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ASK A LAWYER `Nuisance' water flow can be plugged out of court Dear Jlm: ~1'e recently bought a new home m a new subdni- sluu. A homeow~ter uphill from us lust pw tit sod and is watering his card 24 hours a dav. Another homeuw~ner u~ between us and the new sod guy, m order to keep ;ill thts water off' his property, has [.,ken steps to dlven the flow. ~Id. }ou guessed ¢, the conse- yurnrr is that a! the water now romes unto our propeay Although the water hasn't yet in„d~~ it uau our basement, it is tluahng our yard and ttu eatening our landscaping. ~1'e\-e tned to contact the lot owners causing the problem, but no one will tenu-n otu calls. ;Vty suggestions'? Saving on our water bill, but ...Colorado Springs lCater, without which life (as we know u) camtot be sustained, rm br a nr~or pain if there's too much of n in the wrong place at the +arung time. Realizing thts, the lat+ has developed ndes restarting +vhat uphill land u+vners r<ur do to their property th,u might adversely affect dowm- lull uwurrs Bottom Wte, uphill ua~ners cart'[ change "tustoric tlow5" ++'ithout being liable Cur the conuequences to there dowai- lull neighbors. (For legal pttrists, ttus is a "strict liability" toa, nvaiimg the uptued party doesn't have w prose carelessness to recover.) The la++ also recognizes a claun for relief (a legal theory allow-tng a lawsuit for damages) called "nuisance." Under the law of nuisance, one property owner can't undea. ke activities causing adverse consequences to another property owner (The cases law snulenu bare to read always seem to meolce blasting with d}~mm~ite, resilting in large rocks sueainmg down on neighbors' houses, carte, children, pets, tuna to plarus, etc.) Addniunally, tit a subdnision su: h as }ours, there are likely to be protec[icr covenants in place that say something to the effect that one property owner in the subdivision can't do [lungs [o annoy and damage the property of another property owner. (Those cove- nants should also say that a successful claim- vtt c;ut recover attor- neys tees from the ptuty causutg the problem.) So, you have good tactics for dealing with the person who's watering day and night and the in-between person who solved his problem by send- ing the water from lux property onto yotu propeay. Nonetheless, this is a good example of a problem (like most problems) best solved outside the courts. U 1 were you, f'd start with your homeowners associa- tion and see if it will intervene on your behalf if that doesn't work, I'd send a polite (but firm) letter to your offending neighbors tell- uig them what's happening and inforntirtg them they wW be liable fur any darnage done to yotu propeay. (For dramatic effect, I'd send this letter by certi- fied mail.) If you're convmced your neigh- bors are intent on ignor- ing you, have dos letter come from a lawcrr. U the problem peis~ts, tell your lawyer to file a lawsuit seeldrtg a centpu- rary restr;uning order :utd an u~unction.:u well as money d:unugrs However, below you run up a big bill for legal fees, check your coven:uus to be sure you can pas your legal expense on to the parties caustng yotu problem. If out, keep m [Hind you c:w buy lots uC landscaping with money not spent on lawyers. (I'd estimate that every hota of lawyer torte not ptuchased is worth at least three good-looking trees.) J+m Flynn writes about legal issues for The Gazette. Send your questions to Jrm c/o The Gazene, P.0 Boa 1779. Colorado Springs. Colo. 80901: fax. 719-6360202. einaii, 1TFlynn@~fmwF. cam.