A month ago, when state health inspectors found an illegal connection to Mona's water system, they cited the town and told them to get it fixed. The town corrected the problem, but now there's a family without water.

The council recently voted 3-2 to sever the illegal connection, found above the town's treatment facility. The hookup carried water to Karen and Thomas Spotten's home. The concern is that in the event of a backup at the connection, Mona's water could be contaminated.

But as with most water fights, this one started a long time ago and only got more complicated as decades flowed by.

Karen Spotten, whose property is in an unincorporated part of Juab County, says that when Mona installed the current water system in 1984, they were told by the town that it would be OK to hook up above the treatment facility. They did so and were billed by the city for their water usage until 2002, when the town notified them that they were connected illegally and that the city can't bill customers for untreated water. After several discussions, communication faded, and Spotten said they were told by their attorney to wait until the city made a decision.

Five years later, that decision was made at the urging of state inspectors.

Spotten claims it was initially by word-of-mouth that she heard the town was going to cut her water. Her main worry is that her daughter has spina bifida and her husband has back problems and gets around using an electric wheelchair. The Spottens will use a fifth-wheel trailer to shower and sympathetic Mona residents will bring them drinking water in the short term.

A letter from Mona city dated Sept. 25 outlines the city's position based on state inspections and that the city would be cutting off the water on Monday.

Mayor Bryce Lynn sees the situation as simple. When the Spottens decided not to spend the money in 1984 to legally, and more expensively, hook into the city system, they blew their chance.

"They chose at that time to sever ties with the city and go their own way," said Lynn, who said he doesn't remember the Spottens and the city interacting in 2002 over water.

Councilman Harry Newell, who was one of the two opposing votes, said he remembers the Spottens coming in five years ago with a handful of water bills they'd paid to Mona. If they had water bills, if the city was taking their money, then clearly there was an expectation of town services.

"Because it was a service before, I think the city ought to work with them," he said. "It's not like we're doing something new," he said of those worried that this sort of thing would set a precedent. "We're repairing something old."

Spotten, who clearly has no love for Lynn, said her family hasn't paid for water since the city stopped billing them in 2002, but they do want an amicable resolution.

"The mayor won't even deal with us," she said. "All we want is a good, legal hookup."

The problem is that several years ago the council adopted an ordinance denying water connections to homes on county land. Now that the Spottens are to be disconnected, Mona's water is longer an option.

Instead, as the letter from the mayor states, they'll have to make other "adequate water provisions." That means drilling a well, which will likely cost tens of thousands of dollars.

"We're not millionaires," Spotten said.

The mayor says the city is playing by the book.

"We're under order from the state to do it. We're not trying to be the big, bad ogre," he said. "She's kind of giving me all the blame and I didn't even vote on it. It was the council's decision."

Spotten waited near the buried connection all day Monday, and when the back-hoe appeared, she smiled and stood out of the way.

"They're still digging and they're not finding it yet, and I'm not going to tell them where it is," she said at 4 p.m.