Water Drainage - Up to Code?

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We have LOTS of water in the basement during heavy rains.  I had a contractor come over to look our townhouse and the basement. When he looked over the fence, he said that the building next to us (a church) was not properly dealing with their water…they have downspouts from the roof that just dump water into the space between their building and ours.  He said it was not up to code and that it needed to be discharged elsewhere..storm sewer, the street, etc.  I have a attached a photo just to clarify what I’m talking about. And before anyone tells me to talk to the church, I have and they said they’d take care of it. They reported that they cleaned out the gutters but I don’t think they are going to address the downspout situation, nor should they, unless its not up to code and causes water to leak through our foundation. My questions are: – Was the contractor correct…i.e. is the current system that the church has in violation? – If I called the DOB with a complaint, would they be fined right away (if it was found to be a problem) or would they inform them of what they needed to fix without and initial penalty (im trying to be a good neighbor and not get them into any trouble) ?   Photo note: the downspout is next to the chair and does not go into the ground like my own house…it ends about 6 inches above the concret and dumps water there.

ProspectWitch

in Foundation 13 years and 8 months ago

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greenmountain | 13 years and 8 months ago

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The congregation and it’s designated property manager should care if it is damaging their foundation, wood joists, floors, etc., and if it is damaging your property, it is probably damaging their’s too.  I have seen downspouts blocked by snapple bottles and arizona ice tea cans cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, safety hazards too.  Keeping a downspout clear and draining in to sewer lines, like they are designed, is cheap.  You will never get a chance to state your case in dry weather like you have now, untill a preventable structural failure occurs.  Getting the drainage system working – what ever it takes – will be cheaper than repairing the results of not fixing it.  Keep trying to get the attention of the church.  I don’t know that the DOB will help, but if you learn exactly what code is being violated, please let us all know.