william

[William1111]

I have a situation in Georgia where my next door neighbors home is at a higher elevation then ours. Unfortunitly the runoff from his downspouts runs accross his property a few feet and onto my property causing flooding into my basement. All of the water from his property ends up on our property and in our basement.

I have installed a drainage system from all of our downspouts to take the water from my roof out to the street hoping this would eleviate the situation and allow the ground to absorb the ecess water but it has not. It has decreased the amount of water in our basement but it still floods during a heavy rain. My neighbor say that there is nothing he can do, the city has no stance on the subject.

Our neighbor could install a drainage system as we did and divert the majority of water but does not want to disrupt his grass and irrigation system or pay someone for the work.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this situation. I do not wish to go to court and I'm trying to be a good neighbor, but I cannot finish our basement with it flooding with every rain.

[elklaw]

I have an aunt who has your problems for the same reasons. If you do not desire to go to court, my suggestion is to contact the local public health and safety department or code compliance and ask them to contact the neighbor about the need for a drainage system as they are causing a public health and safety problem by causing their water to flow to homes below and cause flooding, which leads to mold, mosquitos, etc.... I also suggest that you consult with a local attorney to see if they have other ideas that you can pursue.

[William1111]

Thanks for the advice, I now have a meeting with a city employee to discuss the issue.

thanks again