Turn Neighbor\'s water run off into Rain Garden? Or fix yard grading?

Hi. I have a dilemma. I'm in a newer cookie cutter neighborhood. Our house is a few years old, but our neighbors is only 2. Before her house was finished, we installed sod in our yard. Never had an issue with water runoff due to erosion fence in neighbor's lot. Fast forward to neighbor's house being finished and moved in, and the erosion barrier removed, we now get water runoff. And not just water, but her red clay erosion comes into our yard as well and creates standing water. We had a french drain installed by the city free of charge, but it still isn't enough. She's older and uses TruGreen and they have not been able to establish a lawn in her back yard. From research it seams once she has an established lawn, the runoff will be extremely less. I purchased sod because I was having the same problem establishing a lawn and this standing water is ruining it. Should I just live with it and use the area around the standing water to landscape a rain garden(currently lacking any landscaping and it desperately needs it anyways)? or is this a bigger issue than I am thinking it is?

Hello there Since the neighborhood is relatively new, it is likely that the soils were compacted during the building process and this would be even more possible given the clay soils that you have in your area. I am not surprised that the French drain is largely ineffective as the city is hoping that a clay soil will drain, which is not going to happen if the soils are compacted. As for a rain garden, you would have to do a perk test, to verify what size and whether or not if would function properly given the nature of the soil. Is your neighbor willing to have Tru green put in some drainage? If the soils are not draining, this water has to be carried to a location where it can drain off of the property or connect directly to the storm drain. If the city is willing to put in a drain for free, it means the drainage in the neighborhood was poorly designed and that they must be somewhat aware of this, otherwise I am sure they would not install a free drain. After you do all the tests and in the event that you can not use a rain garden, you could consider building a berm or raised bed along the fence line and this should address the water issue, such that you could get your lawn established. I have considerable water coming from above my property and was able to stop it with a raised bed. As I recall, soils in your areas should have a fairly low ph, so you will have to be prepared to add lime, compost, and roto till. It may be worth testing your soil's ph to determine how much you need to raise the number. I believe the lawns in your area will prefer 6.5 ph, and remember, you can only raise the ph by 1 each season. So just follow the label on the lime, when you get to that point.

Thank you! That is really good information. You are spot on with the yard and clay stuff. They’re definitely aware. The city official who came by was pretty upset with our developer and the city inspector who approved it so I have some leverage if I need to use it to get any more work done. I’ll get it tested first and I guess I’ll go from there!

If the city is on your side, good for you I hope it all works out