ULPT Request: how to stop (or at least mitigate) my neighbor from constantly draining her pool pump water into my yard?
Posted by muzzledust@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 102 comments
I live on a gentle hill one house down from my neighbor who lives at the top of said hill. Every winter and sporadically throughout the year, she decides to drain her swimming pool pump "tank" as she calls it, which just trickles water out onto the ground, proceeds to flow under the fence, down a rock wall and across my driveway and soaking the piss out of my yard. I’ve asked her politely not to do so two or three times now. Not a catastrophic problem but annoying nonetheless. What can I do about this?
MVHood@reddit
Well, she is doing something not allowed in my state so I’d report her. But, in a scenario where that’s not the case I would probably fill her pool with expanding foam
lukewarmhotdogw4ter@reddit
Don’t forget the piss discs
OneChrononOfPlancks@reddit
This is the third message I've seen about "piss discs" what is the reference???
originalmango@reddit
It was a revenge type response for a bad neighbor. Someone suggested peeing in a frisbee, freezing it, then sliding the disc of piss under their door so when they came home they’d wonder how someone got in their home and peed on the floor.
It’s getting kind of old, but people still post it.
rynosoft@reddit
Thank you for the explanation. I always thought this was a product and I've been on this sub for over a year.
originalmango@reddit
You’re welcome.
Don’t feel bad, for a short time I thought there must be an animal called a drop bear.
Key-Candle8141@reddit
Kind of old? Its been dead for some time now and lacks humor and originality at this point
originalmango@reddit
It’s been dead? Please tell that to the dozens of people who post it as a response to most everything.
I will admit, every so often it is a funny response to a very random post. “Hi. My dog keeps barking when I’m trying to work. How can I train him to be quieter?”
“Have you tried a piss disc?”
Key-Candle8141@reddit
Theres no (real) age limit on Reddit thus many have no idea how old or played out the piss disc is
trevorosgood@reddit
OneChrononOfPlancks@reddit
Wouldn't mail slot work better for this, if they have one
Nanocephalic@reddit
Nah, it’s easier to freeze a frisbee.
KertDawg@reddit
Wait wait wait. We might be onto something here. A metal mailbox door might actually freeze faster. Plus it would have the "mail" letters engraved on it, so they can't tell who it came from! Everybody has a mailbox.
PookieBaby_Gampo@reddit
We could just get sloppy and piss in on an envelope to freeze.
OneChrononOfPlancks@reddit
Yeah but then you put it through the mail slot.
escapevelosity@reddit
I’m not peeing in a mailbox attached to a house of my enemy bro
Durbee@reddit
There are no mail slots for those of us with mailboxes.
Mumchkin@reddit
r/woosh
BADoVLAD@reddit
Get outa here with your logic and reason. This is reddit and there's no room for such things!
originalmango@reddit
A- Apartment doors generally don’t have individual mail slots on each door, and many of the my neighbors are the worst posts are about apartments.
B- Sticking one’s peep in a mail slot would be funnier, but they already have the piss disc under the door thing. Maybe we should start the peeing in the mail slot as a thing.
sparhawk817@reddit
You can slide a piss disc into someone's cracked open car window too, lots of options.
originalmango@reddit
Ooooooo.
AlfredFonzo@reddit
I believe the original story was a theoretical dorm hallway scenario.
pessimistoptimist@reddit
OR...now hear me out...op makes said piss discs and frizbees them into the neighbours pool all winter. Extra special treat come the spring.
originalmango@reddit
Eh, I don’t see it doing anything unless you’re pissing and freezing gallons upon gallons daily. But a poop disc…hmmmm. Now you’re talking!
pessimistoptimist@reddit
If they arent chlorinating it all winter and Op has 2-3 discs a day for 90 days. it should be enough to make it slightly gross but not enough for the neighbour to say he shit in my pool. And op has smug knowledge that neighbour is swimmingnin pissy water.
