My question involves an easement in the state of: Ohio
I own property where the backyard is downhill of a neighbor's backyard. At the top of the hill, the neighbor has a drainage pipe (assuming for sump pump or stormwater runoff) which runs along the top of the hill. We noticed that on that pipe, there is a tee connection which is not capped. During heavy rains, water comes out of that uncapped tee like a hose, causing a heavy stream of water to run down the hill, forcing dirt/mud onto our sidewalk, flooding our backyard, and in some extreme cases, flooding to the point where the water will back up to the house and seep into the basement level garage.
The length of the pipe is perforated such that the water should be running down the entire side of the hill, but because the tee is not capped, it instead shoots out like a firehose in one concentrated spot.
My question is, does the neighbor have legal responsiblity to cap the tee so the water is dispersed over the length of the perferated pipe?
While Ohio water laws seem to indicate he does, when I called our county water conservation office they said they had no jurisdiction to enforce, and when I called our city (directed to Zoning & Public Works), they said they didn't either.
I'm hoping that the neighbor will be amicable to capping the tee, but if he isn't, then I'll either need to hire a contractor to put a french drain in my backyard out to the street ($$$), or pursue a legal option (if one's available).
The only reference to water diversion is in ORC 3767.13(c), which states "No person shall unlawfully obstruct or impede the passage of a navigable river, harbor, or collection of water, or corrupt or render unwholesome or impure, a watercourse, stream, or water, or unlawfully divert such watercourse from its natural course or state to the injury or prejudice of others." Not sure if that wording would cover this situation.
Thanks for any input!![]()

