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City of Crystal Lake, IL
McHenry County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Crystal Lake 1-19-1993 (Art. III, Ch. III, Section D, of the 1993 Code); amended in its entirety 7-15-2008 by Ord. No. 6392. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote water conservation and grant authority to the City Manager or his/her designee to regulate the use of City water during periods of peak demand in order to conserve water and ensure adequate water pressure. Exempt from the requirements are sprinkler cans less than two gallons in size.
B. 
Such regulations of water usage shall be enforced using a color-coded system as follows:
(1) 
Green Condition: Watering outside landscape and lawn watering is permitted only between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. There are no restrictions on other outdoor uses of water.
(2) 
Yellow Condition: Watering outside landscape and lawn watering is permitted on odd/even days and between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Property addresses ending in odd numbers shall be permitted to use water on odd-numbered calendar dates and even number addresses on even-numbered dates.
(3) 
Red Condition: The outdoor use of water from a connection to the City's public water supply is prohibited.
A. 
No person shall use water from the City water system for the sprinkling of streets or sidewalks during condition "Yellow" or "Red" as established by order of the City Manager or his/her designee.
B. 
No person shall use water from the City water system during the period June 15 through August 31 for the following purposes:
(1) 
Sprinkling of streets or sidewalks;
(2) 
Watering or sprinkling of seeded or sodded new lawns (except for patching or restoration up to 300 square feet);
(3) 
Watering or sprinkling of lawns which have been more than 50% reseeded or resodded.
C. 
The City Manager or his/her designee is authorized to determine, based on the demand for City water, periods other than June 15 through August 31 during which said activities shall be prohibited.
The City Manager or his/her designee is authorized to determine, based on the demand for City water and condition of the supply system, when the condition of water use set forth in § 322-1 and the activities set forth in § 322-4 shall be allowed. It is intended that the sodding, seeding or laying of new lawns or the replacement of more than 50% of an existing lawn shall be prohibited during the period June 15 through August 31.
Any person, firm or corporation intending to install or replace a lawn as set forth in § 322-3 which is to be watered by means of an outside source other than the City's water supply system shall obtain a special permit from the City Manager or his/her designee, authorizing the sprinkling of the lawn by means of such outside source during the restricted period. Under special circumstances, the City Manager or his/her designee may authorize a special permit to use the City water during restricted water usages. Requests for such permits shall be made on a form provided by the City, which shall include the identity of the proposed water source, together with all other information requested on the permit application. The special permit, when issued, shall be conspicuously displayed on the property during the period of watering time.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property or the builder to inform the prospective purchasers of the restrictions set forth in this chapter. The City Building Commissioner or his/her designee shall make compliance with the provisions of this chapter a condition for the issuance of all building and occupancy permits.
[Amended 3-3-2009 by Ord. No. 6448]
The City shall have the power to shut off or cause to be shut off the water from the premises of any person who violates or refuses to comply with the provisions of this chapter, in addition to any penalty which may be imposed as set forth in Chapter 248, Fines, of this Code.
Designated City employees shall have the authority to issue a ticket and enforce the water regulations at all times.