'Ok, if you like it, pay up $10K': Property owner drains a troublesome man-made pond on his land, neighborhood HOA complains, leading to a stalemate

Maintaining a rural property is more work than you think. City-slickers and townspeople never realize the daily labor that goes into keeping up seemingly natural land–as it turns out, nature always has a way of dismantling our fences, seizing back the natural landscape, and filling in man-made ponds. Not only are the calluses on your hands in danger of bursting, but rural landownership can cost a pretty penny when unnatural water features fall into disrepair. 

When the landowner in our next story saw the receipt for the cost of managing a man-made pond on his property, he just about fell out of his porch chair. With a hefty $10,000 annual pond management fee dangling over his head, the original poster of this story (OP), decided that he didn't need to deal with the hassle of a water feature on his land and decided to fill it in. For everyone's safety, a filled-in pond was less hazardous than an improperly maintained deathtrap. 

But apparently the HOA wasn't having it. 

Although the pond was well over the property line, the neighborhood Karens and Kevins decided that, despite the cost to OP, they wanted to keep enjoying the aesthetics of the pond. Keep scrolling to read how this property owner reeled in a victory over a stubborn HOA by playing the card that nobody can beat.