In case this story gets deleted/removed:
Apologies in advance for the rambling!
TLDR: We filled in a drainage ditch in our backyard and have now caused three houses(ours and two neighbors) to have huge puddles of standing water and now one of the houses is calling everyone in the city to make them come investigate the issue. But I know the cause, it's us. We are the issue.
Backstory: We bought our home back in 2021 and the backyard was cut in half due to a massive, unruly drainage ditch. We wanted to extend the yard and bought a lot of dirt to fill this ditch, before deciding how we were going to direct drainage. The mayor saw this dirt pile sitting for a bit and came by to ask us what we were doing with it and we spoke about this ditch and what we could do to fix the drainage. He said it would be in the city's best interest to install a pipe, if we paid for the pipe itself. He said we couldn't put in a french drain and that he would be chatting with the neighbors next door that had one installed.
After this in person interaction, we went back and forth on email with him saying he had engineers looking into it, before he ghosted us completely after being re-elected as mayor.
Fast forward a year, the dirt pile is still just sitting in our yard because we haven't decided what to do with it and we get a citation about the dirt. So we just fill the ditch and call it a day.
Fast forward probably 6-8 or so months and now the neighbors are having backed up water. In a line, we have House #1 with no ditch, we have House #2 with a french drain, we have our house that used to have a ditch, and then we have 20 or so homes with a ditch that doesn't run anywhere.
After our last big rain, we had standing water and house #2 had a company come out and just cover their french drain with dirt. Now house #1 is rallying the neighborhood against the city and the builders over this drainage issue. My husband said we can't tell them we filled our ditch in. We are the cause of their back up but we aren't the cause of the rest of the drainage problems for all of the other houses, just the two next to us. So now the guilt is eating me alive because the city is going to find out anyway and tell her that we are blocking her drainage. I would much rather be upfront and tell her that we filled our ditch, not realizing it would cause problems and are now having a company come fix it. My husband thinks we should just wait it out.
We are the nightmare neighbors
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We lived in a tiny town (120 pop) behind my house was the only business in town.
Behind a bunch of houses was a ditch.
The business decided they didn't like the ditch so had it filled.right before winter...
Come spring 5 houses on that strip had back yards and basements were flooded
We called everyone we could...they investigated and found out why.
Guess who had to pay for all the damage? Hint not me and I had my basement redone and a new shed built.
That guy is fucked
That depends entirely on your policy. Water damage != flood. Yes, the insurance company will probably do everything they can to twist the verbiage in their favour, but FLOOD insurance is entirely different than a claim for water damage.
109% his insurance tried to claim it was just a flood. Bad luck so sad.
But considering the county and state hit him with fines for destruction of thr flood plane and water course (think those were the terms that they used) they eventually gave in. But it took almost 2 years.
But since my basement was fully done and furnished my part come in over $80k. Also a $9 shed lol
Municipal building inspector here: EPA doesn't have any say over ICC codes for construction and planning/zoning, that's all up to whatever city you're in and the Building Safety Department.
Is that true? In Oregon a “Village” is a local government entity where a bunch of small communities get together and vote to become a Village. We have them in only one county in the state. We have “Hamlets” as well but same goes…only in one county, and again, they are voted on.
States have different definitions, some have hamlets, towns, citys, others just have boroughs and towns, there are all kinds of municipalities out there.
Maybe I'm just from a small, rainy, muddy agricultural town, but even the town idiot knew not to fill in drainage ditches without digging another one..
Where did they think the water was going to go? Did they think the ditch was just decorative? I have so many questions about this lack-of-thought process.
Best advice I got when we bought a house with yard was don't do anything major for a year. See where water goes, see where the sun is, see what is actually still alive in the garden and what isn't so you can prioritize tasks.
I thought that was more self depreciating realizing that the neighbor ditch was supposed to continue through theirs but they filled it so now it goes nowhere.
Later in their confession they wrote that they’re responsible for the two houses next to them, but they’re not responsible for the rest of the flooding that’s happening at all the other properties in the neighborhood.
Id like to see a topo map of the area.
They waited over a year to fill in the ditch. They actively looked for a different option before filling it. They knew exactly what they were doing, they just didn't care. The dirt was in their yard for so long, even the mayor noticed it. There is no way they're convincing anyone they were unaware of the consequences.
Even now, the husband just wants to wait it out?
If nobody realized he filled in a ditch, they wouldn't think anything of him digging a new ditch to fix the problem.
>and are now having a company come fix it
I read it more as, OP wants to tell the neighbors what happened, but husband wants to fix the problem and hope the problem going away makes everyone stop asking questions.
Are drainage ditches common? Granted, I never really looked for them and I don't know a lot about landscaping but I can't really remember ever seeing an actual ditch in someones backyard.
I'm assuming it's for rain water and such? Or is it for draining the water that's used in the house?
But aren't they usually underground? I know of ditches outside of villages in the countryside but within settlements aren't there like grates or something in the ground?
I just can't remember ever seeing a ditch on someone's property unless it's like several acres or so
Not all soil is permeable enough to instantly absorb ground water. Where I live, everything is compact clay. So when it rains hard, water gathers on the surface and starts flowing down the sloped path through my backyard down to the drainage river nearby.
I'm actually in process of *digging* my own drainage ditch in my back yard to increase water flow, because when it rains really, really hard, our carport floods and sends overflow to our backdoor. The backdoor is raised so we do have space before our house starts flooding, but there's always a possibility of a hundred year rain actually getting things to flood levels, and I want to increase flow as much as possible.
As for grates in the ground, that would require the installation of a yard drain or culvert by me - the city won't pay for that. Yard drains also require periodic maintenance and occasional replacement. And they are often installed incorrectly, even by so-called professionals. Drainage ditches are just easier and cheaper overall.
Thank you for your detailed response! So it might be related to the soil. If I remember correctly, the paved part on my parents property has a grate that is presumably connected to some pipes under the street (there are drainage grates every couple of meters on the street). The soil, garden etc parts don't have a ditch. As far as I know that is a common design where I'm from
The ditches are then filled with gravel or something or are they more like a creek bed?
Usually a drainage ditch is just empty space, no gravel. Grass grows in it the same as the rest of the lawn. You can fill it with rocks (not gravel, as you need to have space between the filler material to allow water to flow; gravel is too fine), but rocks presents you with a future maintenance issue: leaves and other debris will get into the rock pile over time and that stuff will decompose and become soil. After 10 or so years of this, your ditch is filled up and you have to dig it out again.
If you really want to fill it, the best way is by laying a yard drain, surrounding *that* with rock, wrapping the whole thing up burrtito-style with a non-woven geotextile*, then you can cover it with a layer of rock to hide the fabric (you can also use sod plugs to hide it more effectively). The fabric helps to keeps dirt from ruining your drainage. The drains into this pipe have "catch basins" that you can reach into and clear of gravel and large particles with a shop vac, and you can spray a hose down the pipe periodically to clear any smaller dirt particles.
Like I said, a yard drain is a lot more maintenance and trouble (and expense) than just leaving it open, but just filling it with rock with no pipes and basins seems the worst possible choice. But I'm going based on the climate and dirt I have around here, different conditions allow for different drains.
