To ask our neighbours to empty their paddling pool elsewhere?

[Lunafloves]

We live on a hill, with houses stepping downwards. Today, my husband started digging out a raised bit of our garden as the intention is to flatten the area for our rabbits. Our neighbours have emptied their paddling pool tonight and it's filled the hole he's dug so far. Is it unreasonable for us to ask them not to do this and to dispose of the water further down? I don't want to put our rabbits their only for them to be bobbing in water whenever we have nice weather! Picture of the water attached 😊

They should tip it down their own drain. The water companies assess what goes down your waste drain and charge you for drain off too.

Is the BunnyPit going to be lined with dig proof mesh and re-filled to turf? (Don't forget your dig proof skirt too )

It might work in your favour to get a good supply of water and keep the grass good in Summer .
Obviously let your NDN know not to empty near your fence , but you might be glad of the rain collecting .
If you can slope the run a bit and it is big enough then the rabbits will be safe enough.

As an aside , I was reading about rabbits ( articles about not buying at this time of year ) they can cost £11,000 over their lifetime Are they Gold Plated ?

Though taking into account their accomodation, neutering, vaccines, insurance, dental treatment and Vet , then holiday boarding and food/hay /veg....... it will add up .

Certainly an eye opener .

I have a water meter it makes me rethink about recycling water we have bucket under our shower & the last person who showers leaves the plug in than we empty it out on the plants obviously your neighbour doesn't have a water meter is there a way you can drain any water to another area of your garden to store the water? French drain &a little dam made of a raised bed so any water from above can be angled & stored elsewhere for later use - although a gentle subtle I -will put a knife into your paddle pool I am afraid you water from the paddle pool has just flooded my back garden perhaps next time you might empty somewhere else you selfish gits

@sestras yep

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3816303-puddle-saga-thread-4?msgid=95308419

I dip in and out for updates. Bonkers.

Yes, ask them to empty it elsewhere. However, if that area is for a permanent rabbit run, then I would advise against it. Rabbits really do need one that can be moved around the garden to give them a constant supply of grass. They shouldn't have a run on hardstanding or bare ground as it causes damage to their feet, creates boredom and they can get overgrown teeth and claws. Many permanent runs (the ones under hutches) simply are not large enough. If the area is just for their hutches, then they will be on legs anyway, so will be fine.

it's got to go somewhere but it's just sat there because of the sheer amount they emptied by the fence

Any idea how big their pool was? How old are the kids? If a little pool has resulted in that then you are going to have huge puddles with heavy showers.
Do speak to them though, they will have no idea.

The water companies assess what goes down your waste drain and charge you for drain off too

Ok, just think that through for a moment. How would that work? Do you think they have cameras in every sewer that can tell if that bit of washing up water came from No 38 or No 40?

Water companies base your sewerage charge on the amount of water you use - on the assumption that most of what you use eventually ends up in the sewers. They don't magically monitor your individual sewerage output luckily for my DH.

You're going to need to turn your entire garden over to the Bunnies so you'll have crop rotation for the grass .

I had guinea-pigs and our lawn was covered in rectangles of cropped grass that took a while to recover , we were moving their runs every 2-3 days when they were out all day .

YABU you need to consider drainage when digging a hole. Eventually it will rain heavily and you will have the same problem. Your neighbours have unintentionally done you a favour by highlighting the issue so you can fix it

The asses next door used to do that deliberately, because they knew their garden sat a few inches higher than mine. You can imagine my delight, when I heard their reaction as the water from their massive pool, poured down their garden and right into their kitchen. They weren’t aware that I had dug down and cemented in some flags in an upright position, to act as a water barrier. Sigh. Happy memories. 😁

They don't just charge for what you use. My bill had a charge on it for run off and drainage. Ie rain, estimated use of hose (which I never did) and fuck knows what else.

And some do have two meters.

They don't just charge for what you use. My bill had a charge on it for run off and drainage. Ie rain, estimated use of hose (which I never did) and fuck knows what else

Sure. But they don't charge based on what has actually gone down your individual drain, as your earlier post suggested. It's all an estimation, so the neighbours' paddling pool run-off will make no difference to the OP's bill.

I've put YABU not because I think it's unreasonable as a request, but because if that area can fill with water so easily, what's going to happen between Nov-Feb when it rains and doesn't evaporate much? We did something similar in our last house and we were constantly bailing out the rabbits every winter and their runs were off limits for weeks at a time as they were flooded.

My son's paddling pool has a valve system and you can attach a hose pipe to it and run it down the drain. If I didn't do that I deluge my neighbours just as yours have you. Unfair.

Could you put stones/ bricks in the base then the soil and turf?

You'll have the drainage and it won't be digable .

Thanks for all the comments. To answer a few questions:

-It's quite a big pool with a huge attached bouncy castle. The kids that use it are about 8 years old.

• We've owned buns for 4 years. They are currently residing with my parents while I try and get their new accommodation sorted. We had planned to place their hutch on hardstanding and have a run attached they can go in and out of as they please.

We are going to speak to them but accept there isn't much else we can do. We can't put the rabbits there now. As someone said above, we would be putting their welfare in our NDN's hands and even if they mean well, they could forget in the future and just let the pool water out again in the same spot.

Rain might disperse differently. Natural water flow is one thing, emptying a pool by the fence is another. Ask them to empty elsewhere and if they are reasonable people they will do it.

They need to empty it on the higher side of their garden, so that it's their garden that soaks it up.

If they're not inconsiderate twats, a word with them might stop them doing it again.

Allowing water to pass from your land to someone erase is trespass. I work in flood risk management, it’s the first thing taught on “Flood defence law 101” training. I’ll see if I can find the case law, something to do with a Cambridge tannery.(apologies you any lawyers out there if I have used the wrong terminology, I’m a civil engineer!).

It’s not Trespass, it’s Nuisance. Rylands v Fletcher says that you are allowed to enjoy your land without Interference from your neighbour’s water.

I’d say in this case particularly because it’s foreseeable that the water will drain into your garden, and also practicals to dispose of it by alternative means (small pump into their own drainage system).

Anyway, YANBU to ask your neighbours not to do this, and also it looks like the law is on your side if you want to take it further.