I have never had any persistent standing water on my property before. This year the front part of my property, about 1/8 of an acre is covered with water. I don't know how best to deal with this problem.
Last year, a new house came up next to mine. They dump a lot of dirt to build their drive way from the road straight to the hosue. I wish they built it around the hill contour. The driveway is right along next the property line. The land is higher on my side which slopes down slightly towards theirs. The water always flow down along the gutter by the side of the road.
Apparently, the concrete pipe drainage under my new neighbor's driveway at the entrance was over a foot higher than the average water level. So, the water on my side cannot drain and hence a permanet flood.
I really want to live in peace and don't want to start a war with my neighbor. It is clearly a bad design problem. However, I but need to do something to get rid of water before the mosquito season start. And best if I could preserve what ever natural environment left there as much as possible. I discovered a few wild orchids and ferns in that area a few years ago. Not sure if they survive the flood.
Any suggestion what I could do to reduce this damage? (beside taking any legal action)
- Get a few truck load of dirt and dump the flooded area. This means I will lost what ever left of the natural ecology there.
- Dig a pond and use the dirt to fill the rest of the area? Is this expensive?
- Grow some wet land grass there. The place is covered with wood. What species of wild grass can grow in the shady area?
- Does a home insurance usually carry this kind of problem?
Thanks, pac