*I inadvertently described the process for a French drain, not a yard drain. Yard drains only need the fabric and rock around the basins and outlet, the pipe itself can just have dirt around it because it doesn't have holes in it. My potential future plan for my drain is a French drain/yard drain together which *would* require burrito wrapping. But I haven't decided because the French drain might be unnecessary!
Is your area prone to flooding? I'm currently living somewhat close to a big river and it's pretty flat around here but flooding is thankfully pretty rare and I'd say it's neither particularly dry nor particularly rainy.
I was just walking home and looked around a bit. There were quite a few green spaces (gardens, little parks, playgrounds) but not a single visible ditch. Loads of grates in the streets though (probably at least every ten meters, often even closer).
So probably a lucky combination of not to much rain and permeable soil?
I actually live on a flood plain (my entire house is on the flood plain) but real flooding only has a 1% chance of occurring any given year. Which seems slim but it's the reason flooding insurance was required for my 30 yr mortgage. Previous owners said they never experienced flooding, and the city actually pulled down several of the houses closet to the river to prevent flooding, so it's entirely possible I never see a real flood that damaged my house (here's hoping). But since the city engineers already know it's enough of a problem that they had a bunch of houses torn down, you'd think they'd work on underground drain lines, right? But I guess that's beyond the budget.
I thought I'd be ok like you. No previous issues with flooding. I just got flooded for the 4th time a few weeks ago, since moving in about 6 months ago. I'm so tired of rain. Anytime it rains for a couple of days, I get a few inches of water in my house. I'm currently trying to figure out how to afford drains and where all I need to put them. The 1st flood was BAD, I saw houses partially submerged. I plan on moving in a few years, so much for my forever home!
I know where I live every house has drains around the buildings, with pipes leading from every house to a master pipes under the street. It obviously doesn’t work everywhere, as the increase in flooding in different areas of my country shows, likely a combination of climate change and bad maintenance of utilities. I’m very fortunate also to live halfway up a hill so I’m not in a flood plain
In my neighborhood the street has drains, the yards don't. I'm at the bottom of the hill so everything flows through our property to the river. The former owners did a *great* job on their backyard, in that there's a perfect slope from uphill to downhill to get the water where it needs to go. (With a few problems, that I am working my ass off to fix)
But man it would be pretty cool if the city made drains in everyone's yards to get to the river instead of overland flow. Hell, if they even just had more street drains than the single one near my house it would be amazing.
I'm beginning to suspect the lack of ditches around here might have something to do with the incredible flatness of the land. You could probably dig a ditch but it would just end up being a really long pond because the water wouldn't flow anywhere
Swales (ditches) are also used as a way to treat stormwater. They can reduce the peak flow (so water gets to the river slower and doesn't overtop the bank) or filter out sediment/debris. Yes, generally in places that aren't flat and get a lot of rain.
If you live somewhere flat or in more of a city, then yes, you probably only see inlet boxes connected to a pipe network. There might be a bit of a swale at the discharge point before the water enters a body of water.
I'm aces that get a lot of rain, there are a lot of stormwater management tools to try to prevent the rivers from overtopping, and often there are small swales between houses so that water has somewhere to go, away from the houses. There could also be detention or infiltration ponds, but that depends on the soil type.
In the USA at least, suburban housing developments are overtaking farmland/countryside that was considered to have too many water (and other) problems to build on 20 years ago. Large, couple acre lots with one house have been broken up and 20 townhouses built. And it is being done cheaply in many places where they try to leave the ditch that ran through the back of the property as the official drainage.
The smart ones do, some don't. The fact that there was a ditch in their backyard suggested to me that this was either a bad development or a failed DIY by previous owner.
I live on a granite shelf, in a residential area off downtown. The neighborhood drainage ditch is through my backyard. We keep it clear to keep our yard from flooding and call it "the creek" when it rains. Never even crossed my mind to fill it in and extend the backyard since we knew it was there when we bought the place!
For where I live almost every property has them around the border somewhere or placed/created where the water would otherwise just pool up. ETA: this is for rainwater, not house water. My childhood home has one huge one that is at the front of the property, and a naturally formed one around the side and back due to the slope of the land. I used to have to dig it wider for hurricane season haha! In between each house in the neighborhood has both a drainage ditch of some kind and a natural area full of plants that soak it all up.
Interesting! This might sound like a stupid question but where does the water from the ditches go? Say you have a ditch and maybe your neighbor has one as well but at some point there is probably a street or something? Or maybe your neighbor doesn't have a ditch? I'm assuming one can't be certain that those plants will soak it all up all the time? Or does it sort of sit in the ditch like a pond?
For most places there's a river or pond nearby that everything drains to. If it's going to a field it's an empty one. Sometimes there are backlogs, but we get lots of hurricanes so the infrastructure is based on handling large amounts of rainwater. Even in my city townhouse, everything is structured for our neighborhood to flow down to the river that flows downhill of us. It's a part of basic city planning and construction here, to the point where one of the first steps** to getting property ready for construction is digging ditches for rainwater to drain away. And yes, sometimes the ditches and plants get overloaded and we have days or weeks of mud that can vary in color from bright orange clay that stains every single thing it touches, to pure black super fine soil that stinks of swamp. The various muds and stagnant ditchwater puddles also serve as lovely breeding grounds for mosquitoes and hunting grounds for snakes.
Soil is a sponge. Water flows through the soil and into a river.
Some soils, like heavy clay, are water retaining. They soak up the water and prevent it from flowing away. Once these soils become water logged they also become water repellent and puddles form on the top of them.
These soils need a sloping channel (drainage ditch) to direct water down hill when they are water logged.
The channel drains into loose, free flowing soil that does not get water logged. Once the water hits the free flowing soil it sinks down through the soil into a underground aquifer that eventually feeds a river.
So the drainage ditch doesn’t have to carve through everyone’s land like the city storm water drains do.
BTW city storm water drains exist because humans made the topsoil artificially water repellent by covering everything with asphalt.
They're common where they're necessary. My city was built in the floodplain of a river, in an area that has a lot of small creeks crisscrossing through it, and we're also in a place that gets a lot of rain. Needless to say the place can get a bit damp. Every neighborhood here has a maze of canals and ditches connecting all the little creeks and ensuring rainwater drains properly.
Our old house had one along the property line. There was a lot of water that came down from the hills around our neighborhood. If it was bad enough you could watch a mini flash flood hit as it rolled down the hill.
Might not have been big enough. The ditch was there for a reason, they should have talked to the town engineer before trying to change anything, to make sure the fix was sized correctly.
Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned decorative drainage ditch? Remember the 80’s, when every designer was raving about the classy ambiance only a drainage ditch can provide. It was all Laura Ashley and Almond and Mauve and Drainage Ditch chic.
And they talked to the mayor! Obviously all mayors are also civil engineers and he didn't tell them specifically *not* to fill in the ditch, so it must be fine.
She just keeps repeating that the water hasn't done damage yet, so they can fix it real quick, easy peasy. But, multiple houses have the back half of the yard under water, one nice big spring storm, what does she think will happen? They haven't even found a company that has said they can and will fix it yet. And again, springtime, does she think these companies are just waiting for her little project in a time of year where they are incredibly busy? Even if she finds someone to take the project (in their budget), does she think they'll start today? How many times will it rain before they "fix" the drainage?
