***I’m a little confused. I am under the impression that if you can’t or don’t pay your water bill for a few months, the provider (city in my case) cuts of your water, same as other utilities. Is this not the situation?***
The way my county works is you are charged a monthly fee for the water tap. That fee also includes up to the first 1,000 gal of water.
If you stop paying, water is shut off, but the property owner is still charged the fee every month.
The fee has to be paid in full when the water service is restored. So it could be hundreds or thousands of dollars if the water is off long enough.
Essentially they are holding the land hostage and will never turn the water on again. In this woman’s situation, she will likely not pay, but it will devalue the property if she or her heirs ever want to sell the place.
No different than your electric or your phone or your cable...