[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of
Vicksburg as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 8-19-1996 by Ord. No. 222 (Ch. 74, Art. III, of the 1995 Village
Code)]
This article shall be known as the "Water Use, Rate and Connection
Ordinance."
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings
for terms used in this article shall be as follows:
Approved by the Village and the State Department of Public
Health.
The flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances
into the water system from any source other than its intended source,
due to either back pressure or backsiphonage.
A device to prevent backflow.
The amount charged for the installation and inspection of
a service connection and meter to each premises in the Village which
connects to the water system in an amount as designated by a resolution
of the Village Council.
The presence of any foreign substance (organic, inorganic,
radiological or biological) in water that tends to pollute or degrade
the quality of the water so as to constitute a health hazard or to
render the water nonpotable.
Any physical connection between the water system and any
waste pipe, soil pipe, sewer, drain, or any unapproved source or system.
Furthermore, it is any potable water supply outlet which is submerged
or can be submerged in wastewater and/or any other source of contamination.
See "backflow."
The person who owns any home or dwelling, retail or wholesale
business, multifamily dwelling, manufacturing establishment, educational,
religious or social establishment, or any federal, state or local
government office or service facility that is served by the water
system.
The charge levied to all customers for related administrative
costs associated with the water system.
Any condition, device or practice in the water system and
its operation which creates or, in the judgment of the Village, may
create contamination or otherwise a danger to the health and well-being
of the customer. An example of a health hazard is a structural defect
in the water system, whether of location, design or construction,
that regularly or occasionally may prevent satisfactory purification
of the water supply or cause it to be contaminated.
Any instrument for measuring the rate of flow of public water.
The charge levied on all customers for the operation, maintenance
and replacement costs as designated by a resolution of the Village
Council.
All costs, direct and indirect, necessary to provide adequate
water supply on a continuing basis to conform with all federal, state
and local water management requirements and to assure optimum long-term
management of the water system and shall include a reasonable allowance
for the replacement of the equipment and appurtenances necessary to
maintain the intended performance of the water system.
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation
or group.
Includes the water supply and distribution pipes, plumbing
fixtures, and traps; soil, waste and vent pipes; building drains and
building sewers, including their respective connections, devices and
appurtenances and water-treating or water-using equipment; all as
located within the property lines of the premises.
A parcel or lot and includes appurtenant land and improvements.
Water provided by the water system.
An assembly of differential valves and check valves, including
an automatically opened spillage port to the atmosphere designed to
prevent backflow under conditions of pressure reversal.
Shall be related to the quantity of public water used and
the benefits derived from such public water use ordinarily arising
from the occupancy of a residential building (but shall not be related
to actual use arising from such building).
The minimum distance of a water inlet or opening above the
maximum high water level or overflow rim in a future device or container
to which public water is furnished, which must be at least two times
the inside diameter of the water inlet pipe but must not be less than
one inch and need not be more than 12 inches.
A water supply system maintained in addition to the water
system, including water systems from ground or surface sources or
water from a public water supply system which, in any way, has been
treated, processed or exposed to any possible contaminant or stored
in other than an approved storage facility.
The corporation cock, service lateral, and curb stop that
convey public water from the Village water mains to the property line.
A pipe extending from the property line into the premises
supplied with public water.
A service line or extension thereto from the water system
terminating in a tank, vessel, fixture or appliance which may contain
water of questionable quality, waste or other contaminant and which
is unprotected against backflow.
A pipe extending from the water system to supply a sprinkler,
yard main, or other fire protection system.
The Village of Vicksburg, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, as
represented by the Village Council, Village Manager, and Director
of the Department of Public Works.
All facilities of the Village and all subsequent additions,
including wells, pumps, mains, hydrants, storage tanks, service connections,
meters, and all other facilities used or useful in the pumping, treating
and distribution of public water.
Water that is not safe for human consumption or that is of
questionable potability.
Water free from impurities in amounts sufficient to cause
disease or harmful physiological effects. Its bacteriological and
chemical quality shall conform to the requirements of the federal
drinking water standards or to the regulations of the State Department
of Public Health.
A.
The operation, maintenance, alteration, repair and management of
the water system shall be under the supervision and control of the
Village. The Village may employ such person or persons in such capacity
or capacities as it deems advisable to carry out the efficient management
and operation of the water system and may make such rules, orders
and regulations as it deems advisable and necessary to assure the
efficient management and operation of the water system.
B.
The customer shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair
of the service line as defined.
A.
Prior to the installation of a service connection, a prospective
customer must file a permit application for such service connection
on an application form to be supplied by the Village. The application
must be accompanied by payment in full of the connection charge and
such other charges or deposits required by this article.
B.
Service connections shall be installed by the Village or its authorized
representative and only after approval of the permit application by
the Village.
