Aigar has lived in an eight-apartment building on Burus Street in Riga for 30 years, but it is the last few years that have become particularly difficult – residents periodically find themselves without water, reports the Bez Tabu program (TV3).
Currently, residents have been living without water since last Friday. To illustrate the situation, another resident of the building, Artur, who became a father of a large family 10 days ago, invited a film crew to his home.
Turning on the kitchen faucet, he shows that only a weak stream of water flows from it. It takes 34 seconds to fill a glass.
"Soon the stream will become even weaker. In the evenings, when everyone is home, it almost disappears or there is no water at all. A few months ago, the owner of the neighboring plot sent us an offer to buy part of our land – he needs it to create an entrance to a new residential area. We refused – this is our land, we have sheds there where we store firewood and other things. We need this area," Artur said.
Aigar claims that after the refusal, representatives of the neighboring plot threatened with troubles and possible interruptions in water supply.
Due to the special location of the building – deep in the yard – it has never been directly connected to the city water supply. All these years, water has been supplied through a pipe running through the neighboring private plot.
The actual owner of the neighboring territory, Andrei Zilpaushs, refused to meet with Bez Tabu over the phone.
"You are being paid for this, I am not. If we signed a contract for the interview, that would be great. Can we do that? You are being paid, and I want to. I also want. They do not have a contract for water supply," explained the actual owner of Riga Veneer LLC, Zilpaushs.
Until September 2015, there was another contract in effect, and during all this time, residents regularly paid for the water received.
"Do you want to spread it in the newspapers that Zilpaushs is such a scoundrel, cutting off people's water? He never connected it. He never turned it on. Yes, water somehow flowed there. But it was not turned on. The contract expired, you know that. Then it flowed – now it does not. We did not shut anything off, the water just goes into the Daugava. There is a hole in the pipe," Zilpaushs assured.
Commenting on the situation, the jury lawyer made it clear: the law is on the side of the residents in this case.
If the owner of the neighboring territory refuses to restore the water supply, it is necessary to go to court – and this time it will not take several years to reach a final decision.
"According to the Water Supply Services Law, if one person cannot access water supply except through another consumer, that consumer is obliged to provide access to water. In the understanding of the law, a person without a direct connection is recognized as a co-user. Of course, the service provider is entitled to profit – the law allows adding 10% profit to the existing tariffs. The parties must agree. If they cannot – the dispute is resolved in court. Existing legal instruments allow for quick action: a person who is not provided with the service can ask the court to apply temporary protection measures. The court will consider the application promptly and either grant or deny it," explained jury lawyer Janis Berovskis.
The municipal enterprise "Rigas udens" indicates that they cannot influence the situation – the specific apartment building is located quite far from the city water supply, and potential connection would require crossing several private plots.
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