I have a neighbor along side my house with a lot that is about 1 foot higher than mine. A fence separates the two lots with a 1 foot board placed under the fence so the fence itself starts at the level of the neigbor's lot.

The soil is primarily red clay.

The problem is that all of the runoff from rain or sprinklers from my neighbor's yard spill off onto my lot. You can see the water coming from under the fence. This has the part of my yard by the fence turned into a muddy swamp.

What is the best way to address this situation? Put in a french drain along the fence?
My thought was to use this water to water my landscape, does anyone know of companies which make cisterns that I could store the runoff water in?

Also, would simply adding soil to my yard so it is as high as the neighbors - or a little higher, solve the problem?

 

I would think a french drain would be the simplest solution but if you want to run the pipe to a cistern with a pump any pipe and pump supply house should be able to help decide what parts would work best for your needs.