C.
All service lines shall be installed in an approved manner by a licensed
plumber at the customer's expense. The plumbing system in or
on the premises in connection therewith must conform in character,
design and quality to the law of the state and the State Plumbing
Code and must have approval by the Plumbing Inspector.
D.
All service lines shall be constructed of materials that are compatible
with those of the Village and shall be impervious to the passage of
contaminants into the water system. No service connection of less
than three-fourths' inch diameter will be permitted. Service connections
of larger size shall be determined and approved by the Village.
E.
All service connections and service lines must be laid on solid ground.
The installation must be inspected by the Village or its authorized
representative. A distance of 10 feet from all sewer or septic lines
must be maintained.
F.
No service connection shall be installed where the service line is
in line with a driveway, tree, fire hydrant, catch basin or other
obstruction.
G.
No person shall obstruct or interfere in any way with any service
connection or other appurtenance of the system, including meters,
by placing in, on or about such service connection, meter, or other
appurtenance, building materials, rubbish, soil, shrubbery or flowers,
or otherwise hindering the easy and free access thereto.
H.
Service lines shall be protected from damage of every nature, and
needed repairs shall be made by the customer when notified by the
Village. The expense of repairing or thawing a service line, if frozen,
shall be borne by the customer. The service line, as repaired or thawed,
shall not be covered until inspected and approved by the Village or
its authorized representatives.
I.
The Village may discontinue service if a customer fails to maintain
the service line in a leak-free condition or if the customer makes
an unauthorized plumbing connection which bypasses the meter.
J.
A single-service connection shall not serve more than one premises
unless approved by the Village, even though the ownership of the adjacent
premises may be the same; provided, however, that where a duplex or
multifamily dwelling is served by a single-service connection each
living unit shall be metered separately and additional service connections
shall not be necessary.
K.
All service connections and service lines installed prior to the adoption of this article shall conform
to the standards set forth in this section and shall be subject to
inspection by the Village or its authorized representative. Any replacement
or improvement costs necessary to bring the service connection and
service line into conformity with this section shall be borne by the
customer.
A.
All public water used by each customer shall be metered. Any bypass
or connection between the meter and the main is prohibited. The meter
will be furnished, installed, tested and maintained by the Village
at the customer's expense and shall remain the property of and
under the control of the Village.
B.
Meters for ordinary domestic service shall be of five-eighths inch
by three-fourths inch size. The meter shall contain remote readouts.
A separate gate valve the same size as the meter connections shall
be installed on the service line on both sides of the meter. Where
application for a larger service is made, determination as to size
shall be made by the Village. Larger sizes may be required for industrial,
commercial or multiple-dwelling use.
C.
Meters shall be set in an accessible location and in a manner approved
by the Village. Where due to unusual circumstances it is necessary
to place the meter in a pit, such pit shall be installed by the Village
at the expense of the customer as directed by the Village. No person
other than an authorized employee of the Village shall change the
location of, alter or interfere in any way with any meter.
D.
The Village shall have the right to shut off the public water to
any customer where access is not available to the meter. Qualified
employees of the Village shall at all reasonable hours have the right
to enter the premises where such meters are installed, for the purpose
of reading, testing, removing or inspecting same, and no person shall
hinder, obstruct or interfere with any such employee in the discharge
of his or her duties.
E.
Any damages to a meter resulting from carelessness or neglect of
a customer to properly secure and protect the meter from damages caused
by frost, hot water, steam or other misuse shall be paid for by the
customer upon presentation of the bill therefor. The same shall be
collected in the same manner as any customer service charge.
F.
Any meter installed prior to the adoption of this article shall be
subject to inspection and testing by the Village. All repair or replacement
costs shall be borne by the customer.
G.
If any meter is not working properly or fails to register, the customer
will be charged at the average consumption rate as shown by the meter
when registering. The accuracy of the meter on any premises will be
tested by the Village upon written request of the owner, who shall
pay in advance a fee as set by resolution of the Village Council to
cover the costs of the test. If on such test the meter shall be found
to register over 3% more water than actually passes through it, another
meter will be substituted therefor, and the water bill may be adjusted
in such a manner as may be fair and just. If the meter is found to
register less than 2% of the water that actually passes through it,
the Village shall retain the fee and the water bill may be adjusted
in such a manner as may be fair and just.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A.
No person shall open or cause to be open any fire hydrant except
for authorized employees of the Village, except in the case of an
emergency.
B.
The Village must approve the type, size of openings, and types of
nozzle thread on all hydrants installed on private property serviced
by the water system or in a residential or commercial development
to be serviced by the water system. A contractor, in the process of
installing water mains and hydrants, may operate a hydrant with written
permission from the Village.
C.
