Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

My neighbor(on the left) has a sump pump that was secretly put in to pump her water (including her washing machine water) under our driveway into a drainage ditch between our property and the property of my neighbor on the right. My husband told her that we don't want her water pumped into our ditch, we give her a year to fix her drainage problem. This winter, her line blew and shot water arching onto our driveway. She fixed her line and it's now pumping out on the otherside of my driveway(between our property and the neighbor's on the right) pumping up out of the ground. The code enforcer in our area says that unless he can "witness" the water pumping out and have proof that that water is not JUST water, he can't do anything. Friends and other neighbors say it's our property, if her line is on our property (under our property), we can do anything. "Quikrete would solve" our problems. Please advise


Asked on 3/14/10, 8:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Caroline Palmer Law firm of Caroline Palmer

Even if her line is under your property you cannot do "anything". Your neighbor essentially has acquired an easement through your property (which extends below the surface, in theory all the way to the planet's core) for her line. It's the same kind of easement for any other kind of sewage system. If you mess with her line it could involve you with all kinds of legal/government problems you don't want and will be expensive. And unfortunately the code enforcer can't be out there monitoring the drainage 24/7. My advice would be to reach an agreement with your neighbor.

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Answered on 3/20/10, 8:10 am


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