Karen neighbor tries to dig trench across neighbor's property, accidentally breaks water to landowner's house: 'My home no longer has water'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jun 22, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

It's not a given by any stretch that you'll get along with your neighbor; after all, there's no basis for selection other than that you lived or were interested in living in the same area—and happened to buy property adjacent to each other. Then you spend every day next to that person, sometimes keenly and overly aware of their comings and goings. So, it's no surprise when personalities clash between neighbors who share nothing in common other than the adjacent boundary of their properties. Some busybody neighbors, in particular, have a problem with minding their own business and will frequently overstep and meddle in affairs that are no business of theirs to meddle in… 

Take, for example, this neighbor who was so obsessed with the drainage around their property that they rented a backhoe to dig an unauthorized trench across an adjacent property. When they were thwarted, they managed to convince the city to visit and dig another trench, which resulted in this landowner losing their water line to their property, with no one owning up to the responsibility. 

See this landowner's account of events below, from a thread they shared with this growing online community where they vented their frustrations.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10364543488
    via Bermix Studio
  • 02
    Retired boomer neighbor is obsessed with neighborhood drainage. As a result, my home no longer has water. We have a stereotypical retired baby boomer in our small non-HOA neighborhood, who I will call BJ (short for Bor Jack ①s). He's a walking stereotype: zero boundaries, always inserting himself into other people's business, and equally as aggressive as he is unaware of social norms.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 03
    We live in an old waterfront neighborhood and rainwater tends to pool in the road after heavy storms. It dissipates quickly and the rest of us deal with it without drama, but BJ is obsessed with the water that collects in front of his driveway.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 04
    I'm aware of 3 weird choices he's made in the last few months based on his obsession: 1. BJ rented a small backhoe and tried to dig a trench on a different neighbor's property without that neighbor's consent to direct the rainwater onto their property instead of his. The neighbor shut him down hard and took legal action to prevent future attempts.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 05
    2. BJ hand delivered unintelligible letters to every house in the neighborhood demanding that we dig ditches ourselves on our property to direct the rainwater away from the street and threatening legal action if we didn't. He misquoted city ordinance and claimed that the letter was written by a lawyer. This was clearly a lie and everyone ignored him.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 06
    3. BJ complained to the city for months until they finally sent out a crew to clear any obstructions from the existing ditches, which are nowhere near his house. When the crew arrived, he immediately inserted himself as their unwanted foreman and started bossing them around.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 07
    This last action resulted in the crew hastily moving some dirt around in the ditches to try to shut him up so they could leave. Of course, the place they chose to dig was in front of my house (again, this is 8 houses down the road from him and does not affect him in any way). Probably because he was distracting them, they hit and broke the water pipe that feeds my house. I'm on a shared well, so the crew deemed it homeowner responsibility and immediately packed up and left.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 08
    So now my house has no water and I'm going to be on the hook for a repair, all because of BJ's obsession, pushiness, and lack of respect for boundaries. I have never met a generation more illogical and willing to cause others harm in pursuit of their own selfish desires. I am going to have a hard time staying civil when he inevitably comes poking around while I'm trying to get this fixed.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 09
    JONOV I'd be raising with the city. That's a copout by the crew. If they were contractors not city employees I'd ask for their insurance information. drewrusty OP 100%. I am actively lighting them up. I know they're responsible and BJ legally isn't, but I still blame him because this only happened due to his boomering.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 10
    HippieJed 14 hr. ago If they damaged your property how are they not liable legally? I understand the crew told you that but I would ask the risk management department how to file a liability claim. There may be a local code I am missing but I am not seeing it.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 11
    pm_me_ur_handsignals. 13 hr. ago They were digging without having the utilities marked? Partner, start making phone calls right now.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 12
    Fit_Sherbet9656 · 14 hr. ago Contact a lawyer at once • redpatcher 9 hr. ago Oh! He has one right down the street!!
    via u/drewrusty
  • 13
    • Dirt_Slap 14 hr. ago There are at least 3 other entities who should be paying before you. BJ, the crew's insurance, and the city. Lawyer time.
    via u/drewrusty
  • 14
    • CypherBob 13 hr. ago Contact a lawyer and get in touch with the city. Their crew broke it, their responsibility to fix it. But sometimes it helps to have a lawyer send that letter. Could get real expensive for the city if they don't fix it.
    via u/drewrusty

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hoa neighbors neighborhood homeowner neighborhood-drama bad neighbors neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors Bad Neighbor neighbor
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