Q: We have property issues with a French-drain system. My neighbor is running his French-drain run off in to my yard, was not to bad unit this past year they did some work on his house and put a sump pump in and now there is a good bit of water that comes out and helps in flooding a lower section of my yard. Is this legal? The property is in Allegheny county, PA?

A: As a first step, express your concerns to your neighbor and see if he will be a good neighbor and voluntarily remedy the situation. Secondly, you may want to contact your local zoning ordinance person. You need to confirm if there is a local ordinance which prevents this. Thirdly, if you get nowhere with the neighbor or municipality, contact a lawyer. you may have a civil suit as I am fairly sure that landowner cannot create a situation which causes water to run onto landowner property. The last I checked there was common law on this subject. The lawyer may be able to settle it with a letter or put pressure on the local ordinance enforcement person to take action.