The Energy and Utilities Board has agreed to set up a hearing into the Penobsquis water dispute. (CBC) 

The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board is wading into the middle of a water dispute in Penobsquis, a move that could alter water regulation in the province.

The regulatory board was asked to intervene by a group of Penobsquis homeowners who have been locked in a fight to get water supply in their homes for more than five years.

The group appealed to the regulatory board early in September for help.

David Young, a spokesman for the board, said the process will begin with a pre-hearing next month that will allow people who are involved to figure out the best way to move forward.

"Sometimes we need evidence and a whole bunch of procedures, and we need to book things in and then figure out when the hearing will be," Young said.

"So it's easier for all the parties to get together and figure out the parameters of the hearing."

The residents of the small community in southern New Brunswick have been using bottled water for five years after their wells dried up, a situation they blame on the local potash mine.

The New Brunswick government built a water system for those residents and turned control of it over to the nearby village of Sussex Corner to administer.

The village is demanding user fees before residents can tap into the water.

When residents first filed their complaint to the EUB, they hoped the regulatory board would give them the ability to set their own water rates.

Decision could set precedent

The Energy and Utilities Board decision to intervene in the water fight is a diversion from the issues it is known better for regulating, such as electricity and petroleum products pricing.

Although the EUB has the authority to oversee water prices, the board has never waded into that territory.

If the board determines, following the hearing process, that it has jurisdiction over water rates, it could have implications for the delivery of municipal water services across the province.