Effective-Result7959@reddit
Classic, not old
shannnnnn132@reddit
I swear I've seen this in a movie but can't place it. It was a conversation between 2 guys about revenge, one asked the other if he noticed how everyone left their car window open half an inch during summer to keep the car cool. Then a discussion about discs, but from memory he said to piss in a plastic bag and lay it out flat in the freezer. I could also be getting mixed up with Quagmires explanation of a frosty Jim to a judge...
lukewarmhotdogw4ter@reddit
New to reddit huh?
Krynja@reddit
Coming here and asking about piss discs is about like going to /r/hfy and asking about pancakes
awayanywayaway@reddit
tips fedora
OneChrononOfPlancks@reddit
no almost 9 years now
XemptOne@reddit
its some stupid shit people on here are weirdly obsessed with, and i guarantee none of them have ever actually used one....
Outrageous_Act585@reddit
You haven’t been here long, have you? It’s usually the first option!
Nanocephalic@reddit
It’s a reference to piss discs.
Spankh0us3@reddit
Classic!
asyouwish@reddit
Bubbles are more fun than expanding foam. They will float all over the neighborhood
SugarInvestigator@reddit
Was gonna suggest concrete but let's go with yours, it's messier
eatingganesha@reddit
local ordinances, man. There isn’t a single place in this country that allows a homeowner to discharge water onto a neighboring property. Just take video and file a complaint with the county/town ordinance enforcement dept.
Also, once it’s empty, sneak over there and dump a ridiculous amount of gelatin into the empty pool. She’ll have fun next summer with that shit - the pool won’t go solid, but it will gum up her filter and the jet’s pretty nicely.
WellKnownOne@reddit
Which country?
Dasrule@reddit
Get creative. Build a trebuchet. Practice your aim with dog crap.
UnicornSheets@reddit
Classic yard-a-pult
ExtremelyOnlineTM@reddit
Crap-a-pult
UnicornSheets@reddit
Yard a pult = SNL joke product commercial from 1989 with Kevin Nealon
Hitch08@reddit
And a massive fan (possibly from a blimp) with fart spray.
ExcentricaGallumbits@reddit
And piss discs
Xenolog1@reddit
And after the aim is perfected, load the trebuchet with Greek Fire. She’ll try to use the pool water to douse the fire, making it only worse…
RandomUser7914@reddit
Get some lawn/flower bed edge (they are available in plastic, quite cheap and with a fully closed surface. Install it along the way her water takes, if possible slightly curved to her side. Water will catch on there and soak her property instead of yours.
LuementalQueen@reddit
Concrete works too. A nice little wall can turn into a dam when you get all sides involved.
RandomUser7914@reddit
Definitely right, but depending on the jurisdiction building something from concrete that close to the border might require a permit.
LuementalQueen@reddit
True... something to look into I guess. That said a lot of places allow you to build along the fence line if the item in question is on your side.
MermaidSapphire@reddit
Graphite lubricant on her car door handle
EgotisticJet5@reddit
Video it and send it to the police, you don’t know what’s in that “tank”, it could be lethal chemicals for all you know. But unethical? Uhhh you could always try putting a hole in every pool she uses?
escapevelosity@reddit
Don’t poke holes in meth waste containers it’s not worth it
MermaidSapphire@reddit
Are you sure?
I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE@reddit
Then they'll all slowly leak into their yard... That's what he's trying to avoid.
Disconnect all the pool hoses and put golf balls in them, that'll fuck shit up
fingers@reddit
Collect the water in buckets. Piss in buckets. Collect dog poop. Freeze. Return in the winter in the form of ice.
SansSkely@reddit
Wait until your cat has to pee (keep an eye on them) and when they go to the litterbox collect their pee and freeze it in a disc shape, then slide it under their door.
They'll spend a lot of time wondering how the hell a cat broke in to piss in their home. And there's no evidence tying it back to you. No dna or anything.
Tyzorg@reddit
Op can you get access to the pool equipment ? I can tell you.. hypothetically for the book you're writing..how to burn up the pump quickly
throwaway1975764@reddit
Drive several sheets of corregated plastic into the ground along the property line, a couple feet deep and at least several inches above ground. This way the water will just pool on her side.
