If you always pay your water bill on time, can a water company shut off your water?

You betcha.

"I didn't think they could do that," said Pete Golovich, of Lawrenceville, referring to the "scary" shut off notice the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority posted last month on the house he was born in.

Mr. Golovich, 76, a retired Iron City Brewing Co. employee, said he returned from helping out at the nearby Lawrenceville/Bloomfield Meals on Wheels program Nov. 13 and found the notice on his door. It said his water service would be terminated Dec. 18.

"I pay that bill every month, as soon as I get it," he said. "I don't want to give them any excuse to shut off my water. I'm assessed at 25,000 gallons of water a month. I don't use nearly that much because I live alone. But I pay a flat rate of about $70 a month because I don't have a meter."

And the lack of a meter is the problem.

Mr. Golovich lives in a two-story, red brick row house, the last of four on a fractured asphalt street between Penn Avenue and Smallman Street. The other three houses are vacant and show the visible effects of absentee owners.

His water service line is connected by what is known as a "party line" to the other three houses, the owners of which owe money to the authority.

"The authority wants me to put in a new service line from my house to the street," Mr. Golovich said. "I've been told that would cost thousands of dollars and I just don't have it. Plumbers don't come cheap."

Mr. Golovich knows that first hand. He has had to pay a plumber when the water line has frozen because there's no heat in the vacant houses.

He said he has spoken to a variety of city officials, including former Mayor Tom Murphy, about his water service problem. "[Mr. Murphy] used to deliver Meals on Wheels from our location on 37th Street. He said he'd look into it, especially when my water line froze up, but he must have forgot."

The shutoff notice prompted Mr. Golovich to make another round of calls, including one to the office of state Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side. Mr. Walko or his legislative assistant, Art Nese, deliver Meals on Wheels on Friday. Mr. Nese gave Mr. Golovich the name and number of Julie Quigley, the customer services manager of the sewer and water authority.

Mr. Golovich also explained his problem to Pat Kanavich, the social minister of Our Lady of the Angels parish. She works for Senior Connection, a program that helps seniors in Lawrenceville. Mrs. Kanavich contacted me.

"Pete's a very nice person," Mrs. Kanavich said. "He helps out at the Meals on Wheels and here at the church. His $70 a month water bill seems high to me for a single person who is fairly frugal in his lifestyle."

When I shared that concern during a phone conversation with Ms. Quigley, she said that's the rate the authority charges when property owners don't have a meter. She said Mr. Golovich would save money by having his own connection to the water main.

Meanwhile, she said she has assured him that his water won't be shut off Dec, 18.

"We're going to meet on Dec. 17 to discuss Mr. Golovich's problem and other matters. Our executive director [Michael Kenney] asked a plumbing supervisor to look into his situation."

I went to Mr. Golovich's home early this week. There were blue, yellow and red markings spray painted on the street in front of his house, the kind that utilities companies use to denote underground lines.

Ms. Quigley said she asked Mr. Golovich to obtain three quotes from licensed plumbers to install a new, separate water line from his house to the city's main line.

"PWSA will then review these estimates and determine if we can shoulder some of the burden of this separation," she said.

"I'll do it," Mr. Golovich said. "I appreciate everyone's help."

Ms. Quigley said the authority knows who owns the other houses and will continue its efforts to collect the money they owe.

If you have a problem with the water and sewer authority, you can reach the authority at 412-255-2423, www.pgh2o.com and/or info@pgh2o.com.

The Pennsylvania American Water Co. provides service to the 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd wards of Pittsburgh and portions of the 16th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 28th wards.

You can contact it at 1-800-565-7292 and pennsylvaniaamwater.com.