HALIFAX – Halifax senior Fred Lordly received a bill from Halifax Water this week for approximately $137 — the latest in a long-running dispute over his illegal sewer connection to city water lines.
A cross-connector isn’t up to code on Lordly’s property. which has resulted in raw sewage flowing into the Northwest Arm. Halifax Water insists he is on the hook to fix the problem pipe, while Lordly says the utility should fix it because their inspector approved the work 42 years ago when the property was being developed.
Lordly says some of the charges are fair — like the ones accumulated before his service was shut down — and he intends to pay what’s owing. However, he won’t budge on fixing the wastewater issue.
Without running water, life has pretty much dried up for Lordly over the past few months.
“I’m finding more difficulty now,” he said. “My whole life is my family and my house. My family can’t come here anymore because of the water situation and the house, well — I might as well not be in it because you have to have running water.”
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Lordly’s garage is now a space he jokingly refers to as his ‘office’, because it’s where he spends hours collecting rain and run-off water into milk jugs and other containers.
Now that the summer is over, he says he’s concerned about what’s ahead.
“I’m thinking it’s going to be a hard winter,” he said. “I’m digging my feet in.”
Lordly has spoken to all levels of government, including his MLA Leonard Preyra. He’s written to the mayor and spoken to his area councillor, who says his hands are tied.
While the city can’t intervene in terms of the water hook-up, there is a bylaw provision that could be tapped if the situation becomes a health or safety issue. The Dangerous or Unsightly Premises bylaw is rarely enforced and typically used in cases of severe hoarding.
Lordly says he intends to stick it out and so far, there is no concern for his safety or well-being.
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