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Board plans letter on seasonal water shutoffs after complaint about hose-tied houses
Summary
The board discussed complaints that a seasonal property was supplied by a neighbor’s hose after water was shut off for nonpayment; members said properties without potable water may be condemned and agreed to send a letter advising owners they must have water connected or face condemnation.
The Lakeville Board of Health discussed a complaint that a seasonal property was receiving water via a hose from a neighboring house after the property's water had been shut off for nonpayment.
Board members recounted a file in the departed agent’s folder reporting photographic evidence that a hose ran from one house to another, supplying water to a property not tied into the water association. Members said the water corporation had shut off service for nonpayment and that the board should clarify habitability rules. “If the water's been shut off to the property, you can't live there,” a board member said in the discussion.
The board directed staff to draft a letter advising property owners that potable water must be connected for a dwelling to be habitable and that the board may proceed to condemn a residence lacking water until service is reinstated. Members stressed they do not aim to adjudicate billing disputes between property owners and the water corporation but will enforce health and habitability requirements.
Members also reviewed the town’s prior accommodations for seasonal properties, which allowed some properties to remain seasonal (water shut off in winter) as long as owners had signed agreements to remain seasonal and not to use the dwelling year-round. The board said those seasonal exceptions would not protect properties that have been tied to a neighbor’s water line or left without water due to nonpayment.
Staff were asked to follow up on the complaint, determine whether properties in question remain seasonal or have tied into the water association, and send the board’s letter as a formal notice.
