Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations pristine private pond polluted by neighbor

Please help. My neighbor polluted my very well taken care of privately owned pond. He polluted his own pond beyond help so he decided I should have it, if I wanted it or not. He used 400 feed of 2" hose and two gas powered pumps to back pump his entire polluted 100' by 75' pond directly into my pond, even using my land to do it. His hoses were through the fence onto my land. The water did not run into my pond, the water was directly pumped into my pond. This went on for 36 hours. The Sheriff's office was immediatly called and they refused to help. When I asked if I could stop the water I was told I would be arrested for trespassing. I asked if they wanted me to take the law into my own hands and they showed up to pull the hose back to the property line, where the water was still gushing out directly into my pond, as a trench had now formed and the water could only go one way now. If his pond overfloed, it would go onto a low spot on his own property. Naturally speaking, his pond would never come in contact with mine. His hoses were up over a ridge to get over to my pond. His water rushed out at such a high rate of speed and quantity that it unearthed, yes, unearthed the main water and natural gas lines leading up to my house. They are now exposed and the earth has washed away underneath them. My national champion stallion drinks out of this pond which now has a brown film over it as well as crud so thick on top that when the breeze blows some of the pond has small ripples in it, but the thick crust does not move whatsoever. The EPA referred me to the DEQ who told me that since I did not have my pond tested right before the pollution, that they could not do anything even if they tested his pond residue and my now polluted pond and the pollutants matched. So I am being penalized for not having my pristine pond tested every couple of weeks in case someone decided to pollute it. Please go to my web site to see this pond before this happened. Pan down about half way. It looks like Hawaii. I video taped this entire pollutoin event. I even videoed the entire pond clean, the moment this started. He constantly shoots bullets into his pond. I don't let anythng un-natural into my pond, well except for this neighbor's pond, force fed unto me and my horse which cannot be moved as the mares are in the back and he is a stallion. I am so serious about my horses drinking water that I buy expensive pharmacutical grade hose so the horses in the back don't have to taste or smell the rubber. And, oh yeh, my pond started smellling and wasps and bees are now thick and swarming. This neighbor was set up for the past 8 years to water his garden with his pond. Why did he not put any or all of this water in his garden, lawn etc on his five acres? I am estimating the water forced on me at 90k gallons, what do you think? How can this be legal? What can I do? There must be a law, but on what books?

Helpless,welcome to the forum.Sorry this had to be your first postI would think you could take him to court for distruction of private property.Also,I would notify the utility companies and let them know whats going on.Hang on,Im not the expert,but Im sure theyll be along shortly.Have you spoken to a lawyer yet?If hes messing with your livelyhood it seems he should be liable.why did he go to the trouble to pump it into your pond?




what a jerk,did I really say that

Are you in either the Hatfield or McCoy family? I can't think of any other reason a neighbor would go to so much trouble to polute your pond.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope it all works out for you.

welcome to the forum.

Obviously, we don't have a lot of details.

For instance:

1) Why did he do this?

2) Did you ask him?

3) Do you have bad blood with him?

Some more background would be useful to give better advice.

Also, whatever you do, you may still have to live next to this neighbor for the long haul.

I'd consult with a good attorney.

Hi Helpless...
This sickens me; I cannot imagine your pain and anguish.
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I absolutely like the attorney approach; asap. Also, pull a water sample of the new brew and get it tested asap at the nearest drinking water facility. Your county health dept will have places to take samples for testing; often a nearby hospital.
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Also, is there not a division of (or similar chapter) of the Hooved Animal Society in your neck of the woods? If this water comes up tainted in any certifiable way, your neighbor just attempted to poison your horses. They would definitely be interested and able to push the right buttons.

Thank you for taking the time everyone.

He did this because I lost my husband and I am a woman alone. He also did this because he polluted his pond beyond help and does not want this crap on his own property. Why does anyone dump garbage off of their own property.

I don't understand why any previous dealings with him should be an issue whatsoever. But since you asked, he comes over onto my property and moves my belongings around so he can mow my driveway, which I have asked him not to do. He also did not like my cattle guard so he came over and cut it down and took the metal without my permission. When asked he replies 'I'm duin you a favor, you should appreciate it'. I asked the sheriff to do something about it and nothing happens.

