My adjoining neighbour, whose property sits slightly higher than mine, has an old terracotta stormwater pipe collecting water from their roof that has multiple cracks and leaks in it. This runs along and close to our common boundary under a concrete path on their side. There is a brick boundary wall between us. They are aware it is broken, and are refusing to fix it , because they say it doesn't affect them and there is no surface flooding. The extra leaked water water causes the ground on my side to become supersaturated very quickly on my side and in heavy rain comes to the surface in the garden and on my paving and takes ages to drain away. The problem has become worse since they built a pergola under Complying Development and attached the downpipes from this into their system, which was already broken.
My 60 year old house sits on a concrete slab on the ground.
Last year I made a claim on my insurance as my carpet became wet. It was found that the slab had become wet from underneath and my waterproofing had failed. After much negotiation, insurance covered the cost of waterproofing my slab on the inside of the house and replacing the carpet. They will now not insure me for further damage caused by the same leaking pipes until they are fixed by a licensed plumber.
I have been in contact with my local council ( Ku-Ring-Gai, NSW) about it. They approached my neighbour about fixing it but they refused, using the loophole that there was no "surface flow" of water between our properties, which is required by council according to their website to be able to enforce repairs. Surface flow in my case is physically impossible as the pipes are underground with a concrete path over them on my neighbours side, and there is the dividing wall between us . Council wanted to wash their hands of it at that stage , but eventually agreed to do a dye test on my neighbours downpipes. Unfortunately this was carried out on a very rainy day by an environmental officer in a shirt and tie who was not a plumber and who put the dye in the pipes and left me to see ( in the pouring rain) if I could see the dye on my side, which I couldn't. We had 90 mm that day! I have since learned dye testing should never be done during rain as it is impossible to trace the dye. Council were not interested in this information, even though the officer had told me he had never done a dye test before, and have refused to repeat the test when the ground has had a chance to dry out a bit. They have closed the matter from their side at this stage with a formal letter to me.
Council also said there is no law that says stormwater roof runoff from a Complying Development addition has to attach to a functioning existing stormwater system , but there you are. This is patently a ludicrous loophole.
I am incredulous that council will not direct my neighbour to fix her system. They use the excuse that the water flow is not on the surface, which to me is a huge cop out because they understand fully what is happening.
A water engineer on behalf of my insurer outlined the ( major ) work I would have to do on my side to redirect the flow of excess water from my neighbour but pointed out of course that the sensible and reasonable course of action is to repair the leaking pipes.
At this stage , I have offered to pay for repairs next door but have not heard back from my neighbour. I am interested in alternatives because this will be very expensive and our relationship has broken down so it is likely to be a very unpleasant and stressful experience.
I would be grateful for any suggestions. Thankyou.
My 60 year old house sits on a concrete slab on the ground.
Last year I made a claim on my insurance as my carpet became wet. It was found that the slab had become wet from underneath and my waterproofing had failed. After much negotiation, insurance covered the cost of waterproofing my slab on the inside of the house and replacing the carpet. They will now not insure me for further damage caused by the same leaking pipes until they are fixed by a licensed plumber.
I have been in contact with my local council ( Ku-Ring-Gai, NSW) about it. They approached my neighbour about fixing it but they refused, using the loophole that there was no "surface flow" of water between our properties, which is required by council according to their website to be able to enforce repairs. Surface flow in my case is physically impossible as the pipes are underground with a concrete path over them on my neighbours side, and there is the dividing wall between us . Council wanted to wash their hands of it at that stage , but eventually agreed to do a dye test on my neighbours downpipes. Unfortunately this was carried out on a very rainy day by an environmental officer in a shirt and tie who was not a plumber and who put the dye in the pipes and left me to see ( in the pouring rain) if I could see the dye on my side, which I couldn't. We had 90 mm that day! I have since learned dye testing should never be done during rain as it is impossible to trace the dye. Council were not interested in this information, even though the officer had told me he had never done a dye test before, and have refused to repeat the test when the ground has had a chance to dry out a bit. They have closed the matter from their side at this stage with a formal letter to me.
Council also said there is no law that says stormwater roof runoff from a Complying Development addition has to attach to a functioning existing stormwater system , but there you are. This is patently a ludicrous loophole.
I am incredulous that council will not direct my neighbour to fix her system. They use the excuse that the water flow is not on the surface, which to me is a huge cop out because they understand fully what is happening.
A water engineer on behalf of my insurer outlined the ( major ) work I would have to do on my side to redirect the flow of excess water from my neighbour but pointed out of course that the sensible and reasonable course of action is to repair the leaking pipes.
At this stage , I have offered to pay for repairs next door but have not heard back from my neighbour. I am interested in alternatives because this will be very expensive and our relationship has broken down so it is likely to be a very unpleasant and stressful experience.
I would be grateful for any suggestions. Thankyou.
