A. 
The District shall mail water and sewer bills to each customer as near as possible to the first day of each billing period. The District shall not be obligated to provide separate water or sewer service billings for any individual dwelling or other unit within a multifamily dwelling unless:
(1) 
The individual unit is served by water and sewer lines particular to that unit; and
(2) 
The individual unit's lines are equipped with shut-off valves and meters available to the District by which service can be terminated without affecting any other unit.
B. 
In the event that the District is not obligated to provide separate water and/or sewer service billings, the District shall bill any one of the owners of such building. The District is not required to mail duplicate renter's bills to owners except when the District seeks payment from the owner.
Before any person shall be allowed to connect to the District's water system, a connection fee shall be paid in accordance with this section.
A. 
Persons wishing to connect a dwelling to the District's water system shall pay the residential connection fee established by the District from time to time. A separate connection fee is required for each dwelling unit, whether or not separate physical connections are made.
B. 
Fee for structures other than dwellings.
(1) 
For structures other than dwellings, the connection fee shall be based on the size of the line which is to be connected to the District's system, under the following procedure:
(a) 
First, determine the ratio of (1) the capacity of the line to be connected to (2) the capacity of a three-fourths-inch line, which represents an equivalent residential connection (ERC). (For example, a two-inch line has a capacity 7.1111 times greater than that of a three-fourths-inch line.) This ratio is the number of ERCs.
(b) 
Second, multiply the number of residential equivalents by the residential connection fee referred to in Subsection A.
(2) 
Except for accessory buildings, the connection fee for structures other than dwellings shall not be less than the residential connection fee.
C. 
In addition to all other fees, any person wishing to connect an accessory building to the District's water system may have to pay an additional connection fee as established by the District.
D. 
No connection fee shall be accepted until a completed building permit application has been submitted to the appropriate authority and any fee concerning such permit has been paid. An actual connection sufficient to commence water service to a building, along with the obtaining of all necessary building permits, must be made within six months of payment of the connection fee. If such connection is not made within such time period, the party paying the fee may still connect to the system upon paying the fee then in effect at the time of actual connection. A credit of 100% will be given for the previously paid connection fee.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A170, Fees.
The District shall provide backflow prevention devices on residential three-fourths-inch lines as needed in the discretion of the Director of Public Utilities. Backflow prevention devices on larger lines and commercial properties must be installed and maintained by the owner of the property, and such devices must be approved by the District.
Any person connecting to the District's sewer system shall pay: (1) the District's actual cost of connecting the building sewer to the public sewer; and (2) the water connection fee multiplied by the sewer adjustment factor or such other fee as set by the District from time to time. No connection fee shall be accepted until a completed building permit application has been submitted to the appropriate authority and any fee concerning such permit has been paid. The sewer adjustment factor shall be set by the District from time to time. A separate connection fee is required for each dwelling unit, whether or not separate physical connections are made. For sewer-only customers, a water meter shall be installed at the customer's expense on the customer's private water system for the purpose of determining monthly sewer charges based upon water consumption. The meter may be installed downline from water-only fixtures such as outside fire hydrants which will not result in sewage flows. An actual connection sufficient to commence sewer service to a building, along with the obtaining of all necessary building permits, must be made within six months of payment of the connection fee. If such connection is not made within such time period, the party paying the fee may still connect to the system upon paying the fee then in effect at the time of actual connection. A credit of 100% will be given for the previously paid connection fee.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A170, Fees.
In addition to the fees set forth herein, an annual tax to be set by the District may be levied upon all real estate located within the boundaries of the District.
Any person who fails to pay any fee or bill on time shall be subject to a late charge of 10% of the current amount due.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-01]
The District may adjust a water and/or sewer bill if excessive usage is caused by a burst water line, leaking fixture or other inadvertent or accidental cause. Before an adjustment is made, the customer must provide a written explanation of the cause of the excessive usage, remedies taken to correct the problem and a request for adjustment. Any such written request for adjustment shall be made within 60 days of the mailing of the bill to which adjustment is requested. Adjustments will only be granted for excessive usage exceeding 150% of the past six-month billing history average. The adjustment amount shall be 50% of the excess usage above the past six-month billing history average. Only one such adjustment per property owner is available every 12 months. At the customer's option, a customer may trade a prior adjustment for another adjustment once every 60 months. If it can be demonstrated that the excessive usage did not enter the sewer system, then an additional adjustment of like amount can be made to the sewer bill at the discretion of the Director of Public Utilities.
A. 
Voluntary disconnection of service by customer.
(1) 
Should a person request service disconnection due to a planned or anticipated vacancy minimum monthly service fees will continue for a minimum of six months, at which time service fees will cease at the owner's request until occupancy resumes.
(2) 
The owner must request disconnection of service at the beginning of the six-month vacancy period and water service shall be valved off during that period.
