Pond

Perhaps the pump is broken or they do not know how to operate it? Before calling Public Health (which is who you would need to call), why not go over and ask them about it?

We had to sever ties with our neighbours when we were brand new to the neighbourhood as something similar occurred. We made the purchase of our home in September and had an inspection of the pool done, though it was minimal as not much was known other than age, etc. but by the following summer, the pipes had seized and equipment was clearly shot. So, we had standing water during the time we were waiting for a pool company to come in and redo all of the plumbing and pipes and install all new equipment. In the meantime, the pool turned an awesome shade of green BUT we were treating it with larvacide to kill all of the bad stuff off. My neighbour though, immediately thought we were creating a breeding ground for West Nile and called Public Health on us.

They came by (totally embarrassing, by the way, to ever have a PH vehicle parked outside your home) and tested the water and determined we were doing everything right.

The relationship with our neighbour, however, has been forever ruined.

Moral of the story... go over and talk to your neighbour. If they are unaware, educate them. It will only serve to better you in the future

Another thing to figure out is whether the pond can be dried and covered. Give them some options so that they can choose the best venue for them.

loriblum wrote: ↑Perhaps the pump is broken or they do not know how to operate it? Before calling Public Health (which is who you would need to call), why not go over and ask them about it?

We had to sever ties with our neighbours when we were brand new to the neighbourhood as something similar occurred. We made the purchase of our home in September and had an inspection of the pool done, though it was minimal as not much was known other than age, etc. but by the following summer, the pipes had seized and equipment was clearly shot. So, we had standing water during the time we were waiting for a pool company to come in and redo all of the plumbing and pipes and install all new equipment. In the meantime, the pool turned an awesome shade of green BUT we were treating it with larvacide to kill all of the bad stuff off. My neighbour though, immediately thought we were creating a breeding ground for West Nile and called Public Health on us.

They came by (totally embarrassing, by the way, to ever have a PH vehicle parked outside your home) and tested the water and determined we were doing everything right.

The relationship with our neighbour, however, has been forever ruined.

Moral of the story... go over and talk to your neighbour. If they are unaware, educate them. It will only serve to better you in the future

Wow! Thanks for putting this in such simple terms
I agree we(not pointing at you OP) have stopped talking to our neighbors about such stuff and want to go directly to the authorities to get it sorted. I hope when I do something similar my neighbors just approach me and talk about it rather than calling the nanny brigade.

And let's say the neighbor was too cheap to run the pump, I would even be willing to pay a couple of bucks for the electricity used than start a war with them.

loriblum wrote: ↑Perhaps the pump is broken or they do not know how to operate it? Before calling Public Health (which is who you would need to call), why not go over and ask them about it?

We had to sever ties with our neighbours when we were brand new to the neighbourhood as something similar occurred. We made the purchase of our home in September and had an inspection of the pool done, though it was minimal as not much was known other than age, etc. but by the following summer, the pipes had seized and equipment was clearly shot. So, we had standing water during the time we were waiting for a pool company to come in and redo all of the plumbing and pipes and install all new equipment. In the meantime, the pool turned an awesome shade of green BUT we were treating it with larvacide to kill all of the bad stuff off. My neighbour though, immediately thought we were creating a breeding ground for West Nile and called Public Health on us.

They came by (totally embarrassing, by the way, to ever have a PH vehicle parked outside your home) and tested the water and determined we were doing everything right.

The relationship with our neighbour, however, has been forever ruined.

Moral of the story... go over and talk to your neighbour. If they are unaware, educate them. It will only serve to better you in the future

IF that is what happened...you never had a relationship to begin with.....Therein lies the problem.

Excuse me?

You are obviously a skeptic and I don't care to humour you with any proof, but the comment you made was not necessary nor helpful to the OP's situation, now was it?

A bit paranoid? Many things can get in the GTA. Try a bug zapper, it's spring!

