diverting water off shared private road-cheap? Easy? Not annoy neighbors?

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to divert rainwater off our shared (8 neighbors), downhill, private, paved road and onto my property to a swale/pond system.  We will get quite a lot of water that runs down the side of the road however, I'd love to maximize this opportunity and include the roadway.

There's a history of difficulty with neighbors around the roadway, a poorly constructed speed bump (removed in the middle of the night), etc.  Frankly, I'd love to avoid the drama.  What are my options?  I'm reading about prefab speed bumps which may be slightly less annoying than asphalt speed bumps.  Or maybe a seasonal solution as we get our major rain 3-5 months of the year.  

Hoping to keep this as affordable as possible.  Maybe a channel drain is the next most affordable option.

Any other options or suggestions you've found helpful?

Thanks for any help-Amy

The term you want to use is water bar. Basically it is a terrace the size of a speed bump placed across the road at a drain slope to move the water off the road before it builds up enough speed or volume to erode the road or shoulder. How many you need depends the size and slope of the road and how fast it rains. I have seen charts and instructions but can’t remember where.  

After that it is retention ponds and terraces to prevent erosion. They just happen to look like swales.

Out here in the desert, road runoff provides the most accessible, easy to collect water source. The hard packed earth, devoid of vegetation, sheds rainfall easily.

If the water bars cross the road at an angle, then they don't act as a speed bump. They only have to be a few inches high to divert the flow.

Thanks for the tip to search "waterbar".  I didn't find much for paved roads.  However, I found this idea!  Firehose section as a diverter.  




Seasonal, cheap and can't piss off the neighbors.

I can tell you it may start a civil war.
I have designed and built roads. I have experience with private roads.
Possible problems;
- people who use the shortest length of the road will complain about sharing full length cost
- some will speed and wreck road and argue its not them
- some will be eyeing any water for themselves.

I would start by talking with the neighbours and suggesting removing the water will reduce erosion damage
- I would deal only with the water in the gutter on your side only and see what happens
- I would not put lines across the road
- depending on how long the frontage is I would take water from the start and the end of your frontage
Without seeing photos I would not be able to see if my points are worthy and perhaps you can help with that.
What is happening to the water at the moment?

Hi, Amy

Welcome to the forum.

Your situation sounds a lot like my road.

I liked Joseph's image as a solution.

I live behind a gate (my gate according to the deed) that has maybe ten or more locks on it.

When we bought our property I found out how easy it is to make folk very unhappy.  Just ask the other property owners' whose lock got cut off by the sheriff.

Maybe some well-placed ditches placed on your property would work.

Without seeing a google image of the terrain it is hard to suggest where the ditches would be best placed.

It is my wish that you find a solution that makes everyone happy.

I have a similar situation here where I live, but I actually have irrigation rights to the water and it has to be run from the acequia (ditch) down the road track, cross the road to get to the land with the water right. To get "my" water I had to think about how to divert it off the road, getting it on the road was not a problem, just block the culvert. The road goes to the forest and has a lot of 4 wheeler traffic in the grazing season and hunting season. And a goodly amount of truck traffic from folks cutting fire wood. A big solid bump or a ditch was out of the question...knocks firewood off trucks. My solution is manure dams. They totally divert the flow, are soft enough not to cause a "clunk" and can be adjusted with a rake or pitch fork. I lay a diagonal little ridge of manure across the road way, only about 3 inches tall and about a foot wide. The manure will pack down when someone drives over it but appears to plump back up when it reabsorbs water, like squeezing out a sponge.

Amy, I don't know where you live...but what if you approach...State Engineer's Office and check into acquiring a water right for the water in question? May or may not be an option, here in New Mexico there is a thing called "Beneficial Use"...??

I find if you ask questions, suddenly others become interested.

Perhaps a ditch filled with rock and topped with washed gravel would capture the water without creating a nuisance for other drivers?