Why not just knock on their door and ask them if theres a way to drain the water elsewhere?

Lesson learned. Don't buy on the downhill side of the block. We did. Soggy mess.

Some people are just nasty.

Interesting. Where we live local regulations state you can't direct your water onto another property - installing a sidewalk or french drain that does that would squarely fall into that category (unlike, say, living at the bottom of a hill or having landscaping issues specific to your own property). When neighbors built something, we were told by the jurisdiction to call if we noticed water issues and they'd address it. Not sure why so many PPs are responding so rudely to the OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have similar problem, so I can feel your pain
My next door neighbors installed French drain with output to my backyard, so now every time it rains I have a my little river and a pond on my backyard. Have no idea yet how to address this issue. I'd like to have a yard, not a messy swamp. Any suggestion?

That's awful! What discourteous neighbors. We're finding that our yard is soggy- clay souks and low in places, and I'm investigating landscaping options. There are plants that will suck up a lot of water! Where do you live? Some counties have a watershed stewards program where volunteers will come out and assess your property and make recommendations for suitable landscaping to help deal with excess water. Thinking of scheduling a consult myself.....

MoCo. Thank you.