[Ryan Coke]

Figured I'd tap into the collective Cpuck knowledge base for my issue.

Short version of the story: We have a concrete drainage 'swale' in our backyard, along with the drain itself. Often when it rains I get other peoples mulch, grass clippings, decking boards, and plastic bags flowing into our our yard, eventually plugging the drain grate which then leads to some flooding. I keep it as clean as I can, and have often been out there in the middle of the rain to clear the drain grate. After a recent rainstorm which flushed a bunch of mulch from a neighbour's yard causing the drain to plug, apparently someone decided to call bylaw enforcement on me.

The letter I get instructs me to clean my section of swale (fair enough, I do it regularly anyhow), remove the eave drainage tubing outside of 1 meter of swale (I have it draining directly in, doesn't have any effect on the debris clogging), and finally to remove any 'retaining walls' within 1 meter of swale. I have some timber edging less than 1 foot high on some plant beds in order to keep mulch/dirt from getting washed into the swale; removing them would make the situation worse. Not to mention it would mean doing serious damage to several years of work I have put in to get a nice yard (it would likely involve replanting or destroying several plants/trees).

I had a professional landscape plan done up with specific requests to consider good drainage, same request to the landscaper who completed it. I am happy to do what I reasonably can (short of hiring a 24/7 person to watch the drain), but the thought of destroying much of the landscaping for something that will do nothing to alleviate the problem is sickening.

Any experiences or suggestions would be appreciated.