Hunter & Co. Ltd vs. Delmage Forsyth & Co. Ltd. – sllr 2016 volume 1 page 155

The case between Hunter & Co. Ltd. and Delmage Forsyth & Co. Ltd. addressed whether an upper tenement possesses the right to discharge natural rainwater onto an adjacent lower tenement, and whether this right is subject to limitations when the discharge is artificially augmented or includes sewage and wastewater. It was held that, under Roman-Dutch law, the natural flow of water may be permitted, but any deviation involving excessive or altered discharge is not within the scope of the servitude and cannot be justified by long usage (vetustas) or prescription based on a prior consensual arrangement. The decision confirmed that any prescriptive right must adhere to the scope established by law, limiting the burden on the lower property, and that relief may be granted when this is exceeded. T