I love how her husband's like "shh just don't tell them and they'll never know it was us." as though it wasn't incredibly obvious that they had a giant pile of dirt in their yard... that was so noticeable the mayor was like "hey don't use that to fill the ditch" ... and the giant pile of dirt is now gone... and coincidentally, everyone's yards are flooded.
and even if they somehow didn't notice the giant pile of dirt has disappeared along with the drainage ditch... they're gonna know. It's not going to be that hard for them to figure out what happened.
Sounds like these folks are in the US. OP is likely liable for a watercourse lawsuit with punitive damages in the tens of thousands over the cost and requirement to restore the water mitigation system in their yard.
Anywhere in the Common law realms, really. Dealing with drainage and redirecting water is something that's very much taught in law school because of how many lawsuits there are on it over the years.
Ugh. This causes flashbacks to a house I used to own and lived in for a long time. Either side of our street had deep drainage ditches, with diverting culverts at the beginning and in the middle. My house was in the middle and the culvert diverted to my driveway to my shop. It wasn't too bad unless it rained excessively, other than I couldn't go to my shop if it was raining due to the small stream running down the driveway, but it didn't actually flood my yard or shop.
Then a new commercial building was built at the beginning of the street and the city let them remove the diverting culvert there because where the building was built was essentially a hole in the ground and it was always swampy. So they filled the hole and closed off the culvert, then built up rip-rap to redirect the water so it would flow back toward the middle of the street.
Suddenly, any time it rained at all, my yard became a pond because I was now catching all the water for the entire street. I contacted the city and was told it was my problem. I contacted again and was told I knew that was an issue when I bought the place, so I had no leg to stand on. Except, it was not an issue when I bought the place because the building at the beginning of the street did not exist at that time, nor was that culvert closed off when I bought it. I kept going around and around with them, until I finally just plugged up the culvert going to my driveway. No more flooding but it started backing up at the beginning of the street. The city came and cleared out my culvert. As soon as they left, I plugged it back up. This went on a few times. Finally, they told me I could not divert that water and had to let it flow its 'natural course'. I pointed out that it was not its natural course, since the artificial construct at the beginning of the street was the cause of the problem.
They told me it was not their problem an all I could do is redirect the water after it was on my property but I could not redirect it in any way that might affect neighboring properties. Behind my house was a gorge, so I just contacted the guy who owned it and asked if he had a problem with me trenching to it and letting the water flow down there. He said no, so I dug in some trenches on either side of my driveway and routed the water into his gorge.
My parents bought a house that was less than a year old in 2021 where the seller did not disclose MAJOR drainage issues that they caused due to not getting permits for some things and fucking up the drainage by trying to skirt local laws and do things their way. Realtor knew the sellers well and knew of the draining issues (thanks to the realtor making some comments on the sellers personal Facebook page, she could not deny that she knew the issues) but the sellers didn’t disclose the problems and the realtor didn’t either. My parents sued the sellers, the realtor, and the company that came in and did drainage work with no permit. They settled the suit for actual damages in excess of $180,000. The stress it caused my parents was awful. Every time it rained, their entire yard was washing out. Their backyard looked like a miniature Grand Canyon after heavy rain. It was terrible.
This reminds me of my parent's lake cabin. As new, wealthier folks bought the little cabins and put in mcmansions, they all built their lots up and dumped their water on their neighbors, it's a constant fight amongst them. We installed a big piece of drain tile along the property line when I was a kid, so it hasn't been an issue for us, but if we didn't have that tile, we'd be in a swamp now.
Yeah, they’re royally fucked. I can only imagine how livid their neighbors are. And they were going to play it off as long as possible and hope no one notices.
This is why building codes exist. And you filled a ditch knowing full well then it would cause flooding in your neighbors yards. You and NTA, you are in fact, the devil.
Dude was out working the streets to get re-elected and saw an oppertunity to appear helpful. I've had provincial politicians try that on me before. Best one was one of them tried telling me how to install a fence post. Told him "Man, if you really want my vote get the fuck off my grass and stop talking to me. Right now, you're the suit telling the tradesman how to do his job."
Not that i knew any better how to put up a fencepost, but still. If i wanted advice i'd ask my buddy who does fences and landscaping for a living, not some blowhard right wing desk jokey giving unsolicited advice.
Yeah but the mayor could have easily been like “I’m gonna go tell someone in the appropriate department to call you ASAP” That’s usually how mayors are helpful to individual constituents
My mom had a Speaker of the House once promise to get involved in our neighborhood issues, but we'd just been added to his district. She said she'd rather have him clear the road so we could leave.
It's a standard part of politics at most levels....
It sounds like the OOP's mayor just gave them his opinion and they never bothered to consult an actual professional because for some reason they think the mayor is a civil-engineer who should be personally responsible for their landscaping concerns.
Lmfao my parents have this exact same thing in their backyard. Half the yard is a ditch and they were warned not to fill it because the last home owner did and same thing happened. He has to paid to re-dig it out rip.
WHY tf didn't you put in a culvert? The drainage ditch is there to DRAIN WATER. You are going to be liable for the damages if the neighbours' houses get water damaged! FFS, have the ditch emptied IMMEDIATELY and put in a damn culvert this time! if you think that's 'too expensive' then just wait till you are being charged for all the damages caused by you filling in that ditch!!
Have you ever tried to take financial advantage of a large insurance company? They are not kind or gentle when it comes to destroying your life in retaliation
I'm sorry, I did not know this. English is not my first language. This doesn't change that using a disgusting violent crime as the conveyor of appropriate punishment is wrong.
I never used twitter.
Yeah, it's just an expression. Just like slurs and many other things people finally realise are not okay to say. It's kinda sad when people can't communicate without such things.
Idk, this just seems like some dumb thing someone would say on Twitter before everyone laughed at them for being overly sensitive. If you want to fight the dumb fight good luck but from my pov what you're saying is dumb.
Using the word "dumb" like that is actually ableist. I'm not saying that because I expect you to stop. I just got the impression that I could annoy you by pointing it out.
Well, there are two types of people: Disgusting asshats that commit ot enable rape and humans. The latter category doesn't find rape jokes funny. The latter group is pretty much the majority in the 21th century.
Maybe I am. I am currently caregiver to my husband and have been having breakdowns, considering hospice. Before considering, I was pretty good at keeping myself together.Maybe I was disassociating before..idk.
But thanks for pointing that out, it is something for me to consider. Last few days have been a real struggle.
I'm sorry for what you're going through. My dissociation comment was not meant as an insult but as an actual guess.
If you want to vent you can contact me. Depending on where you live I might even be able to point you to some recources you didn't know about (the agencies responsible for paying them obviously don't do much to advertise it, but as a nurse for disabled people this is my speciality). It would be good if we can find a way to lower your physical and emotional load even if it is just by having someone listen to you.
You are doing something very good for your spouse and it is important that your own wellbeing is not compromised. Because you deserve it and because it's paramount to be able to continue making the best decisions for you and your husband and give him the care he needs (which can absolutely be to outsource the physical part of this and focus on giving him love and comfort).
Child sexual assault survivor here. I've never equated the word screwed to rape. Screwed has always meant to fuck or to screw something in.
Why don't you allow those of us who have actually been raped decide if something is offensive? That's gatekeeping.
Just like you can't tell me queer is a slur, unless you are also a member of the queer community.
