The parties were neighbouring land owners, and each had a deep well. The defendant emptied the sewage from his property into his well, and this polluted also the neighbour’s well. The pollution was actionable. His behaviour appropriated the water percolating through his land and he had no right of ownership of that water even though he had pumped it. No one may use his own land so as to cause a nuisance to his neighbour, and somebody who puts filth or poisonous waste on his land must ensure it does not escape to poison his neighbour’s land.
Citations:
(1885) 29 ChD 115, (1885) 54 LJ Ch 454
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Followed – Cambridge Water Company v Eastern Counties Leather Plc: Cambridge Water Company v Hutchings and Harding Ltd CA 19-Nov-1992
The defendants operated a plant using chlorinated solvent chemicals which, over a long period had seeped through the floor of their factory and into the chalk subsoil, eventually polluting the plaintiff’s water supply some mile and half away. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Nuisance
Updated: 31 July 2022; Ref: scu.188012
