Drainage issue into my pool

[BinaryFish]

Good morning,

I hope im posting this in the proper forum.. I'm having an issue where water flows into my pool from surrounding property filling my pool with mud. I took a video to signify what were experiencing here

My home was built a year ago and pool built by separate builder a year later. The cdd that owns property behind my house says not their problem. Home builder says since we changed grade (only where pool was built not the acre behind it) not their problem. Pool builder says they can't control rain not their problem.

Now I'm having to pay attorney and hope to have the judicial system figure out whose problem this is.

Has anyone experienced anything like this and have any insight as to findings? I feel there is some blame by all parties but can't see how I am at fault. I paid the pool builder for a properly built pool. Paid home builder for house built to code (surveyors said my grade is 6 inches above where it should be) and pay cdd 3k a year. Cdd should ensure all of that land behind me isn't washing the water down toward my house.

 

[TampaKathy]

Wow, sorry you are going thru this. Did you get a quote for installing french drains? May be cheaper than hiring an attorney? Since some of your neighbors don't have pools...did they contact the home builder? Home builder can't use the same excuse with them.

FYI for any non-Floridians. CDD means Community Development District. In short, it is a way for a home builder to avoid paying for the cost of Infrastructure and facilities all upfront themselves and the cost is passed onto Homeowners in the form of a CDD fee that lasts for I believe 30 years. (It's not an HOA)

 

[superuser]

The elevation of the whole area looks very flat, no provision for drainage anywhere so it's clear why the water is pooling. Not sure what the fix is going to be, but good luck.

 

[march2012]

a lawyer is just going to be a waste of money. Hire a landscaper and install french drains that shunt the water wherever it is supposed to go (street?). It sucks but it clearly everyone in your area has the problem.

You could also build slight berms to channel the water away from your yard.

 

[BinaryFish]

I have 3 quotes from landscapers and they all are in the $4,000 range to run piping out to the street.

The area behind the house isn't flat. Its actually an incline that gets steep to the point by the sidewalk out there, you're roughly 8 feet above the pool deck.

My issue is I didn't know this would be an issue. I paid the pool builder a lot of money to build a pool. This includes the plumbing etc thats necessary. When things don't work, I don't feel it should be my responsibility to fix. Otherwise I would have rented a backhoe, dug a hole etc for 1/4 the cost of what I paid. I paid a company that was supposed to be reputable to know all the things I couldn't possibly think of without pool building experience.

Thanks for the input, its very frustrating.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I look at it as more of a developer issue. They basically had no plan for water drainage for the neighborhood and unfortunately your pool seems to be the low spot. Are other neighbors having issues with standing water near their house, or even in their house?

 

[Newdude]

Had the pool area ever flooded before ? It looks like it was always funneled around the side of your house through what is now the back of your cage. Was the pool area originally a few inches higher to accomplish that ?

Hopefully some landscaping pros will be along but I would start with a 6 inch tall burm behind the cage to make the stream want to continue along to the side of the house and then out towards the road. At some point I would put in some sort of impermeable dam. 2×8's half in the ground would work if you can find a way to seal the ends of the planks together. (Glue and brace the ends together maybe?, 16 footers would limit the gaps) Otherwise any freestanding water would just pour through the cracks.

 

[BinaryFish]

I dont know the history of the house as it was only built a year ago.

I understand there are things I could do to remedy this but why is it my problem to fix things the builder should have addressed? Should the pool builder not have foreseen these issues and built contingencies or told me hey this will cause you issues?

My neighbors are experiencing the same issues. I tried to show this in the video. The end of the video I'm standing out on the sidewalk. If you see that you can see how much higher the sidewalk is than my house.

I cant build berms, wood pilings etc as I have an hoa. They don't allow you to build anything you want even if it is to fix a drainage issue.

 

[BinaryFish]

Also this flooding happens every time it rains. The pool builder didn't build an overflow drain into the pool.

Thankfully we didn't have a big rain yet but in Florida with hurricanes sometimes we have very big rains. If that happens my house will flood.

We all have bills. I dont have 4 thousand dollars laying around. I have spent over half a million in the past two years on this house. Thats why I feel someone should fix this. I paid top dollar for everything to avoid issues. Now I have issues and everyone wants to wipe their hands and say best of luck.

 

[Newdude]

I dont know the history of the house as it was only built a year ago

I meant did the pool area flood before the pool was installed ?

