Storm water run-off disputes – resolving neighbor wars

Storm water run-off is a condition that can create serious “neighbor wars” when changes occur unexpectedly. Personal animosity arises quickly when one neighbor’s development or renovation of its property, creates new or increased flow of surface water that damages its neighbor’s property. The end result is often litigation and undying resentments that last for years. Yet these disputes can be perfect candidates for collaborative dispute resolution. If the parties can focus on a mediation process that looks for a reasonable technical solution, they will be far better off and problems solved in a much quicker and cost effective manner.

The conditions created by development and the resulting change in water flow and absorption patterns are summarized in the attached diagram. As vegetation and natural landscapes are changed to impervious materials by construction, surface flows increase potentially creating problems for downstream neighbors. If appropriate structures required by proper engineering and regulations are included in the projects, these impacts can be mitigated or eliminated. However this can be a somewhat imprecise science and the nature of storm conditions has also been changing over the years.

One recent experience involved farmers and a residential development in a county in Pennsylvania. After years of frustration and attempts to seek help from the county government, the farmers ended up suing the home owners’ association and the developer for damages caused to their farms by increased storm water run-off. The development had allegedly increased the water flow onto the adjacent farms even though the water management plan was approved by the county and showed no change in run-off. The farmers experienced erosion, increased mud patches as well as the formation of potential new “wetlands”. One major concern was that endangered turtles would inhabit the new conditions, which would dramatically change the land use requirements on the farms.

My next post will describe how this matter was resolved in a mediation process that focused primarily on searching for a technical solution that all the parties and their experts could agree to.