Very Interesting,,,need advice fast please

[czanne]

Hello, I am posting on behalf of an elderly couple in my area (Pennsylvania). This situation has made the local headlines and is still ongoing, so any advice I can get for them is very much appreciated.
The couple is ederly (husband is 83, wife is 86). They live on a 90 acre farm, and have resided here for most of their marriage. The farm has been in the husbands family for generations. Decades ago, the borough's municipal authority drew up an agreement with the original owners that stated that that farm would receive free water as long as the water company was given permission by the owners to run pipelines thru the feilds to supply additional customers. The original owner of the farm agreed to this, and everything was fine up until July 31 of this year.
On July 31, the borough's water company decided to shut off the water supply to the farm where the elderly couple resides. The water company says they are doing this because they believe it will; be cheaper for them to install a well on the property, rather than run new pipelines to the farm. They offered to put in a well on the property for no charge, but the couple refused, stating that they cannot afford the maintenance on a well, and therefore, the well would not be "free" to them. The water company shut off the couples water because the couple refused to have a well installed. Also, the wife is in poor health, and the husband has been walking to a nearby spring to fill up containers of water to live off of.
WHen this story first came to light in the local newspaper, many friends and neighbors of the couple began bringing them fresh bottled water, and a lot of people began speaking out against the water company. A local attorney has been interviewed and he said he would be happy to offer advice but so far he has not. This couple needs advice and help a.s.a.p., so any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Also, for more details on the situation, you can go to www.pottsville.com (the local newspapers web addy) and scroll down the front page until you come across the headline (Mengles). Thank you for your time.
Czanne

 

[wtd]

As to the immediate problem -
You may wish to consult with the local attorney mentioned in your post regarding having a court order requiring the water company continue to supply domestic water until the dispute is resolved. (public/private health issues, hardship on the occupants of the farm, that sort of thing)

As to the long term problem -
There are a lot of things to consider that are probably in the agreement that you mentioned, that are not mentioned in your post.
The first thing that leaps to mind is - Is the water company required to provide a pressurized source of water? If not, then a well satisfies the terms of the agreement, and the owner would be liable for providing his own local transmission system.

The next is to what point are they to deliver the water - to a point on the house plumbing? To every tap in the dwellling? To every fixture in the dwelling? Possibly delivering water to a well head without cost is in compliance with the agreement, in which case the owner of the property would be liable for transmission costs to any other point where water was needed.

The following observations are based on the information given in your post -
One could conclude that if the well has not been installed, for whatever reason, and the water has been shut off, then, regardless of the conditions of the agreement, other that what's mentioned in your post, no water is being supplied and the water company is not in compliance with the agreement. Consult your local lawyer.

The solution of this problem is quite outside the scope of this forum, I think - a bit too complex.
Try that local lawyer.

These are just observations and suggestions from a layman's point of view, hope something in here helps,

Good Luck
wtd