Ordinance No. 129 Municipal Water System

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Section 16. Water Meters. Except for the extinguishing of fire, no person except authorized City employees shall use water from the water supply system or permit water to be drawn therefrom unless the same be metered by passing through a meter supplied or approved by the City. Only persons authorized by the City shall connect, disconnect, take apart, or in any manner change or cause to be changed, or interfere with any such meter or the action thereof. 1. Charge. At the time of the initial connection to the water system, a charge for water meters shall be paid to the City by customers before delivery of the water meter for installation. Said charge shall be determined by the City's Fee Schedule as adopted by ordinance. 2. Maintenance. The City shall retain ownership of water meters and shall be responsible for standard maintenance and repair. Costs associated with replacement, repair, or adjustment of a meter due to any act, carelessness, or neglect of the owner or occupants of the premises shall be charged against and collected from the water consumer. Water service may be discontinued, as outlined under Section 7, until the cause is corrected and the amount charged is collected. 3. Testing. Upon written request, the City will re -read water meters and test the meter for accuracy, if necessary. In case a test should show an error of over five percent of the water consumed in favor of the city, a correctly registering meter will be installed and adjustments to water billing statements will be considered. In case the test shows an accurate measurement of water or an error in favor of the consumer, the expenses of making such a test, and the additional costs, if any, will be included on the next quarterly statement. The meter testing charges will be established by the City's Fee Schedule as adopted by ordinance. 4. City Access. Authorized City employees shall have access at reasonable hours of the day to all buildings and premises connected to the municipal water system for the purpose of maintenance of water meters without charge to the water consumer. In the event the water consumer denies authorized City employee access, the water consumer will, at their own cost, provide for meter replacement or maintenance by a licensed plumber, and said licensed plumber shall be required to provide documentation to City as to validity of the work performed. Section 17. Private Wells. The use of private wells may continue after a connection is made to the water system, provided there is no means of cross -connection between the private well and the municipal supply at any time. Hose bibs that will enable a cross connection of the two systems are prohibited on internal and external piping. The threads on the boiler drain of the well volume tank shall be removed or the boiler drain hose bib replaced with a sink faucet. When both private and municipal water systems are in use, outside hose bibs shall not be installed on piping connected to the municipal water system. Section 18. Tampering with Municipal Water System is Prohibited. No person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any part of the municipal water system. Section 19. Violations and Penalties. 1. The City of Gem Lake shall have the right to enforce all sections of this Ordinance by injunction or by any other legal remedy, including the right to prohibit the use of the water system by a person violating or operating contrary to these provisions. 2. Any person, firm, corporation or voluntary association which violates or refuses to comply with any of the pro visions of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) and cost for every offense or to imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. Section 20. Severability. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City of Gem Lake that the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If any provisions or the application thereof to any Person or circumstances is held to be illegal or invalid, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect other provisions of this Ordinance or the application of Ordinance No. 129 Municipal Water System Page 6 of 8