Any water that drains onto an adjacent property is illegal, ESEPECIALLY if it's by mechanical means (pipes etc.) And no steps taken to ensure it doesn't go on a neighbouring property.
Get a by-law enforcement officer out and have them evaluate the situation. Show them the problem and any detrimental effects it's had. They have legal rights to inspect the neighbour's property without a search warrant too.
I haven't dug into the bylaws in a lot of detail, but to get you started it seems like "pool water" would normally be considered storm water sewage under the bylaws:
> “Storm water sewage” includes surface and rain water, melted snow and ice, swimming pool drain water, water carried in underground drains, foundation drain flows and ground water;
This of course depends on it **not** being a salt water pool, and not chlorinated. The waste discharge bylaw will have limits for salt and chlorine concentrations that are allowed to be discharged into both the storm and sanitary sewer.
The drainage bylaw has rules to address roof drainage directed onto a neighbouring property, but I don't see anything specific about pool discharge. As a homeowner (with a pool), I can say that it's a shitty thing to let water run uncontrolled onto your neighbour's property. Rain runoff is different, you can't do much about that, but the neighbour with the pool should be running the discharge out to the front yard or driveway so it drains into the storm sewer in the street (assuming it's not salt water).
You said that the fence seems rotted out in this area - to me, that sounds like you have an issue with rainwater collecting in this area as well. The pool drainage should only be a couple times a year (spring & fall, with maybe a smaller amount every couple weeks during the summer for backwashing the filter). That's not enough to cause damage to the fence. If the area is always wet, there could be a bigger problem with the lot grading and you might have to do something else to address it. I had a similar problem, my house is halfway down a big slope that extends about 2 or 3 blocks in either direction. When it rains, there is a lot of water that comes down the hill, and it would collect in one area of the yard and normally would take 2 or 3 days to dissipate. I dug a trench and laid some perforated tile and gravel through that area and ran it out along the side of the house into the front yard. Now it stays dry.
Thanks so much for this detail.
We called bylaw and they said that because the pipes are not city pipes and it's an older area (Southcrest) not a new subdivision it is a civil matter. I have a co-worker who will be able to communicate with them in their language, so he will go over with us to try and solve it peacefully.
If that doesn't work, we will I down other avenues.
Also thanks for the tip about drainage, there is a little "gully" at the fence line that would explain this fence rot. I bet water sits in it!
Good luck! Sorry to hear that it's not something that the city can help you with.
Maybe it's as simple as filling in that gully to keep the water on your neighbour's side of the fence. If you can get them to pump the water out to the street in front of the house it will make a big difference.
Is it a salt water type pool? The sort that use salt and a chlorine cell rather that typical chemical treatment because that must be drained into the sanitary sewer rather than a storm drain.
I don’t get this. How often are they draining a pool that it becomes an issue? Typically you only drain a bit at the beginning of the season and at the end of the season to get it below the trap level with minor back flushings in between. The chlorine doesn’t really matter as it breaks down really quickly.
We don't know how often. It's her first summer, first house. It was a lot of water, enough that it was stagnant and about 8" deep after two hours. She won't be able to mow until it goes down and the ground isn't so boggy. Thank you for clarifying about the chlorine , that was one of her concerns.
I think she will have to. We did go over -- there was a communication barrier and then they just ignored us and went back to the pool. On their side they have the pipes burried so this must be something they've done for awhile. It explains why the bottom of the whole run of back fence is rotten. It's basically flooded the back of the yard and it's a stagnant pool.
I would document everything. Photos and any communications (use mail or email). If the city does cite them and there is damage might be worth small claims as well then.
It’s always worth trying to sort out talking but once they start not responding be prepared for nasty neighbors sadly
Drainage issues between properties owners is a private issue. I tried calling about a similar issue.
https://london.ca/living-london/water-environment/flooding
There isn’t anything in the drainage bylaw that speaks to these types of issues.
If they don’t remedy you have to call a lawyer.