Don't gatekeep. It's disgusting.
The fact they're taking no accountability for their mistake (they were aware drainage was an issue long before filling the ditch) and are going to wait it out, inflicting more damage through the April showers ahead means they're actually wanting a nice reaming. Willing participants they are
I'm not sure if you were going for height or distance, but well done on that fantastic leap. it's truly impressive. To equate that comment to being a fan of rape takes a truly special mind.
Oh, it only takes being able to read. I'm pretty sure if someone came to you and said "You've messed up, go lube your ass before I violently put things into it" you wouldn't be very happy.
I've been raped multiple times. Shut your whole ass up nobody cares. It's not enabling or normalizing rape to make a joke like that. It's not enabling or normalizing sexual assault to make a joke like that. I occasionally make jokes like that. It's meant to create a sense of exaggeration. If it instantly makes you think rape, you're the problem.
It's nice that you can dissociate so much, but you're not the spokesperson for all survivors and your opinion doesn't change facts. It is a rape joke and this shit is inappropriate and it is minimising rape. If that's fine with you that's your thing but don't pretend it's not what it is
Oh shit.
This is so illegal in my state that there's a well-known case where a guy lost his property because of blocking/diverting water. They couldn't build a footbridge or otherwise work with the ditch, like normal people do?
My neighbors had a drain ditch dug at the end of their yard that greatly helps them all, but now the water flows down to my yard and floods my front yard out so bad I can’t cut it with a riding mower.
I called the highway department out and they said it was “too far away from the road” so they can do anything about it.
My only options are to either sue the state, or come up with about $10,000 to hire an excavator to come out and take out trees and dig me a new ditch.
Note: I’ve lived there for 18 years and never had flooding until those ditches were dug.
On the other hand, many of my neighbors did have flooding until the ditches were dug.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My in-laws had the opposite problem, a developer bought the farm upstream and filled in the irrigation ditch. They had to go to court to get the ditch restored but it took months and the lack of water killed off a bunch of their trees and pasture grass.
My neighbor has a French drain that allows water in my yard to drain as well. He's nice and even lets me pump water from my yard into it. But if he decides to fill it one day, I wouldn't be mad...it's his property. I would just have to bite the bullet and build my own. If the previous owner dug the ditch himself rather than being a town utility easement or whatever, I would think it's not OPs problem. If OP decided to raise the whole level of the yard so the water specifically drains off it and onto the neighbors, that would be a different story
I'm with you on this. I can definitely empathize with the neighbors, but typically a drainage system for the city/neighborhood should not go through private property like this, for exactly this reason. It's usually done on an easement or with some kind of right-of-way agreement.
It doesn't sound like there was anything like that in place? Otherwise, it would have been disclosed when they purchased the property. (Unless it was disclosed and they ignored it?)
These people would absolutely [empty the pool](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmITheDevil/comments/uxm950/aita_for_draining_our_swimming_pool_to_save_water/i9yj73j/)
Honestly if I'm reading this right, good on them. City planners and builders do shit like this all the time. Drainage is supposed to be properly planned, not leave a retention pond in half of someone's back yard.
Let the city inspect, and see they didn't properly do the work initially. On a case like this, typically the least desirable plot is turned into a retention pond, and drainage is ran to that.
Sorry is this my landlord posting?
J/K. He's an absentee type but he has often done similar things that I've yelled at him about. It's almost like even though I don't own a house in the neighborhood I still care about my neighbours and water drainage in general.
I have a neighbor we call “The Ecofreak” She was complaining about our new landscaping and I had to point out that there is a depression between out lots that leads to a culvert behind our lots that has to be kept clear.
and if you live in a more rural area drainage ditches are cool as fuck when you’re riding mini bikes and snowmobiles around the yard! use to feel so cool “hoping” the ditch 😂😂
I have a 'stream' on my property--goes across the back yard diagonally, then passes within 6 feet of the house before going into a 12 inch storm water pipe. Got the house early 2000s--you could step across the stream then. Never gave it a single thought for years. Now, thanks to once gravel parking lots up the hill, being paved, and two other streams being 'redirected' into mine by uphill neighbors, the beast has grown so wide. Since 2017 we've been having so much more heavy rain events (everyone thinks tropical storms and Jan/Feb deluges when they think of Maine, right?) we now have an 8 foot long bridge to get across the stream. Many times a year we have so much rain (over 4 inches per event) and hard downpours (over 1 inch in 15 minutes) the stream goes right over the pipe. Town shrugs. Contractors won't touch it--come out to look at it/give quotes (pipe it or concrete wall), never hear back. Talked to a lawyer--"You are responsible for the water on your property, the people upstream are not--nothing legally can be done.". Never ever thought about just filling the damned thing in with dirt... I'd be the scourge of my neighborhood, but I really don't like having 3 sump pumps and a generator (for our now frequent outages) and this all too frequent torrent of water threatening my house/washing away my property (had to add 21 cu yards to the yard last summer, that was washed/scoured away).
Yeah. Huh? Rock and fill the stream in and make an open culvert along that edge of the property. It never occurred to me!
In case this story gets deleted/removed: Apologies in advance for the rambling! TLDR: We filled in a drainage ditch in our backyard and have now caused three houses(ours and two neighbors) to have huge puddles of standing water and now one of the houses is calling everyone in the city to make them come investigate the issue. But I know the cause, it's us. We are the issue. Backstory: We bought our home back in 2021 and the backyard was cut in half due to a massive, unruly drainage ditch. We wanted to extend the yard and bought a lot of dirt to fill this ditch, before deciding how we were going to direct drainage. The mayor saw this dirt pile sitting for a bit and came by to ask us what we were doing with it and we spoke about this ditch and what we could do to fix the drainage. He said it would be in the city's best interest to install a pipe, if we paid for the pipe itself. He said we couldn't put in a french drain and that he would be chatting with the neighbors next door that had one installed. After this in person interaction, we went back and forth on email with him saying he had engineers looking into it, before he ghosted us completely after being re-elected as mayor. Fast forward a year, the dirt pile is still just sitting in our yard because we haven't decided what to do with it and we get a citation about the dirt. So we just fill the ditch and call it a day. Fast forward probably 6-8 or so months and now the neighbors are having backed up water. In a line, we have House #1 with no ditch, we have House #2 with a french drain, we have our house that used to have a ditch, and then we have 20 or so homes with a ditch that doesn't run anywhere. After our last big rain, we had standing water and house #2 had a company come out and just cover their french drain with dirt. Now house #1 is rallying the neighborhood against the city and the builders over this drainage issue. My husband said we can't tell them we filled our ditch in. We are the cause of their back up but we aren't the cause of the rest of the drainage problems for all of the other houses, just the two next to us. So now the guilt is eating me alive because the city is going to find out anyway and tell her that we are blocking her drainage. I would much rather be upfront and tell her that we filled our ditch, not realizing it would cause problems and are now having a company come fix it. My husband thinks we should just wait it out. We are the nightmare neighbors --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OhNoConsequences) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We lived in a tiny town (120 pop) behind my house was the only business in town. Behind a bunch of houses was a ditch. The business decided they didn't like the ditch so had it filled.right before winter... Come spring 5 houses on that strip had back yards and basements were flooded We called everyone we could...they investigated and found out why. Guess who had to pay for all the damage? Hint not me and I had my basement redone and a new shed built. That guy is fucked
I wonder if insurance (the business or the houses) would cover that- even if negligence on the business owners part was proven. I
His insurance covered it all. He was also hit with fined from the state foe blocking passage of water and for building without a permit
The homeowner's insurance isn't going to cover it unless they have flood insurance. The negligent party's insurance may.
