Jul 15, 2008 11:17 am US/Eastern
Washington County Man Lives Without Utilities
CECIL TWP. (KDKA) ―
Bill Williams of Cecil Township is willing to go to jail if he has to.
All because he is refusing to tap into the local sewage system.
Williams has no electricity, no telephone, no water and he says he will not be bullied into changing the way that he lives.
Williams collects rain water from his roof and then filters it.
He washes his clothes in buckets, and cooks with propane; the same way he keeps warm.
He even uses solar panels to power his electric razor.
Williams is an independent thinker.
It was just 15 years ago when he decided to see if he could live without utilities.
And he says that he and his dog Peppy, are doing just fine.
"I haven't been to see a doctor in 54 years," said Williams.
The Washington County Sewage Council sent him a letter recently, giving him 45 days to connect to the local sewage system or possibly face a $5,000 fine.
He could even go to jail for 30 days.
The threat of jail doesn't seem to scare him.
He's been there before, three times after he unraveled some support wires to a utility pole on his property.
"They said they had a right of way. A right of way on people's property," he asked. "I'm paying taxes on my property. They're not giving me a cent for it. "
But Williams says he will not connect to the sewage system because his septic tanks were pre-approved.
He's not about to back down and says he's very willing to go to jail again if someone will take care of his little dog.
The Sewage Council's plan is to check Williams' septic tanks for leaks.
If there are no leaks, the township will then have to decide whether to enforce its own ordinance.
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