§ 51.09. RULES GOVERNING USE OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.

(A) Turning on water service. No person, other than an authorized employee of the village, shall connect or disconnect to any water service, except that a licensed plumber may connect to a water service upon which he or she is working for the purpose of testing his or her work upon receiving a written order to operate the curb stop from the village. Upon completion of testing, the curb stop shall be immediately turned off.

(B) Turning off water service. The village reserves the right to terminate service to a user, after due notice thereof has been given at least seven days prior to the shut off date, where payment for service has not been timely received, and/or for violation of any of the rules and regulations of the village relating to the Water Supply System and/or the provisions of this subchapter. The village may shut off the water in any main to make repairs or extensions or for any other necessary purpose at any time without notice to users of the Water Supply System.

(C) Maintenance of water service pipes. The user shall maintain all service pipes free from leaks at all times. Whenever a leak appears in a user's installation which allows water to escape without registering upon the meter, the village shall give the user written notice thereof and the user shall immediately proceed to repair the water service pipe. If the repairs have not been completed within 48 hours after notice has been given, the village may stop the service by shutting off the water at the curb stop or by excavating to and closing the corporation stop. The costs incurred by the village of excavating and shutting off the service shall be paid by the user or by the owner of the property before service is restored. If, in the determination of the village, any leak on the user's installation endangers public safety or constitutes a nuisance or a source of waste, the village may shut off or stop the service until the leak is repaired.

(D) Change of user. When premises are to be vacated or there is a change of owner, occupant or agent, prompt written notice shall be given to the Village Clerk's office. The user may discontinue service by giving not less than 24-hours’ notice to the Village Clerk's office during its regular office hours. Failure of a user to give the notice to the village shall continue the contract between the village and the user, at the option of the village, and the user may be held liable for all of the services provided or furnished the premises until the notice is properly given.

(E) Water mains; extensions.

(1) The water mains of the village shall be under the general control of the Department, and no person other than duly authorized agents or employees of the village shall uncover, tap, change, obstruct, interfere with or in any way disturb the system of water mains.

(2) All extensions and alterations of the system of water mains shall be constructed under the supervision of the Director or other authorized agent of the village who shall act only upon authorization by the Village Council. A petition for the extension of water mains may be addressed to the Village Council, and the Village Council shall consider the same and advise the petitioners of its decision. The cost of all improvements to and extensions of the Water Supply System shall be at the expense of the person or properties benefitted by the improvements or extension, reasonably proportioned to the benefits received, or at the expense of the Water Supply System, to the extent funds are lawfully available therefore, or at the expense of the general fund of the village. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the cost of improvements to the Water Supply System, the benefits of which cannot be attributed to particular customers or groups of customers of the Water Supply System may be allocated proportionally among all customers of the Water Supply System.

(F) Access; inspection.

(1) The Director and other duly authorized representatives of the village bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties served by the Water Supply System at reasonable times for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing to determine compliance with the provisions of this subchapter. Any person who applies for and/or receives water from the Water Supply System under this subchapter shall be deemed to have consented to inspections pursuant to this section, including entrance upon that person's property at reasonable times to make inspections.

(2) Any duly authorized agent or employee of the village shall have access to the user's premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of reading meters, inspections, doing repairs or installing or removing any or all village owned apparatus used for providing service to the premises.

(G) Restricting water use. The Village Council may regulate, limit or prohibit the use of village supplied water for any purpose. The regulations may limit use of water by a user to the extent deemed necessary to assure an adequate supply of water for essential needs and fire fighting.

(H) Limit on connections.

(1) Unless written approval is granted by the village, separate premises shall have separate curb stops and water service pipe installations and shall be separately metered.

(2) Whenever water is to be supplied to more than one user located in a single building and supplied through one water service pipe, the property owner shall be responsible for the payment of all water bills for service of the premises.

(3) In no event shall a user extend a water service pipe or plumbing across any public way, or to an adjacent property in order to furnish service thereto, even though the adjacent property is owned by the user.

(I) Prohibitions. No person in the village shall:

(1) Willfully, negligently or maliciously break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with or alter any structure, property, appurtenance, equipment or any other item which is part of the Water Supply System;

(2) Remove any water meter, water service pipe or other equipment or tools;

(3) Prevent or circumvent a water meter from measuring water supplied by the Water Supply System; and

(4) Fraudulently obtain or waste water from the Water Supply System.

(J) Water main extension on private property. All water mains on private property shall be installed at the property owner's expense and shall be conveyed to the village by the property owner, and the property owner, at his or her expense shall provide the village with a recorded easement sufficient to permit access by the village for inspection, operation, repair and maintenance of same.

(K) Water supply emergencies.

(1) Authorization. The Director is hereby authorized to declare a water supply emergency whenever he or she determines, on the basis of existing or anticipated drought conditions, depletion of the water supply, reduction in water pressure, failure of one or more parts of the supply system, or for other good reasons, that there is a threat of loss of water supply to the village or a portion of the village.

(2) Method of declaration.

(a) A water supply emergency shall exist when the Director has caused a declaration of such emergency to be made by:

1. Public posting the declaration at the Village Hall;

2. Announcement on the Village Hall telephone answering system;

3. Announcement on one or more radio or television stations with a normal operating range covering the village.

(b) When practical, and if the duration of the anticipated emergency warrants it, such declaration shall also be announced in a local newspaper.

(c) The Director shall make a record of the time and date for implementation of each method of such declaration.

(d) Irrespective of such methods of declaration, a water supply emergency shall be deemed to exist for any person, and the property under his or her direct supervision or control, as soon as such person has received a direct written notice of such declaration.

(3) Content of declaration. A declaration of water supply emergency shall include:

(a) The effective date and time of such emergency, which may be immediate; the period of time during which such emergency shall be in effect, which may be for as much as 24 hours per day, and until further notice is given;

(b) The types of outside water usage which are prohibited, which may include all outside uses except fire protection, and may permit certain outside uses on alternating days or during restricted hours; and

(c) The types of inside water usage which are requested to be reduced or avoided in the interest of conservation of water.

(4) Water use restricted; violations. No person shall use water in violation of a declaration of water supply emergency as provided herein, nor cause willful or needless waste of water by allowing constant flow of a faucet or otherwise. Whenever a water supply emergency exists, it shall be a violation of this code for any person to utilize water from the village water supply system for any type of use which is in violation of the terms of such declaration.

(5) Discontinuance of service for violations; cost of resumption. Any premises may be disconnected from the distribution pipes of the village water system and the supply of water withheld from such premises upon violation by the owner or occupant of the premises of any provision of this code, a declaration of water supply emergency as provided herein, or of the regulations adopted pursuant the village’s water system ordinances. Whenever the water is turned off from any premises because of any such violation, it shall not be turned on again until the owner or occupant has paid the applicable water shut off and water turn on fees as set by the Village Council.

(6) Municipal civil infraction. A person who violates any provision of this code is responsible for a municipal civil infraction, subject to payment of a civil fine as set forth in § 10.99(C). Repeat offenses under this division (K) shall be subject to increased fines.

(Ord. 69, passed 10-24-2005; Ord. 111, passed 7-23-2012) Penalty, see § 51.99