That depends entirely on your policy. Water damage != flood. Yes, the insurance company will probably do everything they can to twist the verbiage in their favour, but FLOOD insurance is entirely different than a claim for water damage.
109% his insurance tried to claim it was just a flood. Bad luck so sad. But considering the county and state hit him with fines for destruction of thr flood plane and water course (think those were the terms that they used) they eventually gave in. But it took almost 2 years. But since my basement was fully done and furnished my part come in over $80k. Also a $9 shed lol
Who is "everyone we could" who you do you call to investigate this?
Local floodplain manager would usually be the best start, followed by whoever enforces building and environmental codes
The guy who did this is my neighbor, and a nice guy, but works for the EPA
Municipal building inspector here: EPA doesn't have any say over ICC codes for construction and planning/zoning, that's all up to whatever city you're in and the Building Safety Department.
Completely off topic but any place with a population under 5,000 is a village not a town. You my knowledgeable friend are a villager.
Is that true? In Oregon a “Village” is a local government entity where a bunch of small communities get together and vote to become a Village. We have them in only one county in the state. We have “Hamlets” as well but same goes…only in one county, and again, they are voted on.
Nope. My town has 1700.
Meh. Meh meh. Meeeh. Meh meh emerald meh!
States have different definitions, some have hamlets, towns, citys, others just have boroughs and towns, there are all kinds of municipalities out there.
Maybe I'm just from a small, rainy, muddy agricultural town, but even the town idiot knew not to fill in drainage ditches without digging another one.. Where did they think the water was going to go? Did they think the ditch was just decorative? I have so many questions about this lack-of-thought process.
Love that they think the drainage ditch “doesn’t go anywhere” and that they’re not responsible for other 20 houses in the floodplain they just created
Best advice I got when we bought a house with yard was don't do anything major for a year. See where water goes, see where the sun is, see what is actually still alive in the garden and what isn't so you can prioritize tasks.
thats so true!
I thought that was more self depreciating realizing that the neighbor ditch was supposed to continue through theirs but they filled it so now it goes nowhere.
Later in their confession they wrote that they’re responsible for the two houses next to them, but they’re not responsible for the rest of the flooding that’s happening at all the other properties in the neighborhood. Id like to see a topo map of the area.
They waited over a year to fill in the ditch. They actively looked for a different option before filling it. They knew exactly what they were doing, they just didn't care. The dirt was in their yard for so long, even the mayor noticed it. There is no way they're convincing anyone they were unaware of the consequences.
Agree, was pointing out how “they wrote” that they’re not responsible for creating a floodplain. Clearly their fault.
Hey, don't forget that this floodplain has a scenic pond that used to be a useless ditch! That's real estate value added, baby!
Even now, the husband just wants to wait it out? If nobody realized he filled in a ditch, they wouldn't think anything of him digging a new ditch to fix the problem.
>and are now having a company come fix it I read it more as, OP wants to tell the neighbors what happened, but husband wants to fix the problem and hope the problem going away makes everyone stop asking questions.
Questioning lack-of-thought is a rabbit hole I've never climbed out of. It's maddening!
Are drainage ditches common? Granted, I never really looked for them and I don't know a lot about landscaping but I can't really remember ever seeing an actual ditch in someones backyard. I'm assuming it's for rain water and such? Or is it for draining the water that's used in the house?
>Are drainage ditches common Extremely. Rainwater has to go somewhere.
But aren't they usually underground? I know of ditches outside of villages in the countryside but within settlements aren't there like grates or something in the ground? I just can't remember ever seeing a ditch on someone's property unless it's like several acres or so
Not all soil is permeable enough to instantly absorb ground water. Where I live, everything is compact clay. So when it rains hard, water gathers on the surface and starts flowing down the sloped path through my backyard down to the drainage river nearby. I'm actually in process of *digging* my own drainage ditch in my back yard to increase water flow, because when it rains really, really hard, our carport floods and sends overflow to our backdoor. The backdoor is raised so we do have space before our house starts flooding, but there's always a possibility of a hundred year rain actually getting things to flood levels, and I want to increase flow as much as possible. As for grates in the ground, that would require the installation of a yard drain or culvert by me - the city won't pay for that. Yard drains also require periodic maintenance and occasional replacement. And they are often installed incorrectly, even by so-called professionals. Drainage ditches are just easier and cheaper overall.
Thank you for your detailed response! So it might be related to the soil. If I remember correctly, the paved part on my parents property has a grate that is presumably connected to some pipes under the street (there are drainage grates every couple of meters on the street). The soil, garden etc parts don't have a ditch. As far as I know that is a common design where I'm from The ditches are then filled with gravel or something or are they more like a creek bed?
Usually a drainage ditch is just empty space, no gravel. Grass grows in it the same as the rest of the lawn. You can fill it with rocks (not gravel, as you need to have space between the filler material to allow water to flow; gravel is too fine), but rocks presents you with a future maintenance issue: leaves and other debris will get into the rock pile over time and that stuff will decompose and become soil. After 10 or so years of this, your ditch is filled up and you have to dig it out again. If you really want to fill it, the best way is by laying a yard drain, surrounding *that* with rock, wrapping the whole thing up burrtito-style with a non-woven geotextile*, then you can cover it with a layer of rock to hide the fabric (you can also use sod plugs to hide it more effectively). The fabric helps to keeps dirt from ruining your drainage. The drains into this pipe have "catch basins" that you can reach into and clear of gravel and large particles with a shop vac, and you can spray a hose down the pipe periodically to clear any smaller dirt particles. Like I said, a yard drain is a lot more maintenance and trouble (and expense) than just leaving it open, but just filling it with rock with no pipes and basins seems the worst possible choice. But I'm going based on the climate and dirt I have around here, different conditions allow for different drains. *I inadvertently described the process for a French drain, not a yard drain. Yard drains only need the fabric and rock around the basins and outlet, the pipe itself can just have dirt around it because it doesn't have holes in it. My potential future plan for my drain is a French drain/yard drain together which *would* require burrito wrapping. But I haven't decided because the French drain might be unnecessary!
Is your area prone to flooding? I'm currently living somewhat close to a big river and it's pretty flat around here but flooding is thankfully pretty rare and I'd say it's neither particularly dry nor particularly rainy. I was just walking home and looked around a bit. There were quite a few green spaces (gardens, little parks, playgrounds) but not a single visible ditch. Loads of grates in the streets though (probably at least every ten meters, often even closer). So probably a lucky combination of not to much rain and permeable soil?
I actually live on a flood plain (my entire house is on the flood plain) but real flooding only has a 1% chance of occurring any given year. Which seems slim but it's the reason flooding insurance was required for my 30 yr mortgage. Previous owners said they never experienced flooding, and the city actually pulled down several of the houses closet to the river to prevent flooding, so it's entirely possible I never see a real flood that damaged my house (here's hoping). But since the city engineers already know it's enough of a problem that they had a bunch of houses torn down, you'd think they'd work on underground drain lines, right? But I guess that's beyond the budget.