YonKro22@reddit
If they have a saltwater pool they will kill everything ever growing in for a long long time and one day you may have to use your back yard for a garden which the chlorine but also messed that up and it may be sooner than you think a lot of people right now are not having any food stamps and federal employees are not getting paid and if they had a garden right now they would be out there picking vegetables
YonKro22@reddit
Put sandbags in a v-shape it's high up in the yard that you can get even if you have to go into her yard to do it you might camouflage them if you're going to do that and then spread them out where they go off to the side. You're also might talk to them and tell them to stop doing that or you will take further measures and then you might call the city and you also might threatened to sue them if they're doing any damage all that chlorine in your yard can't be good for anything suggest that they switched to ozone to keep their pool straight instead of chlorine
SmartPumpkin3284@reddit
Imagine a few gallons of those expanding orbies, imagine the entire pool is as 1 giant gelatinous goo. Not saying this is legal or that I ever did this, just saying it'd probably be a huge headache for someone :-)
Sunlit53@reddit
Drop a chocolate bar in her pool every week. Then start using real poop.
ChaskaChanhassen@reddit
Tootsie rolls
57_Eucalyptusbreath@reddit
Consider inviting all neighbors except her over (bonus if it’s while she’s doing this) and while you are enjoying the afternoon give a small “tour of the yard” and as a group look /point at her pool and explain the water thing and frequency. Be friendly about it and loud.
Maybe your friends can suggest ways to correct this.
Hopefully it will draw her out and a friendly group conversation can take place.
1-she will note she wasn’t invited 2-she may be shamed enough that her other neighbors are suggesting solutions peer pressure may get her fanny in gear.
Are you the only neighbor who gets to enjoy this rude neighbor?
Might be worth looking at the municipal rules and if illegal you can call the city and report them.
Pumps are about $100.00 and the hose can be long enough so it goes into a storm drain on the street so I suspect she’s lazy.
(Wikipedia -To drain your pool without annoying your neighbor, use a submersible pump with a hose to direct water to a storm drain in the street or a sewer cleanout on your property. For a faster method, use a pump to push the water out; for a slower method, siphon it by filling a hose with water and letting gravity do the work, ensuring the outlet end is lower than the pool. Crucially, check with your local municipality for any specific rules or restrictions on pool draining before you begin. )
Video tape the pool draining into your yard. No faces or address info.
Make a voiceover and message “don’t be like this neighbor, 6 times a year we have to deal with the water coming into our property and the pool owners can’t come up with a solution.”
10S_NE1@reddit
Just an FYI: some jurisdictions take a dim view of someone emptying a pool, with the associated chemicals, into the storm drain, which may possibly end up in a local river, affect aquatic life, etc. Some municipalities demand that pools be drained into the sanitary sewers so that the water can be treated before going back into the environment. And some municipalities may charge a surcharge for treating the massive amount of water coming out of a pool.
HolyFuckImOldNow@reddit
Some places include the sewer when paying the bill, unless you have a second meter that's specifically for watering the lawn.
Alum2608@reddit
Yup. We drained ours on our property like civilized people
mabus42@reddit
Call the cops and let them do the dirty work for you.
Monarc73@reddit
You can sue her for 'deprivation of fair use' of your backyard if it is too wet to walk on. (You most likely won't get much MONEY, but you can force her to come up with another way to drain her pool.)
GirlStiletto@reddit
Film it and call code enforcement. In most municipalities, they will fine her. You are generally not allowed to discharge, pipe, plumb, or run water so that it flows onto another's property. (You are normally allowd to run the hose to the street though.)
Rallphie@reddit
Just ask her if you can help direct the water differently
Scragglymonk@reddit
Seed the pond with the sort of husks used in weight loss programs, would need a couple of sacks. Imagine the pond being full of jello
innocencie@reddit
Expanding foam was mentioned, but I like your idea better because it’s natural/organic. You could even scratch your head and speculate that birds did it.
