In my conversation we actually discussed the natural flow of the land. There is a pond about 1\4 mile away that supposedly has a pipe running from it towards our land. There is another pond at my neighbors to the west. It has a pipe that comes into my pond. From my pond the natural drain is to the north where there is a low area that has cattails in it and it is near the ditch. A culvert was placed at that location in the road that takes it to his ditch. From his ditch his land slopes down into a pond. To me it looks like this has been the path water has always followed. I am not a lawyer so I do not know the laws when it comes to these things. If my pond was constructed to hold rain in heavy downpours and I pump it full, am I held liable in a heavy rain that causes the pond to flood? His house sits on a bit of a hill so I don't see water going into his house. I was also told locally that I could put in a well for my pond. I do however know a guy that had the state show up at his house because he pumped his pond. Not sure if a complaint by a neighbor could shut my pump down or not.
I'd need a map to fully understand your area's drainage, but you really can't be held liable for runoff that is from natural, unalterd drainage. If your property drained 2cfs, just for example, during a large rain event before you did any work and building the pond hasn't increased the flow, then he can't really prove you've changed anything.
My concern is if your pond is full and the dam lets go in a large rain event, THEN you've just sent him a flash flood, and that would be your problem.
Another expample. If you paved your whole property and it drained the same directiong it does now, you've just made it so no water drains into the ground. Every drop runs off right away and your neighbor would see huge flows right after a cloud burst.
In respect to the EPA and other state agancies, increasing a flow like that is not leagle. Your only allowed to discharge runoff at the same rate as the land did before development.
I say see if you can move the water away from his house/developed property and if you build a dam, spend the extra time and money to make it safe so you protect yourself in the longrun.
I'll stop picking on your project now
Erich
