We bought our 2 1/2 acre parcel of land with a single wide moble home back In 2001. I made sure we had water rights filed on a 4 party shared well when escrow closed as we had problems with the prior property and I knew how important that was, as shared wells can be a cheaper option of one big headache.
For the most part, all went well with the Well system for the first 5 years until the owners turned well management over to one of their workers, who in turn, stole all our shared maintenance and electric money (3000.00) out of the bank and let his home forclose.
Well maintenance and power bill to the well landed in my lap by default as another party to the Well drilled their own well.
The foreclosed property was empty and it was just us and one other Christian neighbor who we were very close to, on the well. We were both poor so we were never able to build the maintenance fund back up on the account after money that was stolen... We prayed a lot over this very old, rusty, leaking water well system that was in need of serious repair. God provided, and water continued to flow for the next two years.
Around this time we noted the 30 year old rusty pressure tank sprung a leak but we patched it up best we could. We knew we needed at least five grand for needed repairs and none of us had a means to raise that kind of money...so we continued to pray.
We met a retired couple who were interested in buying the foreclosure property. This guy seemed to know how wells worked and thought it was an answer to prayer as the well easement was on their soon to be property...at least it was someone that could work on it.
The old well continued on and sprung even more leaks, but the new owners decided it was my problem and refused to help with a solution.
By the third year, the new neighbors decided since it was on their property they were claiming sole ownership, but I got to keep the power bill. They refused to pay their share or build a maintenance account and then turned our christian neighbor against us and she quit paying too.
They locked the gate to well easement, put up a no trespass sign on the tank, and threatened to cut our water lines as well as to shoot us should we enter property.
So now we are stuck with paying for everyone's water bill and a threat of losing water rights to our only source of water.
I was forced to hire an attorney and while he told me would help, but the best he got done was a 3 year restraing order preventing harassment for him and they were ordered to pay thier share and not change the water lines or the flow of water.
The threats and harassment continued because his wife was not added to judges orders and the cops would not enforce the order at all because he used her to do the harassing. I would need to go back to court and modify the original court order.
By this time, we were at the end of our rope. We now had Satan an his wife in full control of our water and we are still paying the power bill with them gleefully wasting water at our expense.
I finally contacted the original trustee family trust as trustee was dead and we had paid our property off. I told them the entire story and turned this whole mess over to to God."Jesus take the Well."
About a month later, the family trust, hired an attorney on our behalf as there was found to be a mis-filed document concerning our water rights. This matter was now going to what I call "big boy court."
To make a very long story even longer it was determined Mr. and Mrs. Satan would probably not follow any court order.
Let me just say, God has a sense of humor and within a few months the Well drillers were setting up their rig on our property and we now have our own brand new well... 100 percent paid for...
And in the end, Satan and his wife got what they deserved ...a broken down well system, ready to blow out any day, and a little poor Christian neighbor they are still stuck with as a shared well system as well as the bill to go with it, as I turned the power off in our name just as the legal well abadoment document stated.
Our God is an awesome God!
Lee Ann