To try and block neighbours pool water from emptying into our garden?

[Udford]

We live in a terraced house on a hill; our neighbours sit higher than us. They have a huge, bouncy castle type pool for their kids and when they unplug the power it starts to deflate and a mass amount of water drains into our garden. This isn’t helped by the fact that our neighbours have completely concreted their garden, with artificial grass on top so the water literally slides off their land and into ours.

They emptied it once yesterday and so far, it’s been 3 times today. Our garden is completely water logged.

We have had loads of issues with them in the past so this is not one of those ‘talk to them as they might not know’ kind of instances and they do absolutely know that this is what happens and they don’t care.

We’ve recently had a new fence with concrete posts and gravel boards hoping that would at least slow the flow but sadly it hasn’t. Now thinking about taking future measures however, my husband seems to think it’s illegal to prevent the flow of water.

Does anyone know if this is the case and that we will just have to live this?

Do you have legal cover as part of your home insurance? I wonder if you could seek advice?

Flag the behaviour to the water company, and council. Either may consider this an issues in their wheel house.

However, if you are collecting water you are not entitled to dump it on your neighbour. You would be on dodgy ground if you were trying to divert a natural water source, that is not the case here.

Speak to the council and water company first then contact a solicitor for a letter. If no actin consider guttering that will capture the water before it hits your garden and divert it back at them some how.

Another vote for checking your house insurance to see whether you have legal cover. And seeing a solicitor even if you don't.

This answer from a barrister is about rainwater, but the same would apply to any water allowed or caused to flow from the neighbours' property.
https://www.justanswer.co.uk/law/9rf6v-responsible-rainwater-run-off-going-neighbours.html#:~:text=Under%20the%20law%20laid%20down,can%20be%20sued%20in%20damages.

As to later selling the house, yes, you have to declare any disputes. But how attractive would a ruined garden be to prospective buyers? Not to mention possible structural damage - where does the water end up?

@Udford They are causing a nuisance. They are preventing you from the quiet enjoyment of your property (garden).

Report them to env health and see what can be done.

They need their own drainage, your land is not their drainage system. if its a lot of water, they are overwhelming your drainage system - again a nuisance issue.

Some people are AHs.

Air rifle will sort your problem

I would build the water resistant wall, then at the end of my garden I would run put a teeny pipe through the wall, running into a channel/wall/large pipe that carried water off my property.
That way the water is only going to inconvenience them, and technically I'm not stopping the flow of water just directing it.
But I'm petty.

Hi, this is not general rainwater/surface water issue, they are actively flooding your garden which they aren't allowed to do regardless of whether they are higher than you or not. Try Environmental people although I found them useless, or your house insurance or a solicitor's letter as the last course of action. You don't need to build anything to stop the water, they shouldn't be doing it full stop.

How on Earth are the neighbours going to know it's a issue unless it's been discussed? Telepathy?

Where do they think the water is going?

I would speak to the council and if that doesn’t work to a solicitor, as I think it would come under the heading of causing a “nuisance” - ie when one person’s land adversely affects another’s.

Gah! My first vote and I pressed the wrong button. OP - YA definitely NBA. Sorry for messing up the poll.

I think that only applies to natural waterways. You can't dam a stream and divert the water into you fishpond, for example.

Our Council refused to get involved, said it was a private matter.

Theoretically, when placing a hard surface over your garden you have to ensure you're not allowing run-off to the neighbours. But enforcing it is a different matter.

I struggle to see what repercussions there could be about building a small breeze block wall in your own garden.

If you do it, please do report back the first time they empty the pool 😁

Try your local water company as well. If they're frequently filling it and draining it, this would probably fall under water wastage and given the sorry state of a lot of water reservoirs at the moment they may have an interest in it. They've certainly got involved before for running overflows etc that people can't be bothered to sort out.

Thanks for all of your comments. A little bit of an update, we called the local Council today and they said they weren’t able to offer any advice. I’ve just been round to chat them again this evening and was told “our ground is higher than yours, I don’t care. F* off”

So the little wall is definitely a go!

They sound delightful! I think a letter from a solicitor would be more effective and not that much more in terms of cost than a little wall. Plus when you have a bully like that if you don’t stand up to them they keep taking the piss.

And the council are correct - this is a private nuisance rather than a statutory nuisance, so not for them to do anything about.

Im not a layer, but it looks like Its illegal

Under the law laid down in Leakey v. National Trust an occupier of land is liable for all natural as well as non-natural substances egressing from his land if they cause a nuisance to his neighbour.

they need to manage the water on their land so it doesnt create a nuisance to you (which it clearly is)

if you build a wall to stop the water coming onto your garden, where will it divert to? If you create a nuisance on another neighbours land, they could then come after you.

maybe suggest the annoying neighbours empty their pool via a hosepipe to a stormdrain, or send them a solicitors letter to cease and desist

Is it only me who finds it funny that this case is called “leakey” 😂

You don’t know it for a fact, ‘something’ tells you and you ‘think’ it might be illegal?

Incisive thinking there.

I’ve just been round to chat them again this evening and was told “our ground is higher than yours, I don’t care. F* off”

And this is what OP says in her latest post. Your reading comprehension was way off!

You do understand that there is a difference between chatting to someone again and chatting to someone about this subject again?

Get the wall up. If they can't have a civil conversation then fuck them frankly. You tried. Make sure you take photos/video of the flooding caused by their pool/concrete and plastic wonderland.
Hopefully with autumn rolling around it won't be an issue anyway until next year. Here's hoping the kids will have outgrown an inflatable splash pool anyway. Good luck!!

Do build a wall, and when there garden is flooded, they will ducking care 😂🤣

I'd suggest a more pragmatic approach. Yes they are asshats, But the likelihood is the sunny warm weather will be gone fairly shortly. So no more pool.