I understand there are things I could do to remedy this but why is it my problem to fix things the builder should have addressed

It shouldn't be. I was suggesting something to get you until you can get somebody to take responsibility. It might be a bit.

Unfortunately many builders don't factor in drainage and many people find out the hard way. I am not condoning it in any way shape or form, but you didn't pay them extra for drainage work so its a hard battle to win with the PB. Should they have foreseen a problem ? You bet. But maybe when they looked at the property it all seemed flat and it didn't appear to be a concern. If you had known it was a trouble area it would have been your responsibility to let them know the yard was prone to issues. If you weren't there long before the pool, to realize there was alot of water there you couldn't have known to tell them. Its also hard to blame the home builder. They left you with a wet yard that wasnt an issue until you put the pool in. Neither one of them negligently did anything, yet here you are after spending lots of money.

The end of the video I'm standing out on the sidewalk. If you see that you can see how much higher the sidewalk is than my house

Sorry. It was hard for me to follow exactly what was where. The one part that stood out was the water seemingly flowing past the pool enclosure and around the side of the house. I assumed it kept going.

The pool builder didn't build an overflow drain into the pool.

He couldn't build one uphill without a sump like pump.

We all have bills. I dont have 4 thousand dollars laying around. I have spent over half a million in the past two years on this house. Thats why I feel someone should fix this. I paid top dollar for everything to avoid issues. Now I have issues and everyone wants to wipe their hands and say best of luck

I hear ya !!! I also agree with every fiber of my being. Its gonna be a hard battle to get somebody to admit fault though. Just the fact that it happened sucks. The battle makes it tenfold worse.

 

[BinaryFish]

I meant did the pool area flood before the pool was installed ?


It shouldn't be. I was suggesting something to get you until you can get somebody to take responsibility. It might be a bit.

Unfortunately many builders don't factor in drainage and many people find out the hard way. I am not condoning it in any way shape or form, but you didn't pay them extra for drainage work so its a hard battle to win with the PB. Should they have foreseen a problem ? You bet. But maybe when they looked at the property it all seemed flat and it didn't appear to be a concern. If you had known it was a trouble area it would have been your responsibility to let them know the yard was prone to issues. If you weren't there long before the pool, to realize there was alot of water there you couldn't have known to tell them. Its also hard to blame the home builder. They left you with a wet yard that wasnt an issue until you put the pool in. Neither one of them negligently did anything, yet here you are after spending lots of money.

Sorry. It was hard for me to follow exactly what was where. The one part that stood out was the water seemingly flowing past the pool enclosure and around the side of the house. I assumed it kept going.

He couldn't build one uphill without a sump like pump.



I hear ya !!! I also agree with every fiber of my being. Its gonna be a hard battle to get somebody to admit fault though. Just the fact that it happened sucks. The battle makes it tenfold worse.

Rain season hadn't hit between time we moved in and time pool was built. I did not know about any flooding issues. After encountering this I realize every house down my street has this flooding problem.

I would have paid them for drainage work had it been disclosed to me. The area behind my house is not flat. If you can, look at the last 20 seconds of the video I posted. You can sort of see how high above my house I'm standing. I'm a layman for pool building, so I didn't know to look for/think about this is the reason I paid professionals.

Some of the drainage guys I'm talking to are telling me tough luck that no one wins these battles. Its just maddening to me, because imagine if they didn't put plumbers glue on the pvc pipes and I have a leak. Would it have been my responsibility to tell a pool builder what kind of glue and how much to use? Thats my point. You pay a professional to do a job, and you expect them to do what is needed to fully complete the job. Further, if they messed up and didn't think about drainage, thats on them. They should have disclosed that before breaking ground and if need be added it into the estimate appropriately.

 

[Newdude]

The area behind my house is not flat. If you can, look at the last 20 seconds of the video I posted. You can sort of see how high above my house I'm standing. I'm a layman for pool building, so I didn't know to look for/think about this is the reason

I did and they may or may not have foreseen problems with it. Now, obviously they would have. Your neighbors all see the issues now too. Looking at the end of the video it looks like the water gets trapped/pooled up by the utilities at the front sidewalk and driveway. That should be fairly easy to install a short drain under the sidewalk, through the curb and onto the street. It would give it somewhere to go instead of flooding. It *may* even be enough to convince the flow to go right past your enclosure instead if in it. If not, you will need some sort of dam like wall like I said above. I'm literally talking about inches tall, nothing crazy, and while the HOA may have their rules, they can ***FLY A KITE*** unless they are coming to help mop up all their community water trying to get into your house and paying for any damages.

