In the summer of 2006, more than fifteen inches of rain fell on El Paso in eleven days — nearly twice what the desert city gets in a year. As many as 300 homes were destroyed.
One loss was small against that. A couple had bought a house on a slope in the Richmar subdivision in 1972. A rock wall enclosed the bottom of their back yard. The husband had raised its height himself in 1975 and cut a ditch to steer water around the yard.
On August 1, 2006, after a severe storm, a long section of that wall collapsed. He later testified about the effort it took to clear the debris.
What changed at the top of the slope
Three other properties sat at the top of the slope above them. The couple sued three neighbors, alleging that man-made changes uphill had sent water onto their land that belonged somewhere else…