representative involved in this. If you are still not getting satisfaction then a polite phone call from your attorney to the Mayor's office should get results. The City has very high liability exposure here if they approve the road and utility installation knowing that it is defective. SignatureBob Morrison, PE, SE R L Morrison Engineering Co Structural & Civil Engineering Poulsbo WA Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction. I will keep forcing this issue with the city. They seem to be on my side at least understanding that I have several problems going on here. Any ideas on my basement issue? The builders dug up the fire hydrant in April/May this year. Since then I have had water issues in the basement. I told them about it and they said they didn't do anything and it's my sump/drain issues. Well now the tests show that the hydrant is leaking and somehow making it's way to my footer tiles and into my sump. It fills so fast that my pump cannot keep up and floods. Threw out a lot of stuff that got wet. I spend over $1K this summer cleaning and buying a back up. I'm so pissed that they screwed this up and cost me work time, and $. I'm going to talk to the builder Monday about the flooding issue again, but I'm wondering if I should contact an attorney instead. In a previous post 69strat wrote... > Any ideas on my basement issue? The builders dug up the fire hydrant > in April/May this year. Since then I have had water issues in the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > about the flooding issue again, but I'm wondering if I should contact > an attorney instead. At the same time that you talk to the City Engineer about the drainage issue, talk to him about the hydrant issue. Again, it is the City Engineer's responsibility to see that all aspects of the utility installation are correct. Stop talking to the contractor. Keep bugging the City Engineer to make the contractor do the work correctly. As I said before, contact your city council representative or the Mayor if you do not seem to be getting any results from the City Engineer. The City Engineer has the authority to completely stop the sale of lots and homes until the utilities are correctly installed. That is where you want to focus your time and energy. I wouldn't get your attorney involved just yet. Give the City Engineer time to enforce the code. If that doesn't work then move up the ladder to his boss - the City Council and the Mayor. If you get no results at that point, then bring on an attorney. The attorney's focus should be on getting the City to do its job. City governments don't like to be sued for malfeasance. The bad publicity makes politicians very nervous. Bob Morrison, PE, SE R L Morrison Engineering Co Structural & Civil Engineering Poulsbo WA |
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