He’s been off the grid for four years, but now Jacob de Raadt stands to lose town water too

He’s already been living off the power grid for four years due to a dispute with FortisBC over smart meters, but now Jacob de Raadt stands to lose access to a town water connection.

When a Town of Osoyoos water twinning project brought a new domestic water service to his neighbours in May, most area residents opted to connect to it at their expense.

Previously, residents of Water District 8 north of Osoyoos received irrigation water from Osoyoos Lake, which the town treated with chlorine, and which they could use for personal consumption if they wished.

De Raadt, however, initially chose not to connect to the new service because he was happy with the quality of the irrigation water.

But the irrigation line to his home, which was determined to be leaking in an unknown location, was scheduled to be abandoned by the town once the new domestic water service was in place.

An upset de Raadt appeared before council in early June asking that the town pay for his connection to the new domestic water service and also that the town continue to operate the existing irrigation service to his property.

Council on Monday turned down both requests after discussion about whether the town had the right to shut off his water source.

Visibly upset, de Raadt visited the Osoyoos Times after council’s decision to complain that the decision was unfair.

“I don’t want to pay,” he said, referring to the cost of hooking up to the new system. “It’s the principle. They decided to have a new water system. I don’t want to be out of pocket.”

Council passed motions on Monday to tell de Raadt that he is responsible to pay for his connection to the town’s domestic water service, and also to instruct Operational Services to abandon the existing irrigation water service to his property.

“I cannot live with this decision,” de Raadt told the Osoyoos Times. “I want them to rescind that.”

In a report to council, Jim Dinwoodie, director of operational services, pointed to another principle at stake – all the other residents of Irrigation District 8 who have connected to the new domestic water system have had to pay a plumber to connect their houses.

“If Mr. de Raadt is successful in having the Town of Osoyoos pay for this service, he will be establishing a service standard which other homeowners might also feel entitled to receive,” Dinwoodie wrote.

If de Raadt chooses not to pay for a connection, he will not get water, Dinwoodie acknowledged when questioned by councillors.

Claude Moreira, a water councillor, estimated that the cost to hook up de Raadt would be around $1,500.

Although council readily agreed that de Raadt should be required to pay for the connection, like his neighbours, the decision to abandon the existing irrigation line provoked more discussion.

“This is a philosophical question,” said Councillor C.J. Rhodes. “Are we empowered to do that? Can we abandon the water line and leave an individual or property owner without water service?”

Dinwoodie responded that the town has provided water service to his property.

“If Mr. de Raadt chooses not to take advantage of that water service, then we have done our due diligence by providing him with a water service,” said Dinwoodie. “It’s just if he doesn’t want to use that, he doesn’t want to use it.”

While the existing irrigation line could be repaired, Dinwoodie said, the problem is that the line is long and the location of the leak isn’t known, as the leaking water doesn’t reach the surface.

Dinwoodie said to repair the line, would require the cost of locating and repairing the leak, as well as maintaining it through the winter.

And de Raadt would be the only property owner using the line, he said – a statement that de Raadt disputes.

While some councillors, including Rhodes, admitted to being conflicted about abandoning the line, because the property has a history, in the end only Councillor Carol Youngberg opposed the decision.

Councillor Mike Campol pointed out that if the town chose not to abandon the line and repaired it, they would be providing de Raadt with an option that wasn’t available to other residents when they paid to connect to the new service.

De Raadt’s dispute with the town on what he considers to be a principle is reminiscent of his battle with FortisBC in 2014 when they switched from analogue electricity meters to smart meters.

Believing that the smart meters have harmful health impacts, de Raadt barred the utility personnel from coming onto his property to install the new meters.

FortisBC used a boom truck to cut the electricity to his home, and he’s been living off the grid ever since.

De Raadt says he uses solar panels to provide most of his electricity, but uses a generator to power the fridge.

The solar power is free he said, before asking a reporter: “How much do you pay for your electricity?”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times