They mention dollars and social security, so I’m assuming they’re from the USA. I can believe it would be illegal in some states to give out water. Georgia for instance made it illegal to handout water bottles.
“Although the water provided to the third party is still being paid for, the water previously provided to the third party for which that third party had not paid remains unpaid and the incentive to pay that debt is reduced,” Court of Appeals Judge John Melanson wrote for a unanimous court. “This threatens the city’s ability to provide low-cost water services.”
“We depend on fining disadvantaged people for revenue and you will not threaten that.”
Yeah, that has to do with not allowing people to try to sway votes as people are going to vote, I think. I can’t find anywhere that even claims anyone in a US state is not allowed to give their neighbor water.
No it doesn’t. It has to do with Republicans wanting people standing in line for hours to vote to get thirsty, give up, and leave without voting. This is because (a) Democratic-leaning areas tend to have longer lines for “reasons,” and (b) lower turnout favors Republicans.
I believe this was also passed after they unexpectedly closed a bunch of polling places in predominantly Democrat voting areas just days before the Presidential election, which led to lines several blocks long of people standing out in the sun with no shade or access to water or bathrooms.
You have to realize, the United States has many laws in most jurisdictions that criminalize poverty, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are quickly moving to pass more. It is not a good country to live in. People here get arrested for giving food to the homeless.
It’s probably considered stealing like if you were to use a cable splitter to take your neighbor’s Internet. Except that’s bullshit for a metered water connection so fuck whoever made that law or regulation.
It’s also illegal to have a water break for workers working outside in the heat.
It’s simultaneously more and less evil than that. The ruling was that the state cannot compell employers to provide water breaks for employees working in the heat. So those people who can’t take a water break while working 13 hrs a day in direct sun are forced to do so by their employers greed, and not because of some legal obligation.
At least where I live, you get billed separately for the incoming water and drainage. So if I’m not paying the utility, and get water to my property from my neighbor, then I’m not paying for the drainage I’m using when I flush that water down my drain.
Of course the situation is ridiculous, but this is how I’d imagine this being illegal, you are “stealing” the drainage service.
Sewage is most likely still just calculated by how much water you use. In my state they are separate but you can pay for a sewer deduction meter to go on outside spigots so you’re not paying for the sewage for outside use, but they’re almost $700 so I haven’t bothered.
Yes, there is a line item. There is also a line item for taxes. But saying “it’s on my bill too” supports the OP’s claim despite the OP being wrong.
If you pay for your friend’s dinner at a restaurant, they aren’t stealing just because the bill has separate line items for food, service, taxes, etc. You are paying it all.
I could see a utility company or township having some local rule written as something like ‘running a hose between houses’ being prohibited without any condition of intent to make it easier enforce when people are stealing water, and then using it against someone sharing on purpose because vague rules/laws tend to be twisted to punish people in a way far different than the intent.
Or it could be intentional in the same way as anti-homeless laws where people are just being punished for helping out the poor.
Since OP used American terminology, probably they’re claiming America, which would mean you need to ask which state, as water bills and such are a state law thing.
So far as I know there is no state with a law like this, but odds are very good OP never learned the nuances of the situation and something else illegal was going on, like delinquency or fraud on the water bill, or if they were in drought conditions and going over their ration due to supplying a bonus household.
In fact, my first guess is fraud, if this “hose” was connected before the meter, meaning the family was drawing more water than they were paying for.
The water company will do this intentionally when they have water mains to repair. When the street my mother in law lived on had a water main repaired, the water company hooked a hose from her neighbor’s house to supply her water. Later they came and hooked her water to the next house down as they worked there way down the street.
But I could still see police doing it because they don’t know the law.
As a few have guessed, it could be related to how the sewer usage is accounted for, but that’s unlikely since they are neighboring addresses. It could also be due to local water restrictions but they likely wouldn’t have cut off the water due to a relatively light civil penalty. What few have guessed, it is almost surely a public health restriction to prevent cross contamination and backflow between two serviced addresses.
There are very good reasons why we all want every exit to the public water network to be isolated, which comes with safety inspections and other requirements. As soon as your break down that model of one address serving more than one address, it makes a massive mess of maintaining and inspecting the safety of the water delivery network.
When water mains need to be repaired, the water company connects homes with hoses so they have water during repairs. My mother in law got her water from a hose connected to her neighbor for two weeks during repairs.
In which country is it illegal to let your neighbor use your water?
They mention dollars and social security, so I’m assuming they’re from the USA. I can believe it would be illegal in some states to give out water. Georgia for instance made it illegal to handout water bottles.
A 2021 Georgia law does prohibit people from giving water within 150 feet of a polling place, and violators face up to 12 months in jail. Can
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/aug/13/man-fined-500-for-sharing-city-water-with/
I’m just gonna leave this here.
“We depend on fining disadvantaged people for revenue and you will not threaten that.”
Same “logic” is used to stop people from filling up parking meters for other cars.
