I have a storm water easement on my property that flows into my pond. Last year we got a record 6" rain in 24 hours. It created a 4 foot gully making it hard to cross with the tractor much less on foot. The water company filled in the gully with red fill dirt, brought more rip rap and planted grass seed.It looked nice for awhile and we got another record rainfall it washed alot of the fill dirt into the pond. The water company told me they planned on extending the storm water pipe all the way to the pond, Now they tell me it's my problem? I was considering putting a French drain and filling in the gulley with RR gravel, any suggestions on what to use and how to funnel the water from the ditch to the pond ?
Well I ain't no Hydrologists but I have diverted water off my properties and around a Tank I use to have .
IF they said they would put a pipe in then call them on it .And if they are going to tell you it's is your problem then build a berm and divert some or all of the water you don't want away . Easements are sometimes tricky in that the easement holder has too many can do's and you have all the Can't do's and you pay all the Taxes and payments on the property .
Lot of things to consider such as What feeds your tank ? Is that a Creek down behind your pond along the Tree Line ? Terracing is an option . Where would you put a French Drain and where would the water go from it .
Dig a Bigger Tank ;D
BUDGET ?????
My thought is that their red dirt is in your pond , that makes them responsible .
I would not do solid pipe , you have no control of what goes in to the pond .
If you like the rock garden look , rip rap
If you can grow marsh plants ,cats tails and such . Your state and county Conservation department can help you.
You don't need a hydrologist; you need a good real estate law attorney.
Frank
I work in civil engineering though I am not a PE. I can provide some relevant commentary but it should be taken with a grain of salt because regulations vary widely between municipalities.
I think any discussion of what you can and cant do within a drainage easement needs to begin with a conversation with the county engineering department and the local water management district. Rules vary widely from district to district, and from state to state. If i recall correctly wompus cat is in TX which has almost no rules for this sort of thing. Some states are far more draconian. If you were to block the flow of water as suggested you could be looking at huge fines, sometimes imposed daily, until the condition you created has been corrected.
When they said they planned to do a pipe was that in writing? Find out. Also Often the exact language of easement dedication falls along the lines of their "right but not necessarily responsibility to maintain..." But double check that.
If it were me, and I'd confirmed it was my responsibility, i'd consider a permanent swale (fancy name for a ditch) and a culvert for your tractor (basically I'm telling you to build a bridge). Corrugated metal pipe is expensive these days like all other building materials, but less expensive than RCP, and ADS drainage pipes are the new fad in construction these days, though I lack personal experience with them. A pipe of a diameter equal to the one coming onto your site from the road would be ideal to keep water from stacking up on the upstream side of the piped crossing washing out your culvert
Quote from: happyhooker on September 01, 2021, 02:46:19 PM
You don't need a hydrologist; you need a good real estate law attorney.
Frank
In this case, you need a local Attorney who specializes in Real Estate Law.
It is not that expensive to have them go over the deed restrictions, easements, CCR's, Title Company descriptions, Survey Reports, County Regs, State water regs, company licensing, and many other issues that we would not of thought about.
A good RE Attorney knows and has access to most of this stuff immediately — and knows who to contact.
Then...you can decide your next moves — depending on whose legal responsibility it is to remedy the issue — yours or theirs.
You need to know where you stand solidly — before going forward — or imagining things that are not necessary or accurate.
Whether you use a fly swatter or a hammer — the fly will die — the hammer causes more collateral damage though — and more drama. But sometimes that is what it takes to get someone's attention. Most of the time though — the swatter works well.
IMO, this would be your quickest and most effective way to correct this problem — and get it behind you.
You just need to know where you stand.
One last thing — none of us can know the future — and things change in our lives. From an investment standpoint — as well as a potential future liability that might potentially lessen the value of your property — it would be my choice to know my options — then I could decide whether or not to act upon any of them.
Best, Fred
trench with the proper grade towards the pond, trench with those straw roll dams to catch the run off stuff.
Could you post a satellite pic of the area, bit hard to figure out the layout
Get a copy of the signed original easement and read it thoroughly and carefully. It should spell out who's responsibility maintenence is. At that point you should be able to determine your next step. Generally it's the grantee's responsibility to correct any issues caused by their granted use. Be aware, though, that most governmental agencies will try to BS you into thinking they have no responsibility. Even if the writing is quite clear they know they have a lot more financial resources to draw from, i.e. taxpayer $, than the average citizen has in their bank account for attorney fees.
I'm with Joe on this. You don't want their pipe or red dirt. You want a vegetated wetland that will slow and broden the flow and trap sediment. Instead of filling the ditch make it wider with a flat bottom. It will improve the water quality in your pond.
Get an R.E. Attorney. Generally speaking CA law requires that the easement holder maintain the easement. The issue will be what does "maintain" mean. Dominick
Quote from: Dominick on September 01, 2021, 09:40:22 PM
Get an R.E. Attorney. Generally speaking CA law requires that the easement holder maintain the easement. The issue will be what does "maintain" mean. Dominick
"That depends on what the meaning of is, is"
Quote from: Maxed Out on September 01, 2021, 09:45:04 PM
Quote from: Dominick on September 01, 2021, 09:40:22 PM
Get an R.E. Attorney. Generally speaking CA law requires that the easement holder maintain the easement. The issue will be what does "maintain" mean. Dominick
"That depends on what the meaning of is, is"
Well is ain't what it use to be . More like it is what was was before now .
Although a real drag for you JGP, this one is pretty interesting. It's got physical, biological and legal variables to it. Would like to see what you do, if anything...
Thanks for all your insight,the fish are thriving is my main concern,seeing bass,crappie and shell cracker
Fingerlings.The red "island" I named it seems to attract fish,and I have a friend with an excavator that can get it out after I solve the erosion issue.
I thought about this later, and it's worth mentioning. You should be wary of creating a wetland. There's all kinds of rules about minimum setbacks from them and those setbacks don't always consider whether those wetlands are manmade or not (jurisdictions vary).
If your land is platted it's likely viewable online. The easement would be listed with an official records book reference in which you can view the exact language of the easement dedication, the wording of which is the most important consideration here.
I wouldn't need an attorney for this because this is all very familiar to me thanks to my profession. That may not be the case for others, yourself included. I'd start with finding the exact language of easement dedication. If it says the county is responsible for maintenance an attorney is likely unneeded, and theyve been known to make complicated issues out of simple ones in order to bill more time.
The other consideration is that even if they are responsible for maintenance, its not like there's a pipe in ground that burst and they're arguing you need to fix it. The water is still making it to the pond. They may be able to successfully argue that no maintenance is needed, as the water reaches its destination. Your difficulties with the tractor may be irrelevant in the eyes of the law.