The following terms are defined for use in the chapters in this Code of Ordinances pertaining to the Water Service System:

1.   “Combined service account” means a customer service account for the provision of two or more utility services.

2.   “Customer” means, in addition to any person receiving water service from the City, the owner of the property served, and as between such parties the duties, responsibilities, liabilities, and obligations hereinafter imposed shall be joint and several.

3.   “Water main” means a water supply pipe provided for public or community use.

4.   “Water service pipe” means the pipe from the water main to the building served.

5.   “Water system” or “water works” means all public facilities for securing, collecting, storing, pumping, treating, and distributing water.

The Public Works Director shall supervise the installation of water service pipes and their connection to the water main and enforce all regulations pertaining to water services in the City in accordance with this chapter. This chapter shall apply to all replacements of existing water service pipes as well as to new ones. The Public Works Director shall make such rules, not in conflict with the provisions of this chapter, as may be needed for the detailed operation of the water system, subject to the approval of the Council. In the event of an emergency the Public Works Director may make temporary rules for the protection of the system until due consideration by the Council may be had.

The owners of any houses, buildings or structures used for human occupancy, employment or use, situated within the City and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is located a public water main are hereby required to connect such facilities to the City’s public water system in accordance with the provisions of these Water Service chapters within 60 days after the date of official notice to do so, provided that said public water main is located within 200 feet of the property line of such owner.

When an existing water service is abandoned or a service is renewed with a new tap in the main, all abandoned connections with the mains shall be removed from the main and made absolutely water tight.

The installation of any water service pipe and any connection with the water system shall comply with all pertinent and applicable provisions, whether regulatory, procedural, or enforcement provisions, of the State Plumbing Code.

All installations of water service pipes and connections to the water system shall be made by a State-licensed plumber.

All trench work, excavation, and backfilling required in making a connection shall be performed in accordance with the State Plumbing Code and the provisions of Chapter 135 of this Code of Ordinances.

A tapping fee in the amount of $100.00 shall be paid to the City to reimburse the City for costs borne by the City in making water service available to the property served. All taps into water mains shall be made by or under the direct supervision of the Public Works Director and in accordance with the following:

1.   Independent Services. No more than one house, building, or premises shall be supplied from one tap unless special written permission is obtained from the Public Works Director and unless provision is made so that each house, building, or premises may be shut off independently of the other.

2.   Sizes and Location of Taps. All mains six inches or less in diameter shall receive no larger than a three-fourths inch tap. All mains of over six inches in diameter shall receive no larger than a one-inch tap. Where a larger connection than a one-inch tap is desired, two or more small taps or saddles shall be used, as the Public Works Director shall order. All taps in the mains shall be made in the top half of the pipe, at least 18 inches apart. No main shall be tapped nearer than two feet of the joint in the main.

3.   Corporation Stop. A brass corporation stop, of the pattern and weight approved by the Public Works Director, shall be inserted in every tap in the main. The corporation stop in the main shall be of the same size as the service pipe.

4.   Location Record. An accurate and dimensional sketch showing the exact location of the tap shall be filed with the Public Works Director in such form as the Public Works Director shall require.

Water service pipes from the main to the meter setting shall be a material type approved by the Public Works Director Pipe must be laid sufficiently waving, and to such depth, as to prevent rupture from settlement or freezing.

All costs and expenses incident to the installation, connection, and maintenance of the water service pipe from the main to the building served shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation or maintenance of said water service pipe.

When any portion of the water service pipe which is the responsibility of the property owner becomes defective or creates a nuisance and the owner fails to correct such nuisance, the City may do so and assess the costs thereof to the property.

There shall be installed within the public right-of-way a main shut-off valve on the water service pipe of a pattern approved by the Public Works Director. The shut-off valve shall be constructed to be visible and even with the pavement or ground.

There shall be installed a shut-off valve on every service pipe inside the building as close to the entrance of the pipe within the building as possible and so located that the water can be shut off conveniently. Where one service pipe supplies more than one customer within the building, there shall be separate valves for each such customer so that service may be shut off for one without interfering with service to the others.

Should any excavation be left open or only partly refilled for 24 hours after the water service pipe is installed and connected with the water system, or should the work be improperly done, the City shall have the right to finish or correct the work, and the Council shall assess the costs to the property owner or the plumber. If the plumber is assessed, the plumber must pay the costs before receiving another permit. If the property owner is assessed, such assessment may be collected with and in the same manner as general property taxes.

The Public Works Director may shut off the supply of water to any customer because of any violation of the regulations contained in these Water Service System chapters that is not being contested in good faith. The supply shall not be turned on again until all violations have been corrected and the Public Works Director has ordered the water to be turned on.

It is unlawful for any person except the Public Works Director or a plumber to turn water on at the curb valve, and said plumber shall take no action contrary to the orders of the Public Works Director and shall leave the water off or on, as directed by the Public Works Director.

No person, unless specifically authorized by the City, shall open or attempt to draw water from any fire hydrant for any purpose whatsoever.

If a water leak is detected or suspected and the property owner disputes that the leak is in the service line, the City may excavate the tap and such part of the main or service line as may be necessary to discover the source of the leak or defect. If the leak or defect is in the tap, corporation stop, service pipe or curb valve, the City shall so notify the owner, and the owner shall then obtain the services of a private plumber to complete the repairs. If the City discovers the leak is in the tap, corporation stop, service pipe or curb valve, the City may undertake such repairs and bill the adjacent property owner for the reasonable value of such repairs in the same manner as a service charge. Upon failure of the owner to pay, the cost of such repairs shall be assessed against the serviced property.