Neighbors talking to each other appears to be non-existent these days.
Let's call bylaw, lets call the local PD...!
Get off your lazy arse and walk over and politely express your concerns.

Fyi. I did talk to him 2 years ago about his dog off leash pissing in my backyard and he told me to build a fence. So I did. I expect the same bullsh1t reply. Since I don't want my kids to get sick I think I've answered my own question.

vkizzle wrote: ↑Neighbors talking to each other appears to be non-existent these days.
Let's call bylaw, lets call the local PD...!
Get off your lazy arse and walk over and politely express your concerns.

You summarized precisely what I was saying lol

stansoltz wrote: ↑Fyi. I did talk to him 2 years ago about his dog off leash pissing in my backyard and he told me to build a fence. So I did. I expect the same bullsh1t reply. Since I don't want my kids to get sick I think I've answered my own question.

I'm confused. The OP made it sound like these were new neighbours. Was the pond being used last year? Maybe it's just broken or maybe they don't feel it's warm enough to start it up?

New neighbour moved in about 3 years ago. Prior to that, previous owner would run the pond/waterfall pretty much 98% of the time from spring, April, until the leaves began to fall. The pond always had small goldfish feeder fish which cost like a buck for 10 fish. It was beautiful. New bozo moves in and the entire backyard is now overgrown and stagnant water. Last two summers he ran the pump maybe 6 hours per week. Fish died in the winter and were never restocked. Every year the problem gets worse. It's just a pool of sludge now with mosquitos everywhere. Anyway, I'll leave him a note in his mailbox about proper pond keeping techniques... if I don't see action, I'll get him on either the standing water/west nile by-law/code... or, if he continues to grunt at me... I could get him on the pond deeper than 18 inches without a fence law... it's a shame... previous owners created a sanctuary... this goof ball created a cess pool

Ok in your situation, I'd skip leaving a note. Sounds like he doesn't have any desire to properly take care of the pond or yard. Question...how does his front yard look? Could that also be an issue that you could pursue?

Front yard no longer has flowers, but maintained since he has a grass cutter guy who comes weekly. that being said, I noticed no one plucks the dandelions... but i can live with that... i just pop the heads off the ones near my spotless lawn before they seed and drop them on his grass.

Can you toss a few mosquito dunks into the pond when he's away? Problem solved!

OttawaGardener wrote: ↑Can you toss a few mosquito dunks into the pond when he's away? Problem solved!

I've done that! He might fish them out cause the float like turds... But also the fish would be a double method of prevention

She didn't hide it from me the previous day when she specifically said "aren't you afraid of West Nile from your pool being like that?"

So I'd be pretty stupid not to know.

Then again, when her husband divorced her sorry ass several years later, he happily confirmed it.

Archanfel wrote: ↑And let's say the neighbor was too cheap to run the pump, I would even be willing to pay a couple of bucks for the electricity used than start a war with them.

Nothing against you personally, but it blows my mind when I see responses like this!

Home buyers automatically have to assume the responsibilities of the home they are buying. If you can't take care if a house - don't by one! It shouldn't be anyone else's responsibility to take care of the house and property.

OP - if you keep covering for, or doing nice things for your neighbour, they will never learn to respect boundaries. You can't change the jerk that he is, but you can't definitely let him know you won't be taking his crap. Even if that means calling the city or town.

toodlepip wrote: ↑Nothing against you personally, but it blows my mind when I see responses like this!

Home buyers automatically have to assume the responsibilities of the home they are buying. If you can't take care if a house - don't by one! It shouldn't be anyone else's responsibility to take care of the house and property.

OP - if you keep covering for, or doing nice things for your neighbour, they will never learn to respect boundaries. You can't change the jerk that he is, but you can't definitely let him know you won't be taking his crap. Even if that means calling the city or town.

It's also the home owner's responsibility to keep a good relationship with all the neighbors. More often than not, there's simply no clear boundaries between neighbors. Don't assume everybody is a jerk.