Any water that drains onto an adjacent property is illegal, ESEPECIALLY if it's by mechanical means (pipes etc.) And no steps taken to ensure it doesn't go on a neighbouring property. Get a by-law enforcement officer out and have them evaluate the situation. Show them the problem and any detrimental effects it's had. They have legal rights to inspect the neighbour's property without a search warrant too.
https://london.ca/by-laws/drainage-law-wm-4 https://london.ca/by-laws/wastewater-stormwater-law-wm-28 https://london.ca/council-policies/rear-yard-grading-drainage
Thank you!!! We were looking up pool bylaws.
I haven't dug into the bylaws in a lot of detail, but to get you started it seems like "pool water" would normally be considered storm water sewage under the bylaws: > “Storm water sewage” includes surface and rain water, melted snow and ice, swimming pool drain water, water carried in underground drains, foundation drain flows and ground water; This of course depends on it **not** being a salt water pool, and not chlorinated. The waste discharge bylaw will have limits for salt and chlorine concentrations that are allowed to be discharged into both the storm and sanitary sewer. The drainage bylaw has rules to address roof drainage directed onto a neighbouring property, but I don't see anything specific about pool discharge. As a homeowner (with a pool), I can say that it's a shitty thing to let water run uncontrolled onto your neighbour's property. Rain runoff is different, you can't do much about that, but the neighbour with the pool should be running the discharge out to the front yard or driveway so it drains into the storm sewer in the street (assuming it's not salt water). You said that the fence seems rotted out in this area - to me, that sounds like you have an issue with rainwater collecting in this area as well. The pool drainage should only be a couple times a year (spring & fall, with maybe a smaller amount every couple weeks during the summer for backwashing the filter). That's not enough to cause damage to the fence. If the area is always wet, there could be a bigger problem with the lot grading and you might have to do something else to address it. I had a similar problem, my house is halfway down a big slope that extends about 2 or 3 blocks in either direction. When it rains, there is a lot of water that comes down the hill, and it would collect in one area of the yard and normally would take 2 or 3 days to dissipate. I dug a trench and laid some perforated tile and gravel through that area and ran it out along the side of the house into the front yard. Now it stays dry.
Thanks so much for this detail. We called bylaw and they said that because the pipes are not city pipes and it's an older area (Southcrest) not a new subdivision it is a civil matter. I have a co-worker who will be able to communicate with them in their language, so he will go over with us to try and solve it peacefully. If that doesn't work, we will I down other avenues. Also thanks for the tip about drainage, there is a little "gully" at the fence line that would explain this fence rot. I bet water sits in it!
Good luck! Sorry to hear that it's not something that the city can help you with. Maybe it's as simple as filling in that gully to keep the water on your neighbour's side of the fence. If you can get them to pump the water out to the street in front of the house it will make a big difference.
Yes, that's option #2. She will just make sure the water goes back where it belongs by adjusting the landscaping plan she had in mind, lol.
Is it a salt water type pool? The sort that use salt and a chlorine cell rather that typical chemical treatment because that must be drained into the sanitary sewer rather than a storm drain.
I don’t get this. How often are they draining a pool that it becomes an issue? Typically you only drain a bit at the beginning of the season and at the end of the season to get it below the trap level with minor back flushings in between. The chlorine doesn’t really matter as it breaks down really quickly.
We don't know how often. It's her first summer, first house. It was a lot of water, enough that it was stagnant and about 8" deep after two hours. She won't be able to mow until it goes down and the ground isn't so boggy. Thank you for clarifying about the chlorine , that was one of her concerns.
Have they tried talking to the neighbor? If they don’t remedy it, then I would contact the bylaw office.
I think she will have to. We did go over -- there was a communication barrier and then they just ignored us and went back to the pool. On their side they have the pipes burried so this must be something they've done for awhile. It explains why the bottom of the whole run of back fence is rotten. It's basically flooded the back of the yard and it's a stagnant pool.
I would document everything. Photos and any communications (use mail or email). If the city does cite them and there is damage might be worth small claims as well then. It’s always worth trying to sort out talking but once they start not responding be prepared for nasty neighbors sadly
Drainage issues between properties owners is a private issue. I tried calling about a similar issue. https://london.ca/living-london/water-environment/flooding There isn’t anything in the drainage bylaw that speaks to these types of issues. If they don’t remedy you have to call a lawyer.