No person shall, in any manner, obstruct or prevent free access to
or place or store temporarily or otherwise any object, material, snow,
debris, automobile or structure of any kind within a distance of 15
feet of any fire hydrant. Upon the failure of such person to remove
such obstruction, which shall be set forth in a written notice, the
Village will remove such obstruction and charge the cost of removal
to such person.
A.
No person, other than an authorized employee of the Village, shall
turn on any public water service, except as set forth in this section.
B.
Upon written notification of the Village, a licensed plumber or contractor
may turn a public water service on for testing the work of such licensed
plumber or contractor, whereupon it shall be immediately turned off.
C.
No public water shall be turned on to any premises until all fees
and charges are paid in full.
D.
The Village may stop service to any customer at any time for any
reason. The Village shall give reasonable notice except during emergencies
and conditions of imminent hazard. The Village shall not be liable
for any damages caused by the failure of a customer to receive public
water for any reason, including shutting off of such supply by the
Village, nor shall the Village be liable for any damage caused by
any change in pressure of public water delivered to any customer.
E.
If at any time a service line from the curb stop to the meter is
found to be deteriorated or leaking, the Village may condemn or discontinue
service to the premises and require that the same be repaired or replaced,
as directed by the Village and at the expense of the customer.
A.
No person, except authorized employees of the Village or authorized
representatives of the Village, shall tap, change, remove, disconnect,
repair, install, break a seal, turn on, turn off, or in any way operate
or molest any water mains, water connections, meters, valves, hydrants,
fittings or other appurtenances of the water system.
B.
No person shall operate any valve, hydrant or other appurtenance
of the water system with any tool or device other than an approved
wrench or key which has been approved by the Village.
C.
Whenever a service line is provided for fire protection on any premises
or whenever hose connections for fire apparatus are provided on any
service line, each connection or opening on such service line shall
have not less than 25 feet of fire hose constantly attached thereto,
and no water shall be taken through such openings or hose for any
purpose other than for extinguishing fires, except for the purpose
of testing such fire equipment. Any such test must be conducted under
written authorization from the Village.
D.
No person shall permit a leak on a service line to continue beyond
72 hours. In the event that the Village gives notice to a customer
that a leak exists on a private service line or a fire line and the
leak is not repaired within 72 hours, the estimated volume of water
lost shall be billed to the customer.
E.
Electrical connections.
(1)
No person shall ground or electrically connect any radio, television,
telephone or other electrical system to any pipes or appurtenances
connected to the discharge side of the meter, unless:
(2)
A shunt placed around the meter shall be so placed that the meter
may be removed without disabling the same, and no electrical connection
whatever shall be made to the meter itself, or to the meter union
or the meter "tail piece." The "tail piece" shall be defined as a
short piece of pipe which is immediately adjacent to the meter and
connected thereto by the meter union.
F.
The Village shall not furnish public water outside the Village limits
except as grandfathered by action of the Village Council pursuant
to adoption of this article.
G.
No premises shall receive free water as a connection to the system
or as unpaid rate charges. The Village shall shut off public water
to any premises after determining that such premises has had benefit
of free water service upon duly notifying the customer and giving
a reasonable period of time to make payment. If charges impose a hardship
on the customer, the Village may arrange for time payments, not to
exceed 180 days. The customer shall be charged for all free water
used, based on reasonable estimates of consumption over the length
of time free service was enjoyed, plus interest at current rates.
A.
The Village adopts by reference the Water Supply Cross-Connection
Rules of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Mich Admin
Code, R 325.11401 through R 325.11407, as may be amended from time
to time after adoption of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
It shall be the duty of the Village to cause inspections to be made
of all properties served by the public water supply where cross-connections
with the public water supply are deemed possible. The frequency of
inspections and reinspections based on potential health hazards involved
shall be as established by the Village Council by resolution and as
approved by the State Department of Public Health.
C.
The representative of the Village shall have the right to enter at
any reasonable time any property served by a connection to the public
water supply system of the Village for purposes of inspecting the
plumbing system or systems thereof for cross-connections. On request,
the owner, lessees or occupants of any property so served shall furnish
to the inspection agency any pertinent information regarding the plumbing
system or systems on such property. The refusal of such information
or refusal of access, when requested, shall be deemed evidence of
the presence of cross-connections.
D.
The Village is hereby authorized and directed to discontinue water
service after reasonable notice to any property wherein any connection
in violation of this article exists and to take such other precautionary
measures deemed necessary to eliminate any danger of contamination
of the public water supply system. Water services to such property
shall not be restored until the cross-connection(s) has been eliminated
in compliance with the provisions of this article.
E.
