I'm thinking about buying a large piece of land that comes with some baggage. There's a water system on the property that used to supply a home that burned down years ago (there are no other homes on the property and I'm not considering building for a long time). Five nearby homes were deeded access to this water system and were supposed to pay their share of the operating costs. None have paid anything for years as far as I can tell, a situation they've become quite content with. The various neighbors dont really get along with each other, and I doubt they can afford paying much. The system is in violation of California water standards as any system that has more than 4 users needs a permit, ongoing testing, and purification of some sort. The system is aging and is clearly sub-standard in wiring, etc.
I'm not excited about the prospect of running a municipal water system for a bunch of flakes and would thus want the users to form a water association to pay the ongoing expenses of the system (and assume the presumed liability). No chance they do this on their own. My question is whether as owner I would have the right to simply "pull the plug" on the system (almost quite literally as I'd just have to stop paying the electric bill for the pump). The result would be that the 5 homes would not have water and would be red tagged, presumably forcing them to cooperate.
I know they have the deeded right to access the water system (or actually, the "water pipeline") but does this mean that the owner has to keep the system full of water? Wouldn't they still have access, there'd just be no water in it?
The end result I'd want would be to have neither legal liability of a sub-standard system or any ongoing need to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the system.
Thanks!What is the name of your state?
I'm not excited about the prospect of running a municipal water system for a bunch of flakes and would thus want the users to form a water association to pay the ongoing expenses of the system (and assume the presumed liability). No chance they do this on their own. My question is whether as owner I would have the right to simply "pull the plug" on the system (almost quite literally as I'd just have to stop paying the electric bill for the pump). The result would be that the 5 homes would not have water and would be red tagged, presumably forcing them to cooperate.
I know they have the deeded right to access the water system (or actually, the "water pipeline") but does this mean that the owner has to keep the system full of water? Wouldn't they still have access, there'd just be no water in it?
The end result I'd want would be to have neither legal liability of a sub-standard system or any ongoing need to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the system.
Thanks!What is the name of your state?