Drainfield Damage

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

My nieghbor says that run-off from my once-a-week flood irrigation is going to damage his drainfield. He is taking photos to use in “evidence” for insurance purposes. Can this be so? Would plain water cause damage to a drainfield. I’ve never had a drainfield before – so any help/advice is really welcome. Thanks!

[Ken ZoellerParticipant]

If in fact your “once-a-week flood irrigation” is running onto his property and running over his drainfield, it could cause damage to his drain field by hydraulically over loading the substructure. You might want to put a french drain 90 degrees to the flow of water from your property to his. A frence drain is a ditch 2’ wide by 18” deep with rock and a drain tile 6” off the bottom taken to a low point and drained away, or drained to a sump with a pump and pumped away to some ditch that will carry the water away.

[SylvanLMPParticipant]

Ken good point about the right of way on a property line run off BUT dont you think that the “French Drain” piping should also be protected by the use of
fabric material like Plypropylene filament used in underdrains and other dewatering situations. It allows the water to percolate through it but keeps the soil from plugging up the stone bed that surrounds the perforated collection piping. Once the piping gets filled with sediment/ silt it is just about useless UNLESS it is water jetted clean as just snaking wont hit it. About the pump I would strongly suggest a Zoller sewerage ejector rather than just asump pump knowing your ejector can pump can pump 2″ solids if needed ( Hey I have seen your pumps pump rocks out of pits already)

[hjParticipant]

Aside from how to dispose of the water, he may have a case. In some jurisdictions, you cannot allow any excess water, rain or anything else, that is on your property, to flow to a neighbor’s property. You have to create retention ponds or other holding devices to handle any excess. If this is the law in your area, then you cannot even create a drainage canal system unless it empties onto another part of your own property.

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