Sounds like I can set up a food truck and “sell” water with the whole “pay what you can” model
IIRC some people have been doing basically this
Yeah, that has to do with not allowing people to try to sway votes as people are going to vote, I think. I can’t find anywhere that even claims anyone in a US state is not allowed to give their neighbor water.
No it doesn’t. It has to do with Republicans wanting people standing in line for hours to vote to get thirsty, give up, and leave without voting. This is because (a) Democratic-leaning areas tend to have longer lines for “reasons,” and (b) lower turnout favors Republicans.
I believe this was also passed after they unexpectedly closed a bunch of polling places in predominantly Democrat voting areas just days before the Presidential election, which led to lines several blocks long of people standing out in the sun with no shade or access to water or bathrooms.
You have to realize, the United States has many laws in most jurisdictions that criminalize poverty, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are quickly moving to pass more. It is not a good country to live in. People here get arrested for giving food to the homeless.
It’s probably considered stealing like if you were to use a cable splitter to take your neighbor’s Internet. Except that’s bullshit for a metered water connection so fuck whoever made that law or regulation.
deleted by creator
Yeah, I suspect there is more to the store than the tweet is saying.
It’s also illegal to give water to people in line to vote. it’s also illegal to have a water break for workers working outside in the heat.
It’s simultaneously more and less evil than that. The ruling was that the state cannot compell employers to provide water breaks for employees working in the heat. So those people who can’t take a water break while working 13 hrs a day in direct sun are forced to do so by their employers greed, and not because of some legal obligation.
It’s less evil because the government didn’t force the companies to give water breaks?
The ruling is less evil because it didn’t block companies from providing water breaks.
At least where I live, you get billed separately for the incoming water and drainage. So if I’m not paying the utility, and get water to my property from my neighbor, then I’m not paying for the drainage I’m using when I flush that water down my drain.
Of course the situation is ridiculous, but this is how I’d imagine this being illegal, you are “stealing” the drainage service.
So your house has a sewage meter that measures the amount of sewage you produce?
No, sewage use is measured by water use.
The person I replied to said they’re billed separately!
They are billed separately, but there is no meter, it’s just assumed by the amount of water you use.
Right, and in some cases you get a rebate, ie swimming pool
It is everywhere I’ve lived in Texas. You pay water and wastewater separately.
Sewage is most likely still just calculated by how much water you use. In my state they are separate but you can pay for a sewer deduction meter to go on outside spigots so you’re not paying for the sewage for outside use, but they’re almost $700 so I haven’t bothered.
But it doesn’t matter because the person paying for your water is also paying for your sewage.
There is nothing stolen.
I made no implications whatsoever. I only confirmed the billing situation.
Yes, there is a line item. There is also a line item for taxes. But saying “it’s on my bill too” supports the OP’s claim despite the OP being wrong.
If you pay for your friend’s dinner at a restaurant, they aren’t stealing just because the bill has separate line items for food, service, taxes, etc. You are paying it all.
If you live a housing development the place as a whole might be.
The drainage costs are just tied to consumption so it would still be double if you are using double the water
It’s a separate line item but it isn’t metered so it doesn’t matter. Because the person paying for your water is also paying for your flushing.
I could see a utility company or township having some local rule written as something like ‘running a hose between houses’ being prohibited without any condition of intent to make it easier enforce when people are stealing water, and then using it against someone sharing on purpose because vague rules/laws tend to be twisted to punish people in a way far different than the intent.
Or it could be intentional in the same way as anti-homeless laws where people are just being punished for helping out the poor.
It’s likely a utility law, that states any connection for drinking or food use must be potable. And a hose doesn’t qualify.
Yes it’s technically about safety. But in that instance it’s used to punish the poor.
Since OP used American terminology, probably they’re claiming America, which would mean you need to ask which state, as water bills and such are a state law thing.
So far as I know there is no state with a law like this, but odds are very good OP never learned the nuances of the situation and something else illegal was going on, like delinquency or fraud on the water bill, or if they were in drought conditions and going over their ration due to supplying a bonus household.
In fact, my first guess is fraud, if this “hose” was connected before the meter, meaning the family was drawing more water than they were paying for.
Nowhere.
The water company will do this intentionally when they have water mains to repair. When the street my mother in law lived on had a water main repaired, the water company hooked a hose from her neighbor’s house to supply her water. Later they came and hooked her water to the next house down as they worked there way down the street.
But I could still see police doing it because they don’t know the law.
As a few have guessed, it could be related to how the sewer usage is accounted for, but that’s unlikely since they are neighboring addresses. It could also be due to local water restrictions but they likely wouldn’t have cut off the water due to a relatively light civil penalty. What few have guessed, it is almost surely a public health restriction to prevent cross contamination and backflow between two serviced addresses.
There are very good reasons why we all want every exit to the public water network to be isolated, which comes with safety inspections and other requirements. As soon as your break down that model of one address serving more than one address, it makes a massive mess of maintaining and inspecting the safety of the water delivery network.
When water mains need to be repaired, the water company connects homes with hoses so they have water during repairs. My mother in law got her water from a hose connected to her neighbor for two weeks during repairs.