Q & A Table of Contents
His Sprinklers Are Flooding My Yard
From: John, Arcadia, California
Question: My back neighbor just installed a new sprinkler system that over sprays into my yard. The sprinklers are strong enough to drench half of my back yard along with my new lawn furniture and new cloth 3 person swing. In addition, the water spray is strong enough to cover some of my windows and thus forces us to keep our windows closed for fear of damage to our wood floors.
I have spoken to my neighbor twice now and have left him two notes. The first time he assured me that he would take care of it but it seems like nothing has been done after a week. On top of that, he continues to operate his sprinkler system even though he knows that it violates my space. I even offered to take a look at his sprinklers for him but never got a response from him. What can I do? Should I call the police and risk escalating the problem even more?
Response: You need to look at the alternatives available to you. For example, consider the financial impact of the damage being done to your lawn furniture, your house, and any other property your neighbor’s sprinklers hit. Then figure out how much it would cost you — both financially and aesthetically — to erect a fence that would block out his sprinklers’ impact on your property. Can you send a bill for damage that has already happened and needed repairs?
At the same time you should research the legal issues — check out local ordinances relating to water usage, ‘invasion’ of your space by your neighbor’s sprinkler system, or other factors that are causing you trouble. Do you have the right of ‘self-help’ where demonstrable damage is being done to your property? Can you enter your neighbor’s territory and adjust the sprinklers without being guilty of trespass? For this you should check with a local attorney familiar with property rights issues.
You might also want to have conversations with other neighbors to see whether your back neighbor’s sprinklers are having an impact on any other properties. Should that be the case, perhaps you and the other neighbors can team up to deal with the issue.
Your back neighbor is wasting money and water by ‘sprinkling’ your property. While he may not want to face the problems as you raise them, he might be open to responding to open-ended questions you ask to learn what factors are driving his behavior — laziness, unwillingness to pay for the adjustment to his system, difficulty in getting the sprinkler company to make adjustments during the summer, a disinterest in good neighborly relationships, pressures at work or other parts of his life that make this issue a lower priority at the moment — there are many possibilities.
Give some thought to how much you are willing to keep after your neighbor — knocking on his door when he is home, leaving phone messages at his home and perhaps at his workplace, sending emails, or otherwise. Do you think that playing loud music directed at his house late at night might create a bargaining chip? I don’t recommend this, but perhaps there are more civilized bargaining chips that will motivate your neighbor to be more responsive.
Fundamentally you need to do homework that informs you of your rights, your alternatives, the limitations on your behavior, and what factors are likely to get your neighbor to respond favorably. Prioritize your interests (e.g. protecting your property, having a good relationship with your neighbor, preserving your reputation as a civilized person, etc.) and you are more likely to proceed in a sensible and effective manner.
Good luck,
Steve
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