I have never ever asked for his help with anything anytime. He just trespasses when he wants and does things as soon as I drive away. This is one of the more serious things that I was sure the law would help me with. I was wrong, apparently.

I just called the Hooved Animal Humane Society. They only operate in Illinois. I briefly described your situation and she said that they routinely recommend contacting your state department of Agriculture for options and instructions. She added that the Conservation District might also help, but the Dept of Ag. is most likely where you will get the best results.

Yes, I had to watch this go on, helplessly. I have already been told that if it was them, they would be in jail right now.

I love the ASPCA type approach, but I have been told by an official that no vetranarian will go on record with any allowable or unsafe standards for livestock's drinking water. So this discounts that angle.

An attorney told me that I must prove damages. Again, there are no guidelines for livestock safety levels. I want him to pay for my pond to be drained, cleaned, and redone. I will not eat fish out of my pond ever again. I can't board horses in this pasture now either. I need an attorney who is not part of this good 'ol boy system.

I hope I have been misinformed and someone here will re-inform me correctly.

For the record, I would follow thru on the phone call to the dept of Ag. We had a similar occurrence at a neighbor's horse farm, and we got pretty involved when we discovered a half dozen horses in an old barn, in 2 feet of dung and emaciated. We started with the Hooved Animal Humane Society. Then we went to the Dept of Ag and they gave us immediate attention. They pulled their records and verified numerous previous complaints and actions. Ultimately, because of the legal specifics, they were unable to take an immediate action; it was a long detailed story. Ultimately, the Hooved A-H-S came thru and handled the details.
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Here's a real good one. The Ag dept referred me to a specific animal division; I can't remember what department. Anyway, they were putting me off and it P'd me off. I told them "no problem, I'm just gonna take it to ABC channel 7 in Chicago for a story". Boy, did THAT get their attention. I believe it had something to do with the quicker results.

Thank you so much. Are you Polish? I am. Bombieroffski here, shortened to Bombier. I got the Little Rock AR phone book and wrote down the numbers of any, and I mean any agency that might be pertanant. Even the Army Corps of Eng. I have heard that there is a law against moving a body of water against the natural flow of things.

I teach young girls how to ride english during the day, and I call just one agency when I can get a break. I don't want my girls to hear how angry I am. I cannot talk about this without getting hot. As you know these agencies have 'worse than bankers hours.' I will put the Ag Dept at the top of the list for tommorrow.

Thanks again

Polish to French...?
Most everyone I meet thinks that I am Polish; can't figger that one out. Actually, German and Irish.
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Theo Gallus (moderator) is a horse guy; so is his OH, Fishwife. They should be checking in soon. They might have some thoughts.

Here's the number for "Phone in a News Tip" to KATV-7 in Little Rock, Arkansas

(501) 324-7760

And here's the contact page for KATV-7 via that world wide web.

http://cfc.katv.com/contact.cfm

Welcome to the forum.

I had the local newspaper out here yesterday. I hope the photos get in with the article. I wished I had gotten the idea for the media as it occured as the pouring of water was very dramatic for TV. Now the pond is brown during the day and at dusk there is a brown haze in a swirl pattern on top of most of the pond and about 1/4 of it is covered in lumps of things. What I am trying to say is:

1) knowing how the pond looks previously/normally is important as it just loks like a dirty pond normal for our three week drought here. My pond is spring fed and never, I mean never looks skanky even during the severe 2 year drought of 05 & 06.

2) Photos of ponds can be tricky as the time of day, sunlight and many factors that I am not familiar with, also why I am appealing to all of you to explain these things. So when the news crew comes out, they might not see anything dramatic and I will not seem credable unless the sun is at a certain point.

Ski, have you been to my site to see a photo of my horse swimming in this ex-beautiful pond? If not, please do.

Susan

Call P.E.T.A. (People Eating Tasty Animals) and tell them your neighbor is endangering the wellfare of your prize horses and the local authorities are giving no recourse. They love this stuff!