The potable water supply made available to the properties served
by the public water supply shall be protected from possible contamination
as specified by this article and by the State Plumbing Code. Any water
outlet which could be used for potable or domestic purposes, but is
not supplied by the potable system, must be labeled in a conspicuous
manner as:
|
WATER UNSAFE FOR DRINKING
|
F.
This article does not supersede the State Plumbing Code but is supplementary
to it.
The Village may issue a water conservation order during times
of high usage or drought where the continued use of water at the customer's
discretion may endanger the water available to all users. The conservation
order shall be concurred to by the Director of the Department of Public
Works and shall include specific steps ordered to reduce usage, time
limit for the order, and a statement of fines or penalties for disregarding
the order. The Village may issue several water conservation orders,
provided that such orders clearly indicate that the latest order supersedes
all previous orders. Such water conservation orders shall be deemed
necessary to protect the public water supply as required for the health
and safety of the citizens in the Village and shall be published not
less than three days before the effective date of the order.
A.
All premises connected to the water system shall be charged and make
payments to the Village in amounts computed on the basis of a resolution
adopted by the Village Council.
B.
The Village shall establish an operation, maintenance and replacement
charge, which shall be charged according to rate of residential equivalent
units.
C.
The Village shall establish a bond principal and interest redemption
charge for costs associated with the payment of principal and interest
on all outstanding bonds of the water system and which shall be applied
according to number and size of meter at each premises.
D.
The Village shall establish a flat per 1,000 gallons' rate to be
applied to each premises according to rate of flow as recorded by
the meter.
E.
The customer shall be charged a fee as set by resolution of the Village
Council whenever the Village is requested in writing by the customer
to turn on or off water service. Whenever the Village is requested
to provide turn-on or -off services at times other than during regular
working hours, there will be imposed an additional charge of labor
and materials.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former subsection
(f), pertaining to customers outside Village limits, which immediately
followed this subsection, and renumbered subsequent subsections accordingly.
F.
Both public and private owners of fire hydrants shall pay a readiness-to-serve
charge per hydrant per year. Charges shall be determined by a resolution
of the Village Council.
G.
The Village shall pay the same water rates for service to it as would be payable by a private customer for the same service. The Village shall bill itself on the same basis of billings for a private customer. Fire hydrant charges shall be paid annually from the general fund to the water fund and rates shall be set according to Subsection F above.
H.
For development of properties after the adoption of this article,
a readiness-to-serve charge shall be paid prior to any installation
to the water system. The readiness-to-serve charge shall be set by
resolution of the Village Council based on the following meter sizes:
A.
Bills for the rates and charges set forth in § 466-11 shall be dated and mailed as defined by resolution of the Village Council. These bills shall be due and payable at the Village Hall of the Village. The bills shall become delinquent on the 30th day after the date of billing. At that time a 10% penalty shall be added to the bill. Penalties shall be added to the unpaid balance.
B.
The charges for public water, which under the provisions of Section
21, Act 94, Public Acts of Michigan, 1933, as amended, are made a
lien on all premises served thereby, unless written notice is given
that a tenant is responsible, are hereby recognized to constitute
such lien, and whenever such charge against any piece of property
shall be delinquent for six months, the Village Manager shall certify
annually, on May 1 of each year, to the tax assessing officer of the
Village, the fact of such delinquency, whereupon such charge shall
be by him/her entered upon the next tax roll as a charge against such
premises and shall be collected and the lien thereof enforced in the
same manner as general Village taxes against such premises are collected
and the lien thereof enforced; provided, however, where written notice
is given that a tenant is responsible for such charges and service,
as provided by Section 21, Act 94, Public Acts of Michigan, 1933,
as amended, no further service shall be rendered to such premises
until a cash deposit, in an amount set by resolution of the Village
Council, shall have been made as security for payment of such charges
and service.
C.
If any charge for public water prescribed by this article is not
paid within 30 days after the billing therefor, and after the customer
has been given written notice and an opportunity to meet with the
Village Manager to resolve any dispute regarding the amount of such
billing, all water service may be shut off and discontinued to the
customer owing or liable for such charge. Water services so discontinued
shall not be restored until all sums then due and owing shall be paid
plus a turn-on charge and an appropriate security deposit made as
may be prescribed by resolution of the Village Council. If turn-on
is requested outside of normal Village operating hours, a fee for
time and materials shall be added to all fees owing.
D.
At its option, the Village may, in addition to the remedies above,
in its corporate name, bring suit in any court of competent jurisdiction
for the collection of any water service charge which, 30 days after
the billing therefor, has not been paid. The production of the meter
record shall be prima facie evidence of the liability to pay the amount
therein shown to be due.
E.
Payment made by check and returned as nonsufficient funds or other
reason shall include a returned check fee, as determined by the Village
Council, along with all other sums due and owing. Failure to provide
payment in cash within 24 hours of written notice by the Village shall
result in termination of public water service.