Scragglymonk@reddit
Expanding foam floats, this stuff is like agel, could get into the drain pipes and block it
rodboos@reddit
Plant delicate, fragile flowers in the path of the draining water. When she drains the pool, sprinkle chlorine on those flowers, at night. The next morning take pictures of the now dead landscape and blame your neighbor...
thewinterfan@reddit
Or buy the flowers, saving the receipt. Return them and get your money back. Then put whatever dead plants you want in the path, then send her the original receipt and remand repayment for the loss.
thewinterfan@reddit
Dig a small hole to collect her water and return it to her via a pump
RedWoodGamer@reddit
Dig a trench drain to a small pond, so as to push the water to the pond, then install a high GPM pump with a dairy farm style sprinkler spraying the water back in their pool.
Merlinmaster72@reddit
Since the solution should be unethical, How about digging a hole next to the fence where the water is coming in and place a 5 gallon pale in the hole to collect the water, Then insert a sump pump, and spray it back into the pool :)
Hot-Initial-1108@reddit
Call Townhall and ask them who can help you with the problem
-tacostacostacos@reddit
Is there chlorine and chemicals in the water, and do they impact your lawn or landscaping? If so you’d have every right to sue for materiel damages.
petrified_eel4615@reddit
Buy a bigger pump & firehose the water back at her pool to refill it.
Nephroidofdoom@reddit
Dig a channel to collect the water. Pump it back into her yard / tank / cellar window
_muck_@reddit
Just pick up the end of her hose and direct it back to her house
DigitalGurl@reddit
Not unethical but very effective. When she’s draining her pool call your local water company and tell them there is a water leak coming from your neighbors property. You checked and it’s not irrigation.
The water company will come out and discover she is draining her pool which is illegal most places as the water has lots of chlorine and other chemicals which no one wants in the environment.
The water company usually contacts the local DEQ - Dept of Environmental quality & the city which they will both come out, take samples, look at the size of her pool - calculate the number of gallons dumped into the area. Then next there is all sorts of paperwork, court dates, fines etc. often spin from that.
Be sure and tell everyone how long it’s been going on, how you are so glad they sorted it out as it hurts your plants & it smells.
throwaway_t6788@reddit
assuming they come quick. but op could take a video and submit that and they should take same action?
BADoVLAD@reddit
grandinosour@reddit
What your neighbor is doing is "back flushing" the filter tank to clean out all the bad stuff from the filter. Think dead skin, algae, dirt, maybe even poop from a toddler swimming.
This is a biological hazard and I personally would do what is needed to get her to stop.
toomuch1265@reddit
Buy a lot of oatmeal and dump it in her pool. It will clog the pump.
Henri_Bemis@reddit
Release a bunch of beavers and logs on her side of the property line.
LongjumpingNorth8500@reddit
The water throughout the year is probably when they are backwashing the sand filter so a very small amount. At this time of year they are likely lowering the pool level preparing to winterize and close. This will be many gallons being drained/pumped out and is more likely than not what prompted this post. The line they are pumping through can be rerouted or a temporary soft hose could be added and used to re-direct the flow when a lot of water will be pumped out.
SKatieRo@reddit
Call code enforcement.
Gadgetman_1@reddit
She does it in the winter?
Does it drop below freezing temperatures in the area?
If so, report her for assault.
Madder_Than_Diogenes@reddit
Get a powerful lawn sprinkler, like they use on sports fields, and aim it over her fence.
CharlesDarwin59@reddit
Get a friend to dress in a really nice suit and a younger person 22 to 26 ish. Invite them over and point out all the damage (make some up if you need to) as she is draining it. The younger person should have an expensive looking camera and take LOTS of pictures. Talk loudly about how expensive landscaping is and how she could just pump it out to the street.
Working_Rest_1054@reddit
Presuming the uncontrolled drainage of pool water isn’t regulated in your area, you could put in a shallow perf pipe in pea gravel on the driveway side of the wall (with a membrane liner under it) and discharge the water to wherever your driveway drains to, the gutter at the curb if your lucky.
cuck__everlasting@reddit
Get a long distance impact sprinkler and shoot water back at her pool when she's draining it.
Kitchen-Potential243@reddit
Get a good strong pump collect the water and spray it in the air over her fence
Skeggy-@reddit
Throw a padlock on her pool pump controller.
Cuneus-Maximus@reddit
Throw piss frisbees at her when she does it.