PEARL CITY — Day after dry, dry day, Ervin Dixon's throaty laugh grows a measure more forced as weeks of frustration sour his mouth and the strain of being separated from his family curls his lips. Still the minister and retired bus driver continues to laugh.

"You can either laugh, go crazy or kill someone," Dixon said. "I'd rather laugh."

It isn't easy — not with his wife and children sleeping away from home each night, not with a toilet that won't flush, and not with the log of his unanswered phone calls growing page by page.

Yesterday marked two weeks since Dixon's water was shut off in a dispute with his Waiau Gardens condo association — a skirmish not uncommon now as economic pressures force hard decisions on condo owners and the groups that manage their common interests.

Dixon, 66, hasn't missed a mortgage payment, nor has he been late in paying his association fees, which go directly to common expenses such as water.

What Dixon has not yet done is pay a $5,000 special assessment the association has charged condo owners for repairs and painting.

Dixon said the condo association offered the option of paying in installments, and that he proposed paying $200 a month and even took a job as a delivery driver for ScanDesign before it went out of business. After receiving no response for months, he said, the association said $200 would not be enough.

Dixon withheld payment until he could reach an agreement with the association.

On Jan. 14, Dixon came home to find a notice on his door informing him that his water would be shut off. Two days later, it was.

Association president Larry Veray is out of the country and could not be reached for comment. Lynn Germain, account executive for Certified Management Inc., which manages the property, said she was unable to answer questions regarding Dixon's case because it is now a "legal issue."

Attorney Christopher Goodwin, who is representing the association, said he could not comment on the case due to to federal law.

Dixon said he has tried several avenues to resolve the dispute, including mediation, but said the association has not responded to his calls.

"I owe not one penny for my fees," he said. "This is what I pay my fees for — to get water service. This is about the assessment. But if that's the case, how can they turn off my water?"

Dixon, a minister at Church of Possibilities in Papakolea, gets $2,670 a month in retirement and Social Security benefits. He uses this to pay for his $1,100 monthly mortgage and his $400-per-month maintenance fees. Whatever is left over goes to feeding, clothing and otherwise providing for his wife V. Faith, daughter Vaneza, 18, and son Elijah, 17.

Association attorney Goodwin said he has seen a dramatic increase in legal action related to delinquencies and condo association disputes.

Over the past year, his office has seen an estimated 30 percent increase in such cases, he said.

"It's an issue of paying fees or paying the mortgage, and it's a difficult decision for many owners," Goodwin said. "There are difficult financial problems, but condo associations also have to to pay for common expenses. A large number of associations are experiencing difficulty."

Without referring to Dixon's case specifically, Goodwin said common services are included in maintenance fees and could be discontinued for non-payment. Such services could also be affected if owners do not pay assessments that address shortfalls in common operating expenses.

Dixon said he isn't sure what to do next. He has been in contact with a legal services organization, but he's not sure how that will get his water turned back on any time soon.

In the meantime, he buys whatever water he needs to drink and goes out to the spigot at the common car wash area each day to refill the bucket he uses to wash his face. Each night, he drops off his wife and children at a friend's house to sleep.

"I have to," he says, laughing again. "Those women use the bathroom more than God."

Dixon said he's willing to pay as much as he can as quickly as he can to resolve the issue.

"It's not that I don't want to pay," he said. "But I'm retired and I have a set amount of money to live on. I'm doing the best I can, but it's like getting blood from a turnip."