Hydrology Investigation For Private Property

Every private property owner holds responsibility to not cause unreasonable water flows onto neighbouring properties, especially when this flow can cause ingress and water damage.

This issue was brought forward by a neighbour claiming that the property owner next door had negligently caused water ingress and damage to their property. As a result, the owner of the property that stood accused engaged a solicitor, who recommended that they get an expert hydrology report done to determine the cause of the neighbour’s water damage. This is where Morphum’s expert stormwater team came in.

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The initial plan was for our team to perform a desktop assessment of the site. Reviewing all available documents and stormwater datasets, the initial assessment would help identify the potential causes of the ingress into the neighbour’s property during a storm event. It would also determine to what level any flows were occurring on the neighbour’s property, and if these flows were considered unreasonable according to The Water Act 1989.

The desktop review also included identifying relevant nearby infrastructure assets that could cause the issue as well as understanding the catchment hydrology and flow behaviour.

After the initial desktop analysis, Morphum responded to specific issues with an on-site visit to validate these results. These inspections on-site validated the initial findings, and the final investigation report was provided to the client.

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In all, the flood investigation ascertained that the property owner had not caused unreasonable flow onto the neighbouring property, in accordance with clauses outlined in the Water Act 1989.

This isn’t where the investigation ends though, as water ingress had still occurred. Our stormwater team took the findings one step further and suggested further actions to be taken by the neighbour to prevent future water damage. These recommendations included notifying the local council of ingress issues and regular inspections from local stormwater maintenance contractors to clear stormwater pits and drainage systems.

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For the future, the neighbouring property owner is now aware of means to reduce their flood risk and our client is more aware of their hydrological responsibility and understanding flow impacts ahead of any projects or changes to their site.

Working together with both our client and the complainant, our team is glad to provide the independent assessments that are needed to understand the impacts and flood risk to properties across Victoria.

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