County and local government agencies are responsible for reviewing development and building plans to ensure that proper drainage does exist. Once the property owner receives the final Certificate of Occupancy, County authority ends. If your neighbor installs landscaping or a pool which may reroute the stormwater runoff leading to drainage issues, it becomes a civil matter between neighbors.

Ohio has undergone the strains of urban and rural development, and with that the courts have continuously modified the way in which they apply the law to issues of stormwater drainage. Reasonable use doctrine has evolved to provide flexibility and practicality to the application of drainage laws in Ohio. The reasonable use doctrine essentially provides that an acceleration or obstruction of surface water flow should be examined to determine whether or not the change is “reasonable” in each case. 

The best way to avoid problems is to be aware of where your drainage easements are located

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If you are downstream of anyone, as most of us are, Ohio law states that you must accept the water flowing from the higher land through a natural drainage channel. Below you will find some good rules of thumb:

• Do not increase the rate of flow or volume of runoff.
• Do not redirect or concentrate the flow of runoff. When adding features to your property, make sure you or your contractor consider the flow of runoff.
• If you break it, you buy it. Blocking a drainage channel or changing the direction of natural flow may make you responsible and liable for damage caused on another’s property.
• No mechanical (sump) pumps are to be tied to the downspout lines that discharge through an underground pipe to the street, curb, or surface.
• Do not enclose a drainage swale into a pipe without approval from our office. It is important to use the right-sized pipe and to make sure that, by concentrating the flow in a pipe, you will not damage neighboring property. It is better to work with your neighbors and not push your water problem onto them. Open swales are the best environmental solution to stormwater runoff when it infiltrates or drains away within 24 hours.
  
• When you plan to drain a swimming pool, please be courteous by waiting at least three days after the last application of chlorine to drain or back-flush your pool. Outlet the pool water to a heavily vegetated area or disperse it with a drainage spreader

Swales between houses should be established and maintained to ensure that water runs off and away from your house’s foundation.

Rear yard swales are designed (and have established easements) so that water drains to structures and/or basins to de-water the site to public waterways.

An ounce of prevention will pay off when it comes to maintaining drainage channels.

Easements and grading notes may be found on your parcel’s approved grading plan (highlighted).

• Downspouts that lead to an underground pipe cannot be “day-lighted” or come to the surface above the ground closer than 10 feet from the property line. This is a requirement for the unincorporated townships and jurisdictions that are part of the County’s Building Regulations. If you live within a village or municipality, check with your local government.
• Keep the swale clear of brush and logs. Never put leaves, mulch, or grass clippings in or near a stream or swale.
• If you live near a water source, plant a buffer strip of natural vegetation and establish a no-mow zone. This will serve as an inexpensive filter of pollutants.
• Maintain and control vegetation in channels or place rock channel protection along the slope to dissipate the energy flow and reduce erosion.
• Never plant trees or place mulch in the swale