Water utility asks UARB for permission to abandon line to 3 households

Chris MacLean hoped his water woes were coming to an end last year when the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled the local utility couldn't disconnect the line that serves his home.

The Tatamagouche Water Utility claimed it had the right to disconnect the line on Highway 246 because it was a private line and was having issues with low or non-existent water pressure. The court ruled the utility couldn't abandon the line without approval from the province's Utility and Review Board (UARB).

"The county was deemed responsible for this water line," said MacLean. "We were just waiting for this new line to be put in, so we were just waiting for the fix."

But earlier this month, MacLean received a letter from a law firm telling him the Municipality of the County of Colchester, on behalf of the utility, had applied to the UARB for permission to abandon the 500-metre line, which serves his and two other households.

"It was a total surprise because now they're looking to, in my mind, get out of the responsibility once again," MacLean said.

Concern about contamination

The line was installed in 1995 by a private contractor. The community had raised money to put in the line to help a woman who needed a steady flow of water to have kidney dialysis at home.

The court ruled that since then, the utility assumed ownership of the line.

Since it was installed, two other homes got hooked up to it, and sometimes the pressure drops so much that no water comes out of the taps.

That's one of the reasons the utility wants permission to abandon the line, effective Nov. 1.

In its application to the UARB, the utility says water stoppages and reversing water can cause contamination, and since the line was constructed without any backflow prevention, contaminants could spread to the rest of the water system.

The utility estimates the cost of upgrading the line to an approved diameter — which would prevent stoppages — would be about $280,000.

"It is clear that the [water line] extension is not in the best interests of the ratepayers, as the possible revenue from three households does not justify the expense incurred by all ratepayers," says the utility's application.

'Not an ethical solution'

MacLean doesn't buy that.

"If they're deemed responsible, then they have to do the remedy whether it's a financial burden or not," he said. "I run a business. Expenses pop up all the time. It's unfortunate that I may have to spend a lot of money on an unplanned expense, but it has to be done.

"Not doing it or just cutting someone's water off, to me, is not an ethical solution."

An offer from the utility

The utility has offered $10,000 in total to the homeowners to help pay for a new line to be installed by a private contractor, saying any such line would be private. The money could also be used to drill a new well or upgrade existing wells, the utility said in the document.

"It kind of makes you wonder, why does it cost them $300,000 to put the line in, but they tell us we could do it on our own for $10,000?" MacLean said. "Something doesn't add up."

MacLean said he's leery of taking the money because the cost of installing a new private line could unexpectedly balloon. He said drilling a well is also not a surefire solution, as a neighbour drilled a well in the past and it didn't provide adequate water.

No one from the water utility was available for an interview on Friday.

For now, MacLean is awaiting a decision from the UARB.

"This has been going on for three-plus years," he said. "It'd be nice to put an end to it."