Too much water?

[TreesnHorses]

Hi y'all- I'm going to go look at a tree this week. The client does not know what the tree is other than it's very large, but the leaves browned out within the last month or so (tree is dead, I'm assuming) and he wants to know if the next door neighbor's washing machine water, which HAD been being dumped directly into the lawn (long story), within about 20 feet of the base of the tree, caused it to die. He said the water issue began in March and the tree was fine before that. So over the summer it was saturated on a regular basis with laundry water. I assume this would kill even a large tree, but I'm just askin' you experienced, smart folks and wondering if you've seen this happen before. Thanks.

 

[LightningLoader]

Never thought about it much, but we had an oak that turned brown and died within the span of about a week, and it was located about 10 feet away (and downhill) from where the laundry water drained out. Maybe there's some kind of toxicity that can build up in the tree from drinking too much detergent? I wouldn't rule the laundry water out as a cause of death, but I couldn't confirm it.

 

[TreesnHorses]

Thanks. I know the detergents used to contain phosphates, which would lead to algae bloom in ponds/creeks, but I think the detergents these days are phosphate-free. I haven't paid attention to what's in them now. Probably something we wouldn't want on our clothes touching our skin!!

 

[l2edneck]

Illegal here if it goes on the ground instead of into sewer.Far as the tree,very possible the soap toasted it.Many other factors uknown to really say.