Drainage Woes
We have all been there, when we have that spot in our yard that always lies wet, and all it does is frustrate you. Or maybe you have water running on to your property from a neighboring yard or field, and you think to yourself, “What can I do? Can’t they just stop the water on their property?” You have so many things running through your head, and it all leads back to, “What can I do?”
Ohio drainage law followed the “reasonable use doctrine for surface water drainage.
Ohio courts follow the “reasonable use” doctrine for surface water drainage. Under this doctrine, a landowner may drain surface water from his or her property in a reasonable manner. There are a variety of solutions that can be used while reasonably handling drainage issues. Some of these solutions may include:
tiling the wet laying area
creating a pond
using a ditch to catch water while giving It time to slowly absorb before running into your yard
or creating a rain garden. Rain gardens are created by building a berm in a low spot in the yard, then build swales to channel runoff from the gutters and higher parts of the yard. The water is then absorbed into the soil through the network of deep plant roots.
While there are many ways that you can fix your drainage issues, it is never a good idea to create problems for neighbors by redirecting the flow of the water onto their property. This could result in legal issues for you. Often times, if you and your neighbor talk you can come to a reasonable decision, but remember that your uphill neighbor is not required to keep rainfall that lands on his property on his property. The natural flow of water is not anyone’s fault.
If you have been in this position, you know it is aggravating to say the least. If you are uphill from your neighbor, you can take some steps to maybe help them out, such as having a rain barrel. Rain barrels are a good way to store rain water and keeping it from all running off your roof and onto someone else property. Rain barrels also have benefits for the owner. The rain water being stored allows you to use it in your gardens or yards when you have a dry spell. This can help reduce your water bill by using the rain water to your advantage!
No matter how frustrating that rain water can be there is always solution and it is our duty to find those solutions while doing our best to preserve the water. Water pollution is becoming a big issue in both urban and rural areas and we all need to be conscious of the decisions being made and how it affects our water ways.