Would it have been my responsibility to tell a pool builder what kind of glue and how much to use? Thats my point.

I get your point but its trickier than that with weather that wasn't present at build time. How much rain is your yard supposed to handle before its no longer the PBs fault if it floods ? A 1inch storm, 2 inches, a hurricane, a tidal wave ? To me this is on the neighborhood builder, and if they are long gone then its on the community board to fix. Your neighbors have the same pooling and its only a matter of time before several of the houses flood.

Good luck and keep us posted !!

 

[Candurin]

Is putting in recharge trench out of the question? Just a bunch of buried perforated drain pipe covered with filter fabric surrounded by gravel? Should be easiest way to capture surface water and hold it while it ha a chance to soak back into the ground slowly.

 

[CrystalRiver]

,and while the HOA may have their rules, they can ***FLY A KITE***

Sounds like you've never lived under an HOA. They have tremendous power to assess fines and penalties, and an easement on your house to enforce payment.

 

[Newdude]

Sounds like you've never lived under an HOA. They have tremendous power to assess fines and penalties, and an easement on your house to enforce payment

Oh I get it. But not under these circumstances. Prissy aesthetic rules go out the window when neighborhood water is flooding your house. Although I guess that's one way to get the ball rolling in court.

 

[Apsuhead]

Wow. So sorry you are going through this situation. Definitely something that you shouldn’t have to be dealing with. Please keep us updated.
My pool install is almost complete. I originally wanted our pool right up against our house and back deck. My pool builder immediately suggested against it because of the slope of the yard and the possibility of lots of water and rain running under my house during heavy rain. During a big rain, I really saw what he was talking about and we put the pool further back in the yard. I also buried my back downspouts before the pool install to keep water away from the new sidewalk leading to the pool at the suggestion of my PB. I never would have paid attention or worried about it if he didn’t point it out at our original meeting. I hope you find an easy fix.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I would have paid them for drainage work had it been disclosed to me. The area behind my house is not flat. If you can, look at the last 20 seconds of the video I posted. You can sort of see how high above my house I'm standing. I'm a layman for pool building, so I didn't know to look for/think about this is the reason I paid professionals.

I totally get your frustration, you just want to enjoy your pool and not have to unexpectedly spend thousands more to do so.

Yes, an excellent PB would have noticed that it would be a problem and incorporate a fix in the build, but ultimately he is in the pool building business not fixing neighborhood drainage issues. Your PB didnt create the problem, and it really appears like a poor neighborhood design that is causing issues for everyone. Blaming the PB is kinda like yelling at the car wash guy for not telling you that your tire was flat when you took it to the car wash. They should have noticed, but didn't, and now you still are on the hook for the fix.

At this point, you best bet is to work with a drainage company and I suspect the solution will be some re-grading and buried drains to move the water to where it should be going. My guess is that the water should be flowing to the "valleys" in between the houses and ultimately to the street and storm drains.

I would also save receipts and document everything in the off chance there is a neighborhood wide solution implemented down the road. If you have already done the required work to fix your portion of the problem caused by the developer, you may get some of your $ back. This is a big if, and would be years down the road, but certainly could happen.

 

[homegameroom]

I live in Florida and have the same issue, but it's because 20 years of lawnmowing and not picking up the clippings has caused the ground to rise up. I installed a linear drain at the edge of my pool enclosure (like this Source 1 Drainage Trench & Driveway Channel Drain with Concrete Grey Grate - Drain Cleaning Equipment - Amazon.com that one might use at the base of a driveway) and ran pipe out to the street with a pop-up drain head Amazon.com : NDS 430 Pop-Up Drainage Emitter with Elbow and Adapter for 3 in. & 4 in. Drain Pipes, 3-inch & 4-inch, Green Plastic : Pipe Fittings : Home Improvement at the end (it's always flat until the water flows and pops it up). No one can see it and it works well.

I wish you the best!

 

[Newdude]

Also, right now it’s only your problem. But it should be fairly easy to convince some of the neighbors that it could very easily become their problem too with heavier storms. At the very least the people next to you who share the small stream running between your houses. And anybody else who has one close too. Several of you saying that something needs to be done will increase your odds of the CDD (or whoever) taking responsibility.