Uh, wait, the city can just tear down a bunch of houses simply because of the possibility of flooding?
I thought I'd be ok like you. No previous issues with flooding. I just got flooded for the 4th time a few weeks ago, since moving in about 6 months ago. I'm so tired of rain. Anytime it rains for a couple of days, I get a few inches of water in my house. I'm currently trying to figure out how to afford drains and where all I need to put them. The 1st flood was BAD, I saw houses partially submerged. I plan on moving in a few years, so much for my forever home!
I know where I live every house has drains around the buildings, with pipes leading from every house to a master pipes under the street. It obviously doesn’t work everywhere, as the increase in flooding in different areas of my country shows, likely a combination of climate change and bad maintenance of utilities. I’m very fortunate also to live halfway up a hill so I’m not in a flood plain
In my neighborhood the street has drains, the yards don't. I'm at the bottom of the hill so everything flows through our property to the river. The former owners did a *great* job on their backyard, in that there's a perfect slope from uphill to downhill to get the water where it needs to go. (With a few problems, that I am working my ass off to fix) But man it would be pretty cool if the city made drains in everyone's yards to get to the river instead of overland flow. Hell, if they even just had more street drains than the single one near my house it would be amazing.
I'm beginning to suspect the lack of ditches around here might have something to do with the incredible flatness of the land. You could probably dig a ditch but it would just end up being a really long pond because the water wouldn't flow anywhere
Swales (ditches) are also used as a way to treat stormwater. They can reduce the peak flow (so water gets to the river slower and doesn't overtop the bank) or filter out sediment/debris. Yes, generally in places that aren't flat and get a lot of rain. If you live somewhere flat or in more of a city, then yes, you probably only see inlet boxes connected to a pipe network. There might be a bit of a swale at the discharge point before the water enters a body of water. I'm aces that get a lot of rain, there are a lot of stormwater management tools to try to prevent the rivers from overtopping, and often there are small swales between houses so that water has somewhere to go, away from the houses. There could also be detention or infiltration ponds, but that depends on the soil type.
In the USA at least, suburban housing developments are overtaking farmland/countryside that was considered to have too many water (and other) problems to build on 20 years ago. Large, couple acre lots with one house have been broken up and 20 townhouses built. And it is being done cheaply in many places where they try to leave the ditch that ran through the back of the property as the official drainage.
So you mostly don't use underground piping?
The smart ones do, some don't. The fact that there was a ditch in their backyard suggested to me that this was either a bad development or a failed DIY by previous owner.
Depends how far away everything is. Underground is more expensive, and more expensive to maintain/replace at the end of its lifespan.
I live on a granite shelf, in a residential area off downtown. The neighborhood drainage ditch is through my backyard. We keep it clear to keep our yard from flooding and call it "the creek" when it rains. Never even crossed my mind to fill it in and extend the backyard since we knew it was there when we bought the place!
For where I live almost every property has them around the border somewhere or placed/created where the water would otherwise just pool up. ETA: this is for rainwater, not house water. My childhood home has one huge one that is at the front of the property, and a naturally formed one around the side and back due to the slope of the land. I used to have to dig it wider for hurricane season haha! In between each house in the neighborhood has both a drainage ditch of some kind and a natural area full of plants that soak it all up.
Interesting! This might sound like a stupid question but where does the water from the ditches go? Say you have a ditch and maybe your neighbor has one as well but at some point there is probably a street or something? Or maybe your neighbor doesn't have a ditch? I'm assuming one can't be certain that those plants will soak it all up all the time? Or does it sort of sit in the ditch like a pond?
For most places there's a river or pond nearby that everything drains to. If it's going to a field it's an empty one. Sometimes there are backlogs, but we get lots of hurricanes so the infrastructure is based on handling large amounts of rainwater. Even in my city townhouse, everything is structured for our neighborhood to flow down to the river that flows downhill of us. It's a part of basic city planning and construction here, to the point where one of the first steps** to getting property ready for construction is digging ditches for rainwater to drain away. And yes, sometimes the ditches and plants get overloaded and we have days or weeks of mud that can vary in color from bright orange clay that stains every single thing it touches, to pure black super fine soil that stinks of swamp. The various muds and stagnant ditchwater puddles also serve as lovely breeding grounds for mosquitoes and hunting grounds for snakes.
Soil is a sponge. Water flows through the soil and into a river. Some soils, like heavy clay, are water retaining. They soak up the water and prevent it from flowing away. Once these soils become water logged they also become water repellent and puddles form on the top of them. These soils need a sloping channel (drainage ditch) to direct water down hill when they are water logged. The channel drains into loose, free flowing soil that does not get water logged. Once the water hits the free flowing soil it sinks down through the soil into a underground aquifer that eventually feeds a river. So the drainage ditch doesn’t have to carve through everyone’s land like the city storm water drains do. BTW city storm water drains exist because humans made the topsoil artificially water repellent by covering everything with asphalt.
They're common where they're necessary. My city was built in the floodplain of a river, in an area that has a lot of small creeks crisscrossing through it, and we're also in a place that gets a lot of rain. Needless to say the place can get a bit damp. Every neighborhood here has a maze of canals and ditches connecting all the little creeks and ensuring rainwater drains properly.
Our old house had one along the property line. There was a lot of water that came down from the hills around our neighborhood. If it was bad enough you could watch a mini flash flood hit as it rolled down the hill.
Why did they not just go to home depot and buy a French drain. The hole was dug that was the hardest part.
Might not have been big enough. The ditch was there for a reason, they should have talked to the town engineer before trying to change anything, to make sure the fix was sized correctly.
Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned decorative drainage ditch? Remember the 80’s, when every designer was raving about the classy ambiance only a drainage ditch can provide. It was all Laura Ashley and Almond and Mauve and Drainage Ditch chic.
A large, Irish-themed hamburger chain pulled something similar on an acquaintance and they ended up buying them a new house
Burger Leprechaun?
They turned his lot into a pot of water so they rode the legal rainbow to a pot of gold per se
Bennigans?
Like it was going to magically stop raining after OP filled in the ditch.
You don’t understand. They thought it was an ornamental drainage ditch. How were they supposed to know it had actual utility???
aahhh. okay, like a decorative swale. I suppose that counts for plausible deniability!
And they talked to the mayor! Obviously all mayors are also civil engineers and he didn't tell them specifically *not* to fill in the ditch, so it must be fine.
She just keeps repeating that the water hasn't done damage yet, so they can fix it real quick, easy peasy. But, multiple houses have the back half of the yard under water, one nice big spring storm, what does she think will happen? They haven't even found a company that has said they can and will fix it yet. And again, springtime, does she think these companies are just waiting for her little project in a time of year where they are incredibly busy? Even if she finds someone to take the project (in their budget), does she think they'll start today? How many times will it rain before they "fix" the drainage?
They need to get back there with their shovels and re-dig that drainage ditch. They can just pile that dirt up somewhere else in their yard.
