From: "Don Phillipson" 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Landscape Changes that Affect Neighbors?
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:51:26 -0500

"Ken Hall"  wrote in message
news:171ev295bp4rdtggch6f41o6ijp7vh7vhu@4ax.com...

> I've lived in this house for more than 20 years.  After a rain there
> might be an inch or so f standing water for a hour or two in my back
> yard, but that was it.

So the property has had inadequate drainage for 20+ year.

> . . . it appears that
> a neighbor has filled in his back yard, raising the level about a
> foot.  It appears that the developer designed the drainage to go down
> the easement of the back yards to the storm sewer at the end of the
> block.  Now the water from the "upstream" houses comes into my yard
> and is dammed up by my neighbor causing it to pool.
> Is there any  law or rule forbidding him from changing the runoff
> causing my yard to flood?

The common law answer is that nothing prevents
a land occupier from raising the surface level of his
land.  Neighbours downhill simply have to put up
with whatever happens i.e. accept the runoff and
make their own arrangements.  You need local
legal advice whether statute law may have changed
this where you live.

-- 
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)