Go to your city councilman. Go to any local organization to let the community know what this guy is doing and the problems he is causing for you. Go to the local news agency and report the incident. Tell them that you are a woman alone and you have tried all the proper avenues available and nobody seems to care. Create enough local sympathy that the guy will be ostracized from the community or perhaps relent from his wrongdoings to avoid public scrutiny. Unless, of course, he is the mayor.


I am sorry for your misfortune. I hope this works out in your favor.

I did see the pic; it made me even madder.
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Call into that news line right away. Don't just email it; get verbal attention. You said you had a video of the crap comin' down the hill...right? They love that stuff for TV.

Some of my relatives are in fact pronouncing it bombeeayye and it hurts as we are not French, we are Polish. Actually my maternal grand father is Irish............ Vicars, no K.

2nd thought...
See how it goes with the Ag dept, first. Then consider as many ramifications as you can anticipate and weigh them out carefully...cuz...if you DO get attention from big city media, all hell will break loose. Don't lose sight of the good things that come from this type of high profile, nor the the potential bad things.

What a mess! Do you have any relatives that can go kick his ass before you turn him over to PETA & the TV people? That picture with your horse in the pond is a great "before". Something has got to be done - this is just not right.....

Helpless, there ARE laws against what your neighbor did. The problem is that they are all civil violations---The sheriff has no authority to act against him.

I am involved in a suit against my neighbor for blocking our access road and damages caused to our property (like your'ss) from water damages when his 18 foot deep, 1 acre pond dam failed --3 TIMES!! It will be hard, but you have to keep the emotion out of this and only present facts. Worrying or complaining about things like bullets in his pond will make your legitimate complaint/damages seem petty and much more likely to be ignored.

The BIGGEST concern is actual damage! If not for the fact that our neighbor blocked the only access road to our 60 acres, I would not have sued over the water damages. The water damage cost me a total of $4000 in repairs. We paid $55K for our property and have paid the lawyers another $50K! Law suits are not cheap, but you DO need to see a lawyer right away and at least get an injunction against him and a letter sent requesting the costs of cleanup.

Talk to several lawyers for 2 reasons. First, this will help you find the best lawyer for THIS problem and second, ANY lawyer you talk to about this with cannot represent the other person against you.

Best of luck to you and I am sorry you seem to have my jackass neighbor.

I'll say it again, take the anger and emotion out of the situation and think of what the actual cost to repair vs. suit will be and if you are prepared to fight. My suit is pretty much a slam dunk win for us, but has been in court for almost 3 years now and will end up costing more than our property.

One more thing I saw after reading the thread slower. If in fact you have video of the damages actually happening, the go straight to the prosecuter and demand trespassing charges be filed.

The exposed utility pipes are 400ft from the meter at the road and 300 feet from my house. I believe they are my responsability and now they are not up to code. This might get their attention in the way of disconnecting me until I am up to code. I don't know.........

I am told the health dept only deals with septic tank issues contaminating water wells..........

Thank you for reminding me about channel 7 little rock. They have something called 7 on your side........

The county health department will be able to provide you with the names of laboratory sources for water testing. You will have to pay the lab a nominal fee, but it will document the "after" sampling. You really need to do this immediately. Let's face it; it's the whole (and only) reason that you are here. The washed out ridge and trespassing is piddle. The attention-getting story here is the damage to your pristine pond and the horribly negative effect it has had on a hard-working woman doing her level best to single-handedly scrape out a living, breed beautiful horses, and teach young girls a fine art. That's the story I see.

After hearing some of h2a's answers, I think we have to pause.

I didn't read everything that all of us posted after her answers but wanted to get a message out right now.

From what she has described, she may be vulnerable.

h2a, please consider what local support you have in relatives, friends, or the law. From what you said, this neighbor has no respect for you or your land. Creating any further animosity right now, or antagonizing this neighbor right now could create a dangerous situation for you.

Not that I disagree with anyone's advice thus far, but what's done has been done, and any actions because of it have to consider the future and your safety.