Drainage Woes

[dale7637]

Everyone,

Need some advice regarding a problem at my acreage. We bought an acreage out of town a few years back. We own an 11 acre parcel in a triangle shape, due to the railway and highway not running true north south. Our neighbour to the west, approx 500meters from our house, is an oilfield rentals outfit. The shop and yard do not belong to the rentals outfit, they are simply renting them.

Heres the problem.
When the shop and yard were built to spec for the rental outfit things were done kind of as a shady deal. (My opinion). The county here simply rolled over and let this long standing resident just gob a yard and shop in, and did not force the landowner to follow any permitting or planning requirements. The common driveway that we share with them was never built as a multi use road. It was a privately built road, built before we bought the house. The county finally forced the landowner to build a proper approach off of the highway, effectively making a mess out of our private drive. The approach was never finished, nor was it really built to alberta highways specs. The ditches used to be nice, planted to grass, and regularly mowed, as we showed pride in what our place looked like. The road is on a county road allowance, but the county wants nothing to do with the issue.

The big problem here is drainage. Natural drainage runs down the driveway ditches, across our pasture, through our dugout and into the creek system out back. When this shop was built, there was no planning for drainage. A culvert was put between the new shop and our side of the driveway, effectively draining everything out of their yard into our pasture, and dugout. I am no stranger to the oilfield, as I run a branch for an oilfield rentals outfit up here. I know what drilling mud, invert fluid and cuttings contain and how bad they are. I know that the outfit in our back yard regularly has their tanks clean before they are returned to the yard, but I still do not want that crap in our water system.

The county was involved many times over this issue, and has not produced any results. They wont even return a phone call. What are my options here? What do I do????? I have a lot of animals rely on that dugout for clean water (horses, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats). I had 20 yards of clay dropped off at the house today, and I am just about certain that I am going to fill that ditch in with the loader tonight so that the water cannot reach us. I know that this will create a nightmare for the rental outfit, but that is not my problem.
If anybody has anything helpful to suggest, I am all ears. I am so frustrated by the county here, I have never met a more cowardly bunch of people.

Sorry for the long winded rant, Its been bothering me for a long time.

[LiegeRiver]

Maybe it's time to get the environmental authorities involved. Some of them can be particularly.....forceful with outfits that are, or may be, polluting water sources.

LR

[dale7637]

Sounds good, most certainly is a great idea. Any ideas who to contact?

[densa44]

You use the words driveway and road interchangeably and they are very different. A mutual driveway is private and the county has no role in that. A road is a different matter all together, they are owned by the Province and maintained by the county.

Have you spoken to your neighbour? Will they cooperate in handling the storm water? The rules are that both parties have to allow for traditional flows.

Would it surprise you that most common problem that the local councillors deal with are the one you are having?

Why not call the local councillor, the one you both voted for last October, and see if the 3 of you can't work this out. Sometimes a few beverages helps.

You will awake a sleeping giant if you flood your neighbour and you will find out exactly how much it is your problem.

In the country you need your neighbours! It's the first rule.

[dale7637]

You suggest not filling in the ditch, but what other options are left? I am not just going to stand back and let this crap wind up in our water. The county, as well as all three neighbors, have been involved, and nothing has changed. Are there any other options here? The water is going to be running in the next couple of days, so we are running out of time.

[tbiddy]

Sounds good, most certainly is a great idea. Any ideas who to contact?

Alberta Environment

http://environment.alberta.ca/contact.html

[Grizzly Adams]

Have you talked to your Councillor? That's what he's there for.

Grizz

[Timberj]

X-2 on Alberta Environment, or if the runoff contains oil residue, you might also try calling the ERCB.....

[densa44]

If he/she thinks the only solution is to dam the ditch, let the county do it with their equipment, you can donate the fill if you like.

The municipality may have old Ariel photos from the 1950's before there was any subdivision. These photos will tell everyone where the water has always flowed.

This sometimes creates unpleasant surprises.

[AB2506]

Call Alberta Environment.1-800-222-6514.

http://environment.alberta.ca/0940.html

This number is shared with Environment Canada, so by reporting, the info is going both to the Province and the Feds. Only clean water is allowed into a stream. So if the water is as dirty as you suggest, something will have to change.

I would also have my lawyer draft a letter to the owner of the land, and the lessee, a letter advising them of your grave concerns for the quality of water available to your livestock. Let them know that they will be responsible for any damages.

I would also complain to your Councillor/Reeve.

[dale7637]

I guess I should have been a little more clear.

The county has been involved for the past 18 months with this, but nobody is willing to ruffle feathers. Our lawyer has been involved, and will probably stay involved for the short term at least. The cao of the county has been at the house, along with our councillor, reeve and four council members. They all agreed something needed to be done, but they are not willing to force the landowner into doing it.

I know where the water naturally runs, and where it always has. That has never been the concern. What concerns me is that there is that the county let this guy build here and never even tool into consideration what would be in the runoff water. The lot was never built with consideration regarding runoff. I am not willing to just sit back and run the possibility of all this drilling fluid and crap winding up in our water source.

[densa44]

In the case of storm run off like you describe, letting the water go is O.K. not the pollution!

Is it possible by putting a low dam or that kind of fabric you now see on construction sites near a water source to let the water go and settle out the pollution.

I'll make a general point here not directed at you at all, politicians are hard wired to see problems like you describe as the tip of the iceberg of some other problem neither side is talking about. This can hurt people like yourself if the only problem that you have is with the storm water.

Good luck. You can't pollute the water with chemicals, manure, or anything else and I think that every one agrees with that.

[u_cant_rope_the_wind]

thinking get yer lawyer to get the environmentalists involved , call yer MLA, step on some wiener boys toes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease

[Soreneck Racing]

A friend of mine was involved in similar problems with runoff from a neighbouring property-his was waste products from a truck wash. They dealt with cattle/pig manure from tractor trailer units.

He has gone through all sorts of hell trying to deal with this and has run into some challenges with the county council not unlike what you are experiencing.

You have been given some good advice here and along with an agressive lawyer you can be successful. The other thing to suggest is trying to involve the local media. And depending on how the story is crafted, it may put some pressure on the local government and the rental outfit. There may also be some rural agriculture type of assistance that you can access through the AB government.

Good luck with your challenge, be prepared for the long haul!