Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Leaking Pond upset neighbor.

My pond is finally full and I just had about 400 bass and blue gills stocked the other day ,$1000 bucks worth! My neighbor down from the pond and across the road says my leaky pond( poor soil quality) is making his lawn a swamp from below i guess as there is no visible signs of moisture anywhere around my pond including the dam. I mow completely around it often and no signs of water ever. I do lose an 1” or 2 “ a day seems like. He thinks I should keep my pond drained down like pump it out every time it rains too much? Am I liable for his swampy lawn? Couldn't it just be the water table in general after heavy rains? Thanks for your opinions

Marty
How big is your pond . How long has it been dug? How far is your neighbor from pond. As far as legality I don’t have any idea, I’m sure someone on here knows that answer

Its about 3/4 acres surface area right now . normally around 1/2 + i guess. It was dug in 2004 i believe and was holding about 4’ or 5’ of water when I bought my house . I have been trying to rehab it for 4 years by pumping it out during dry seasons and tilling in a few tons of bentonite at a time where my probe would sink in further than other areas. I know I need about 50 tons to cover the entire basin at 6 lbs per sq ft but can’t afford 2 semi loads at 10k .I rented a Huge Bomag sheepsfoot compactor and ran that over it for 10 hrs a few weeks ago and its still leaking but not as much i think. i need to put a measuring device out there to be accurate. I can probably keep it full with my dedicated well but the neighbor keeps complaining he has to wear muck boots to do his lawncare lol😂His house is about 3-4 hundred ft across other side of asphalt road with bar ditches on each side. Says the water must be coming up from the ground because of my pond. How could he prove that? Just that when my pond is full his lawn is swampy. Low pond level his lawn is dry.

We live on a hill. A few yrs ago our driveway developed a wet hole that ate several tons of gravel. It basically was a vane of water coming out of the hill. Zero pools above it's altitude, just developed after lots of rain over a few months time. Never had it before, and haven't had it since. Your neighbors yard might be similar... or it might be your ponds fault.

Let me guess, when it rains a lot - your pond is full AND his yard is swampy. When it doesn't rain for a while, your pond is low and his yard is dry.

That is exactly what would be expected if your pond was NOT the source of his yard water. Proving the connection would be difficult.

However, he doesn't need to prove it to sue you. All he needs is suspicion and a filing fee. You would then need to hire a lawyer to respond. (I am not a lawyer, but my wife is. Do not take legal advice on the internet, only take it from a lawyer that you have hired.)

That being said, I believe you generally can be sued when you divert water OFF of your property and onto a neighbor's property. An example would be when you build a berm or levee in your yard to keep water that previously ran down a slope diverted away from your basement - and the water that should have run across your property now runs across a neighbor's property.

Are you using a well to pump water to your pond? If not, and your pond actually captures surface water runoff to gain water volume, then you would NOT be diverting water to his yard.

It is theoretically possible that your pond could be the source of his yard water, but it would require nearly perfect geologic circumstances.

If you reach the point where you think he is about to bring a lawsuit, then I would start some work on proving your case. After he files, you should have your lawyer make an offer to have a witnessed test of pumping down your pond - where you pump down your pond a few feet, and his yard stays wet.

Of course, a good lawyer never wants to ask a question for which they don't already know the answer. Therefore, I would advise you run your own test ahead of time (if the neighbor can't observe). Some time when his yard is soggy AND you have solid rains in the forecast, pump down your pond a few feet and see if his yard remains soggy, and for how many days. Hopefully the rains will then fill you back up.

If you get very positive results from your "test", and your neighbor is still angry, then perhaps offer to demonstrate a test to him before he files a lawsuit. It is no fun to have angry neighbors if you can possibly "smooth the waters".

There are a ton of assumptions in my post above. If it does not apply in your exact situation, then disregard it as bad advice!

Sounds like the neighbor observes that your pond won't hold water. A key question is when did the neighbor's problem start? If when the pond was constructed, maybe? So, it seems he is arguing that when your pond receives water and rises above the horrible leak, that it very soon starts flooding his yard. There is a very simple proof to his theory. Dye the water in your pond. They make fluorescent dyes just for this purpose. When your pond floods and begins going out the leak, the dye should very rapidly make its way to your neighbor's yard. Otherwise, his theory is false.

The pond was dug in 2004. How long have you owned the house and how long has he owned the house? When did this problem start? Oklahoma has had record rains in the month of April. If you are in the area of record April rains, and this is the first time that it's happened, then I would talk to a land attorney first to see where you stand before doing anything else.

Without knowing that, all I can say is that the fluroescent dye to see if your pond water is causing the issue is a good idea (but only after talking to a land attorney). I would make sure that he doesn't know what color dye you are going to use just in case he gets some of the same dye to make sure that it shows up on the test...........

I'd talk to TJ here on the forum. He has a polymer sealer that works better than bentonite. I'd do that before doing any more work on the pond..

Most everywhere south of I-40 received record rainfall. His location indicates he is south of I-40.