(3) 
There shall not be a water disconnection fee provided when such disconnection is performed during normal business hours. A service call charge may be imposed for disconnections done outside the normal business hours of the District.
B. 
Involuntary disconnection of service to customer.
(1) 
If at any time the District determines that a water line or facility which is to be maintained by the customer has ruptured or has allowed undue and undesirable loss of water from the system, the District may temporarily cease to provide water until the condition is corrected.
(2) 
The District may deny or discontinue the water service to a consumer if a backflow prevention device is not installed. If it is found that any such device has been removed or bypassed or if cross-connection exists on the premises, or if the pressure in the waterworks is lowered below 10 psi gauge, the District may take action to ensure that the waterworks are adequately protected at all times. Water service to such premises shall not be restored until the deficiencies have been corrected or eliminated in accordance with Commonwealth of Virginia Waterworks Regulations and to the satisfaction of the District.
(3) 
In the case of a disaster (fire, flood, etc.) which was not caused by the negligence of the customer and whereby the unit is not inhabitable, service will be disconnected with no minimum service fee. Service fees will resume when the unit becomes inhabitable.
C. 
Nonpayment.
(1) 
Service may be disconnected if any of the rates, fees or charges, including late fees and interest, levied by the District shall not be paid within 30 days of the due date.
(2) 
The water supply shall not be shut off under this section if the State Health Commissioner, upon application of the local board of health or health officer of Shenandoah County, shall find and shall certify to the District that ceasing to supply such water shall endanger the health of such person or the health of others in Shenandoah County.
(3) 
There will be a disconnection fee charged if a service is disconnected due to nonpayment. The amount of the fee shall be fixed by the District. Such fee shall be charged upon the dispatch of service personnel to the service location scheduled for disconnection and shall be paid even if the customer agrees to immediately make payment and service is not actually valved off or otherwise physically disconnected.
(4) 
With respect to sewer-only customers, the District shall charge a sewer disconnection fee if sewer-only service is disconnected due to nonpayment. The amount of the fee shall be fixed by the District. Such fee shall be charged upon the arrival of service personnel to the service location scheduled for disconnection and shall be paid even if the customer agrees to immediately make payment and service is not actually blocked off or otherwise physically disconnected. In the event that the cost to the District in physically blocking off sewer service, which may include the excavation of a sewer line and other work, exceeds the sewer disconnection fee, the customer shall pay the greater of the sewer disconnection fee or the District's actual costs in disconnecting sewer-only service.
(5) 
Reconnection will occur upon satisfactory payment of any rates, fees or any other amounts due. Reconnection will take place during normal business hours. With respect to sewer-only service that is disconnected, the customer shall pay the District's actual costs in reconnecting sewer-only service.
Service calls that are done when the District offices are closed (including but not limited to after business hours, weekends and holidays) shall be charged a fee to be set by the District from time to time.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A170, Fees.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
The District may require any prospective customer not holding title to the property in which water and/or sewer are to be used to pay a deposit fixed by the District to secure the payment of water and sewer bills. The deposit is refundable without accrued interest upon termination of the service and payment of all water and sewer charges.
The District shall decide the rates to be charged for service, including any minimum charge.
Nonmetered sewer-only customers shall be charged a flat fee determined from time to time by the District. In its discretion the District may allow multiple-dwelling units such as townhouses, condominiums, apartments and mobile homes to be served by only one meter (sometimes called a "master meter"). When this meter is used the volume of water used shall be divided by the number of units served. Each division shall be charged for services on the same rate schedule and in the same manner as though each unit was metered. By way of example, assume a meter serves 12 apartments and shows a use of 72,000 gallons for the period to be charged. The District shall divide the 72,000 by 12 and bill the customer as though there were 12 individual users each using 6,000 gallons. Each of the 12 calculations will be subject to the rate schedule of the District, including minimum fees if applicable.
The District shall charge any person or entity the maximum fee allowable by law for the return of any check along with any actual costs incurred by the District because of such return and which are allowed by law.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
Any unpaid charge shall become a lien superior to the interest of any owner, lessee or tenant, and next in succession to County taxes, on the real property. Where the use of any water or sewer systems owned by the District is contracted for by an occupant who is not the owner of the premises and where the occupant's premises are separately metered for service, the owner of any such premises shall be liable only for the payment of delinquent rates or charges applicable to three delinquent billing periods, not to exceed a period of 90 days for such delinquency. Such liens shall not bind or affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable consideration without actual notice of such lien, except and until from the time that such charge is entered in the judgment lien docket in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Shenandoah County. The District shall charge an administrative fee for recording and releasing a lien.
The District shall charge a transfer of accounts fee as fixed by the District from time to time. However, no fee shall be charged if the account is reverting back to the owner from a renter or for transfers between family members.
The District may establish charges for one-time or periodic bulk water sales.
The District may enact a rate schedule for one-time sewage disposal for camping trailers, portable toilets and other one-time sewage dumping activities.