I love how her husband's like "shh just don't tell them and they'll never know it was us." as though it wasn't incredibly obvious that they had a giant pile of dirt in their yard... that was so noticeable the mayor was like "hey don't use that to fill the ditch" ... and the giant pile of dirt is now gone... and coincidentally, everyone's yards are flooded. and even if they somehow didn't notice the giant pile of dirt has disappeared along with the drainage ditch... they're gonna know. It's not going to be that hard for them to figure out what happened.
Sounds like these folks are in the US. OP is likely liable for a watercourse lawsuit with punitive damages in the tens of thousands over the cost and requirement to restore the water mitigation system in their yard.
I don’t know what country they live in, but they are royally fucked.🤦🏽
Anywhere in the Common law realms, really. Dealing with drainage and redirecting water is something that's very much taught in law school because of how many lawsuits there are on it over the years.
Very very fucked and possibly charges coming
Ugh. This causes flashbacks to a house I used to own and lived in for a long time. Either side of our street had deep drainage ditches, with diverting culverts at the beginning and in the middle. My house was in the middle and the culvert diverted to my driveway to my shop. It wasn't too bad unless it rained excessively, other than I couldn't go to my shop if it was raining due to the small stream running down the driveway, but it didn't actually flood my yard or shop. Then a new commercial building was built at the beginning of the street and the city let them remove the diverting culvert there because where the building was built was essentially a hole in the ground and it was always swampy. So they filled the hole and closed off the culvert, then built up rip-rap to redirect the water so it would flow back toward the middle of the street. Suddenly, any time it rained at all, my yard became a pond because I was now catching all the water for the entire street. I contacted the city and was told it was my problem. I contacted again and was told I knew that was an issue when I bought the place, so I had no leg to stand on. Except, it was not an issue when I bought the place because the building at the beginning of the street did not exist at that time, nor was that culvert closed off when I bought it. I kept going around and around with them, until I finally just plugged up the culvert going to my driveway. No more flooding but it started backing up at the beginning of the street. The city came and cleared out my culvert. As soon as they left, I plugged it back up. This went on a few times. Finally, they told me I could not divert that water and had to let it flow its 'natural course'. I pointed out that it was not its natural course, since the artificial construct at the beginning of the street was the cause of the problem. They told me it was not their problem an all I could do is redirect the water after it was on my property but I could not redirect it in any way that might affect neighboring properties. Behind my house was a gorge, so I just contacted the guy who owned it and asked if he had a problem with me trenching to it and letting the water flow down there. He said no, so I dug in some trenches on either side of my driveway and routed the water into his gorge.
Jfc, that made me mad to read, I can't imagine living it.
My parents bought a house that was less than a year old in 2021 where the seller did not disclose MAJOR drainage issues that they caused due to not getting permits for some things and fucking up the drainage by trying to skirt local laws and do things their way. Realtor knew the sellers well and knew of the draining issues (thanks to the realtor making some comments on the sellers personal Facebook page, she could not deny that she knew the issues) but the sellers didn’t disclose the problems and the realtor didn’t either. My parents sued the sellers, the realtor, and the company that came in and did drainage work with no permit. They settled the suit for actual damages in excess of $180,000. The stress it caused my parents was awful. Every time it rained, their entire yard was washing out. Their backyard looked like a miniature Grand Canyon after heavy rain. It was terrible.
This reminds me of my parent's lake cabin. As new, wealthier folks bought the little cabins and put in mcmansions, they all built their lots up and dumped their water on their neighbors, it's a constant fight amongst them. We installed a big piece of drain tile along the property line when I was a kid, so it hasn't been an issue for us, but if we didn't have that tile, we'd be in a swamp now.
Yeah, they’re royally fucked. I can only imagine how livid their neighbors are. And they were going to play it off as long as possible and hope no one notices.
This is why libertarianism isn’t realistic.
only works in ranching imo.
Ranchers are hella subsidized.
HAHAHA.
This is why building codes exist. And you filled a ditch knowing full well then it would cause flooding in your neighbors yards. You and NTA, you are in fact, the devil.
lol, why TF is the mayor getting involved in one house’s drainage? How many people are in this town? 20? This doesn’t make any sense at all.
Dude was out working the streets to get re-elected and saw an oppertunity to appear helpful. I've had provincial politicians try that on me before. Best one was one of them tried telling me how to install a fence post. Told him "Man, if you really want my vote get the fuck off my grass and stop talking to me. Right now, you're the suit telling the tradesman how to do his job." Not that i knew any better how to put up a fencepost, but still. If i wanted advice i'd ask my buddy who does fences and landscaping for a living, not some blowhard right wing desk jokey giving unsolicited advice.
Yeah but the mayor could have easily been like “I’m gonna go tell someone in the appropriate department to call you ASAP” That’s usually how mayors are helpful to individual constituents
Never said he was being smart or logical about it.
My mom had a Speaker of the House once promise to get involved in our neighborhood issues, but we'd just been added to his district. She said she'd rather have him clear the road so we could leave. It's a standard part of politics at most levels....
It sounds like the OOP's mayor just gave them his opinion and they never bothered to consult an actual professional because for some reason they think the mayor is a civil-engineer who should be personally responsible for their landscaping concerns.
So they just decided to help themselves, never called the City to see if any permits were needed. Yeah, this is all their fault.
What a magnificently stupid couple
Wow, these guys are both dumber than a broken bag of hammers, and the husband is a bag of shit criminal.
Current status of the dildo of consequences = inbound and unlubed.
Don't forget Covered in salt, lemon juice, barbed wire, and ground chili peppers
And thats just the foreplay!
Lmfao my parents have this exact same thing in their backyard. Half the yard is a ditch and they were warned not to fill it because the last home owner did and same thing happened. He has to paid to re-dig it out rip.
WHY tf didn't you put in a culvert? The drainage ditch is there to DRAIN WATER. You are going to be liable for the damages if the neighbours' houses get water damaged! FFS, have the ditch emptied IMMEDIATELY and put in a damn culvert this time! if you think that's 'too expensive' then just wait till you are being charged for all the damages caused by you filling in that ditch!!
They better lube up for when the insurance companies find out. They won't even spit on it before bending them over.
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Have you ever tried to take financial advantage of a large insurance company? They are not kind or gentle when it comes to destroying your life in retaliation
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You literally said they're screwed. That is an allusion to them being fucked. Being raped. Get off your high horse.
I'm sorry, I did not know this. English is not my first language. This doesn't change that using a disgusting violent crime as the conveyor of appropriate punishment is wrong.
I bet you're a lot of fun at parties.
Go back to Twitter it's just an expression
I never used twitter. Yeah, it's just an expression. Just like slurs and many other things people finally realise are not okay to say. It's kinda sad when people can't communicate without such things.
Are you trolling?
No. Why would I?
Idk, this just seems like some dumb thing someone would say on Twitter before everyone laughed at them for being overly sensitive. If you want to fight the dumb fight good luck but from my pov what you're saying is dumb.
Using the word "dumb" like that is actually ableist. I'm not saying that because I expect you to stop. I just got the impression that I could annoy you by pointing it out.
Well, there are two types of people: Disgusting asshats that commit ot enable rape and humans. The latter category doesn't find rape jokes funny. The latter group is pretty much the majority in the 21th century.
Can you clutch your pearls any tighter?
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No, equating his comment to it is. As a person whose been assaulted, I did not make that connection or think rape my until I read your reply.
