What recourse if a neighbour damages my water supply

When I arrived at my house in the Var yesterday evening, I found I had next to zero water supply. I have a feeling that my neighbours may have squashed the pipe which runs through the edge of their property (and has done since my house was built some 55 years ago, when the next door house was a derelict farm house). I have checked that the valve at the meter where it comes off the village water supply is open and all the stop cocks in my cellar are open as well. My neighbours sadly are known to be unreasonable. They are town dwellers from Brussels and have never lived in a rural situation before, where life is a bit more give and take. Sadly they replaced my previous Swedish neighbours, who were delightful. What legal recourse do I have?

First of all… you surely need to have the water supply properly/officially investigated and the cause for water not arriving in your house needs to be properly/officially identified.

If it’s a Town Supply… perhaps the Mairie or the Water-Supply Office can assist.

good luck.

Is it before it after your meter? If before, then it’s one for the water company. If after, then it might be worth contacting your insurer if there’s damage.

I think it must be after the meter. I am going down to the mairie tomorrow morning to see if there is a general supply issue to houses on my road before I investigate further.

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If it’s after the meter, is the water meter going round when all your House stopcocks are Closed (ie means there’s a leak after the meter but before the stopcocks)

if there’s NO movement at the Water Meter (when your Stop Cocks are open… ) it means the problem is “the other side” of the Water Meter…

I wouldn’t bother - it’s a public holiday, Pentecôte.

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No there is no flow at the meter and no sound there either.

Aha… at least that means you aren’t being billed for water you haven’t used.

Of course, no-one will be open tomorrow, but Tuesday you should hotfoot it to wherever and report the lack of water supply.

If “works” at your neighbour’s place have crushed/broken the pipe which supplies your property… could mean there’s a nasty leak… wasting water is a major no-no… so you should get some speedy action/response… even if remedial action takes longer.

Incidentally, someone will confirm/correct me… if the water breakdown is not on your side of the WMeter… costs of reinstating said supply are down to the Water Company and not to you. If the Water Company finds your neighbour has done something resulting in cutting the Supply… they’ll surely go after the neighbour to recoup their costs ???

best of luck

EDIT Strikes me that your home now having no drinking water, no water to flush toilets etc etc… means your home is not “fit for human…” and your Mairie might be prepared to have a word with “someone” in the quest to speed things up re getting the Supply reinstated.

Keep your stopcocks closed until you are officially informed that Water is reconnected, otherwise you risk flooding indoors if the supply suddenly reappears… :wink:

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If the problem is before the meter and all the taps are turned off there is no risk of flooding indoors!

if the supply returns unexpectedly, you can bet your life there’ll be a forgotten tap… left on… or there will be a failed pipe-joint… it’s Murphy’s Law.

I’d want to be around when the ~Water comes back into the house… just to ensure all is well.

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There are no joints between the meter and my house, just a single very heavy gauge 5cm PVC pipe (3cm bore). The meter is not registering any flow, so no leaks. I certainly did not turn off any stop cocks in my house and my gardien who looks after the house over the winter and has done so for years, says he never needed to go down in the cellar where the stop cocks are. There is a trickle of water coming through, fortunately just enough to refill toilet cisterns but not enough to make a tap run. I have not as yet turned on my hot water cylinder for obvious reasons.

Good luck. Why is it that things like this happen at weekends/on bank holidays?

It’s called Murphy’s law. :grinning: Just got to grin and bear it plus be a bit pongy.

It’s the Law of Sod. ;-(

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Just to be clear, does your incoming water main run alongside your neighbours after the meter? Those water pipes are incredibly tough, seems unlikely to be damaged. Have you tried turning the water off at the stopcock before your meter, open the drain valve (your side of the and meter) and then re-opening the stop cock? If water comes out of the drain valve then tge problems your side, if it doesn’t its the water company’s problem.

Ah… so there is water albeit reduced supply… I hadn’t realised that. Strange that the meter is not registering any flow if there is enough water arriving to slowly refill cisterns???

Best of luck.

Loi de la Motte. :smiley:

But Google Translate says “La Loi de Murphy”!

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Mystery solved. My guardien had forgotten he closed a stop cock when there was a cold spell during the winter and he thought he heard water running. Cleaning lady now reinstated for tomorrow.

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I have always preferred ‘sod’s law’ as I know several innocent Murphys but have never met a Sod. :wink: :rofl:

Good job you didn’t go up there all guns blazing @RWilsonL , could’ve been nasty. :grinning:

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HURRAH :rofl: :+1: