Short answer. Yes. Article 516 of the Civil Code provides that a landowner may be compelled to clear matter from their property if its accumulation or fall obstructs the course of waters to the damage or peril of third persons. The harm or risk to your property is what triggers the obligation.
What the law says
it may be necessary to clear a piece of land of matter, whose accumulation or fall may obstruct the course of the waters, to the damage or peril of third persons.
Civil Code, Article 516 — Clearing Obstructions To Water. Read the full provision →
What Article 516 provides
Article 516 extends the rules governing water-related obligations between neighboring landowners to cover a specific problem: debris, rocks, soil, or other matter accumulating on one piece of land in a way that obstructs or threatens to obstruct the flow of water, causing damage or danger to others nearby. The article applies the same framework as the provision it references — the preceding article — to situations where the obstruction is not a structure the owner built, but matter that has accumulated or might fall. If that matter is blocking a stream, a drainage channel, or any other watercourse and the blockage is harming a neighboring property, the affected neighbor has a legal basis to demand clearing.
Damage or peril: both trigger the obligation
Article 516 is written broadly enough to cover two situations. The first is where the obstruction is already causing damage — flooding on your property, diversion of water onto your land, loss of drainage, or any other actual harm flowing from the blockage. The second is where the situation is not yet causing harm but creates a real peril: the debris could fall, the accumulation could worsen, or the situation could become harmful under ordinary weather conditions. You do not have to wait until your property is actually flooded or destroyed. A credible risk of damage from the obstruction is enough to invoke the protection Article 516 provides.
The nature of the obligation placed on the landowner
The owner of the land where the obstruction sits is the one the law places the duty on. This is true even if the owner did not create the obstruction — if rocks fell naturally or debris accumulated without any deliberate act, the obligation to clear it still attaches to the owner of the land once the blockage creates a risk or cause of harm to others. The law does not require wrongdoing; it requires that the owner remedy a situation on their land that is causing or threatening to cause harm downstream or on neighboring property. The affected party — you, in this situation — can seek a court order compelling the clearing if the neighbor refuses to act voluntarily.
What to document before taking action
If you are in this situation, the strength of any legal demand rests on how clearly you can establish the connection between the obstruction and the harm to your property. Photographs showing the blocked watercourse, records of flooding or drainage problems on your side, and any evidence that the debris or accumulation is on your neighbor's land will all be relevant. The more concretely you can tie the obstruction to the damage you are experiencing, the stronger the basis for demanding action under Article 516. A written demand to the neighbor before going to court is a practical first step, as it documents that you raised the problem and gives the owner an opportunity to resolve it without litigation.