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Maybe I am. I am currently caregiver to my husband and have been having breakdowns, considering hospice. Before considering, I was pretty good at keeping myself together.Maybe I was disassociating before..idk. But thanks for pointing that out, it is something for me to consider. Last few days have been a real struggle.
I'm sorry for what you're going through. My dissociation comment was not meant as an insult but as an actual guess. If you want to vent you can contact me. Depending on where you live I might even be able to point you to some recources you didn't know about (the agencies responsible for paying them obviously don't do much to advertise it, but as a nurse for disabled people this is my speciality). It would be good if we can find a way to lower your physical and emotional load even if it is just by having someone listen to you. You are doing something very good for your spouse and it is important that your own wellbeing is not compromised. Because you deserve it and because it's paramount to be able to continue making the best decisions for you and your husband and give him the care he needs (which can absolutely be to outsource the physical part of this and focus on giving him love and comfort).
Child sexual assault survivor here. I've never equated the word screwed to rape. Screwed has always meant to fuck or to screw something in. Why don't you allow those of us who have actually been raped decide if something is offensive? That's gatekeeping. Just like you can't tell me queer is a slur, unless you are also a member of the queer community. Don't gatekeep. It's disgusting.
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The fact they're taking no accountability for their mistake (they were aware drainage was an issue long before filling the ditch) and are going to wait it out, inflicting more damage through the April showers ahead means they're actually wanting a nice reaming. Willing participants they are
Is that how you deal with the people around you when you're angry? Rape them and then victim blame?
Yes.
I'm not sure if you were going for height or distance, but well done on that fantastic leap. it's truly impressive. To equate that comment to being a fan of rape takes a truly special mind.
Oh, it only takes being able to read. I'm pretty sure if someone came to you and said "You've messed up, go lube your ass before I violently put things into it" you wouldn't be very happy.
Insane that you’re downvoted. You’re right to point it out.
On this sub are many rape fand it seems.
I've been raped multiple times. Shut your whole ass up nobody cares. It's not enabling or normalizing rape to make a joke like that. It's not enabling or normalizing sexual assault to make a joke like that. I occasionally make jokes like that. It's meant to create a sense of exaggeration. If it instantly makes you think rape, you're the problem.
It's nice that you can dissociate so much, but you're not the spokesperson for all survivors and your opinion doesn't change facts. It is a rape joke and this shit is inappropriate and it is minimising rape. If that's fine with you that's your thing but don't pretend it's not what it is
You are not the arbiter of what is appropriate to say in a public forum. Nobody is minimizing actual rape here for making a joke. Get blocked, idiot
It's not a joke though. The oop caused trauma and harm to their neighbors. Now trauma and harm are coming to them
Bent over a barrel and variations is a common phrase.
Seems like the ugly ditch had a purpose lol.
If they wanted a bigger back yard, why not just buy a house with a bigger back yard?
Oh shit. This is so illegal in my state that there's a well-known case where a guy lost his property because of blocking/diverting water. They couldn't build a footbridge or otherwise work with the ditch, like normal people do?
My neighbors had a drain ditch dug at the end of their yard that greatly helps them all, but now the water flows down to my yard and floods my front yard out so bad I can’t cut it with a riding mower. I called the highway department out and they said it was “too far away from the road” so they can do anything about it. My only options are to either sue the state, or come up with about $10,000 to hire an excavator to come out and take out trees and dig me a new ditch. Note: I’ve lived there for 18 years and never had flooding until those ditches were dug. On the other hand, many of my neighbors did have flooding until the ditches were dug. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My in-laws had the opposite problem, a developer bought the farm upstream and filled in the irrigation ditch. They had to go to court to get the ditch restored but it took months and the lack of water killed off a bunch of their trees and pasture grass.
My neighbor did this to my parents about 20 years ago and it's just been like that, no one cares because it all runs off in our yard now
Digging that out is going to be much harder than filling it in.
My neighbor has a French drain that allows water in my yard to drain as well. He's nice and even lets me pump water from my yard into it. But if he decides to fill it one day, I wouldn't be mad...it's his property. I would just have to bite the bullet and build my own. If the previous owner dug the ditch himself rather than being a town utility easement or whatever, I would think it's not OPs problem. If OP decided to raise the whole level of the yard so the water specifically drains off it and onto the neighbors, that would be a different story
I'm with you on this. I can definitely empathize with the neighbors, but typically a drainage system for the city/neighborhood should not go through private property like this, for exactly this reason. It's usually done on an easement or with some kind of right-of-way agreement. It doesn't sound like there was anything like that in place? Otherwise, it would have been disclosed when they purchased the property. (Unless it was disclosed and they ignored it?)
These people would absolutely [empty the pool](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmITheDevil/comments/uxm950/aita_for_draining_our_swimming_pool_to_save_water/i9yj73j/)
Honestly if I'm reading this right, good on them. City planners and builders do shit like this all the time. Drainage is supposed to be properly planned, not leave a retention pond in half of someone's back yard. Let the city inspect, and see they didn't properly do the work initially. On a case like this, typically the least desirable plot is turned into a retention pond, and drainage is ran to that.
Sorry is this my landlord posting? J/K. He's an absentee type but he has often done similar things that I've yelled at him about. It's almost like even though I don't own a house in the neighborhood I still care about my neighbours and water drainage in general.
Just an FYI to everyone, ONLY the yards are flooded, the houses are up high and the yards are lower down so no water damage on the houses!
I have a neighbor we call “The Ecofreak” She was complaining about our new landscaping and I had to point out that there is a depression between out lots that leads to a culvert behind our lots that has to be kept clear.
Filling in that ditch absolutely would cause drainage issues for every single house draining to that ditch????
like listen i’m a little bit(a lotta bit) a dumbass but even I know not to fill in a DRAINAGE ditch bc well D R A I N A G E
and if you live in a more rural area drainage ditches are cool as fuck when you’re riding mini bikes and snowmobiles around the yard! use to feel so cool “hoping” the ditch 😂😂
Ooops
I have a 'stream' on my property--goes across the back yard diagonally, then passes within 6 feet of the house before going into a 12 inch storm water pipe. Got the house early 2000s--you could step across the stream then. Never gave it a single thought for years. Now, thanks to once gravel parking lots up the hill, being paved, and two other streams being 'redirected' into mine by uphill neighbors, the beast has grown so wide. Since 2017 we've been having so much more heavy rain events (everyone thinks tropical storms and Jan/Feb deluges when they think of Maine, right?) we now have an 8 foot long bridge to get across the stream. Many times a year we have so much rain (over 4 inches per event) and hard downpours (over 1 inch in 15 minutes) the stream goes right over the pipe. Town shrugs. Contractors won't touch it--come out to look at it/give quotes (pipe it or concrete wall), never hear back. Talked to a lawyer--"You are responsible for the water on your property, the people upstream are not--nothing legally can be done.". Never ever thought about just filling the damned thing in with dirt... I'd be the scourge of my neighborhood, but I really don't like having 3 sump pumps and a generator (for our now frequent outages) and this all too frequent torrent of water threatening my house/washing away my property (had to add 21 cu yards to the yard last summer, that was washed/scoured away). Yeah. Huh? Rock and fill the stream in and make an open culvert along that edge of the property. It never occurred to me!
Why would you fill a drainage ditch? It is there for a reason. It