Physics and Civics Lesson

Today I was trying to drive home from Chapel Hill and I got to the intersection of Chapel Hill Rd and Garrett Rd and I saw a giant river flowing down Garret road. Cars were trying to forge that river. I knew better and did a u-turn and went another way.

We had a giant deluge today. This after lots of rain in the last few consecutive days. The ground is starting to fill up with much needed water again, but when it comes big and fast it has no where to go. This is an act of God.

Decades ago my friend Doug Soder told me a most important lesson his father taught him. “You always buy the house at the top of the hill. There is nothing you can do about water. It always flows down hill.”

This is a lesson lost on those who live on the down hill side. They often complain about water flowing on to their property. The statues concerning water are very clear about who is responsible for water. They say that the lower estate must receive and pass the water from the higher estate.

The reason for this is gravity which is a law of nature. Water is going to run down hill and there is not a lot you can do about it. The one thing you can do is have as many permeable surfaces as possible.

I live on the high side, but water still runs from one side of my property to another. I have a gravel driveway which helps slow the flow of water, I have landscaping and mulch for the same reason. But water is always going to flow down hill. People on the top of the hill are not responsible for the water flowing down the hill. That is the end of this physics and civics lesson. You cannot blame the people at the top of the hill when water flows down hill no matter what that water does when it goes downhill.