teenie1975
Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
My neighbor has a pond. He's up the hill from me. For 35+ years, the outlet from the pond was on the East side and a little stream ran merrily through the center of our back yard.
We've been away for a couple years and just visited the house today. In the time that we were gone, the pond owner moved the outlet from his pond to the West side, so the new stream starts on the far back edge of our property, but 1/2 way through it bends and finds its old stream bed. It's running across our lawn, and then it's hitting the former bank in an area where we have a group of small trees. The water has eroded under those trees an alarming amount. It won't be long and they will fall over. Not only that, but the old beginning till nearly the middle of the old stream bed is an empty, barren rut.
If he wanted to move our stream to fully go along the back edge of our property line, we would have been ok with that if he dug out a new stream and used that dirt to fill in the old stream bed. But he did neither...he simply moved his outlet and let the water run where it may.
We (my husband and I) talked with a neighbor just below us that said when it rained really heavy for several days, the new stream path flood and was beating against his house. He went down to talk to the pond owner, but the pond owner has no intention of making any changes.
I want to try to talk to the pond owner one more time with my husband and our neighbor present and try to reason with him...but honestly, I don't know what rights we have exactly. I'm pretty sure he can't just move the outlet to his pond and let it wreck havoc on everyone's property without any recourse...but how should we word it?
If we need to seek legal advice, where should we start? We live in a town, if that makes a difference.
Thanks for any help/advice you can offer. I'd really like to resolve this without making any enemies...he can have his outlet wherever, but I want my yard and trees!
My neighbor has a pond. He's up the hill from me. For 35+ years, the outlet from the pond was on the East side and a little stream ran merrily through the center of our back yard.
We've been away for a couple years and just visited the house today. In the time that we were gone, the pond owner moved the outlet from his pond to the West side, so the new stream starts on the far back edge of our property, but 1/2 way through it bends and finds its old stream bed. It's running across our lawn, and then it's hitting the former bank in an area where we have a group of small trees. The water has eroded under those trees an alarming amount. It won't be long and they will fall over. Not only that, but the old beginning till nearly the middle of the old stream bed is an empty, barren rut.
If he wanted to move our stream to fully go along the back edge of our property line, we would have been ok with that if he dug out a new stream and used that dirt to fill in the old stream bed. But he did neither...he simply moved his outlet and let the water run where it may.
We (my husband and I) talked with a neighbor just below us that said when it rained really heavy for several days, the new stream path flood and was beating against his house. He went down to talk to the pond owner, but the pond owner has no intention of making any changes.
I want to try to talk to the pond owner one more time with my husband and our neighbor present and try to reason with him...but honestly, I don't know what rights we have exactly. I'm pretty sure he can't just move the outlet to his pond and let it wreck havoc on everyone's property without any recourse...but how should we word it?
If we need to seek legal advice, where should we start? We live in a town, if that makes a difference.
Thanks for any help/advice you can offer. I'd really like to resolve this without making any enemies...he can have his outlet wherever, but I want my yard and trees!