QUESTION

Would an adjacent property owner be responsible for damage to my property from storm runoff?

Asked on Nov 07th, 2012 on Real Estate - Nevada
More details to this question:
After a large storm, water runoff from a property adjacent to mine damaged a retaining wall knocking part of it down. Are they responsible for this?
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1 ANSWER

R. Christopher Reade
In County of Clark v. Powers, 96 Nev. 497 (1980), the Nevada Supreme Court indicated that in adjudicating the competing rights and interests of landowners related to surface waters.  Nevada cases enunciate three central principles: (1) the law of water rights must be flexible, taking notice of the varying needs of various localities; (2) a landowner may make reasonable use of his land as long as he does not injure his neighbor and (3) a landowner should not be permitted to make his land more valuable at the expense of the estate of a lower landowner.  With this in mind, Nevada adopted the “reasonable use” rule.  This rule of reason provides that in effecting a reasonable use of land for a legitimate purpose, a landowner or user, acting in good faith, may drain surface waters and cast them on a neighbor's land if: (a) the injurious flow of waters is reasonably necessary for drainage; (b) reasonable care is taken to avoid unnecessary injury; (c) the benefit to the drained land outweighs the gravity of harm inflicted upon the flooded land; (d) the drainage is accompanied, where practicable, by the reasonable improvement and aiding of normal and natural systems of drainage in accordance with their reasonable carrying capacity; and (e) where no natural systems of drainage are available, the drainage is accomplished by the use of a reasonable, artificial system of drainage.
Answered on Nov 08th, 2012 at 12:48 PM

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