[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Pennington as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Regional Sewerage Authority — See Ch. 6, Art. I.
Water and Sewer Utility — See Ch. 53.
Fees — See Ch. 98, Art. XII.
Sewer use — See Ch. 159.
Water conservation — See Ch. 209.
[Adopted 5-12-1997 by Ord. No. 97-7]
[Amended 4-30-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-2; 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 2-1-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-3; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5; 2-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-1; 2-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-1; 3-20-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-6]
Base and usage charges for water and sewer customers and related provisions are set forth in § 98-41 of the Code.
[Amended 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
A. 
There is hereby established a quarterly standby fee for private fire-protection systems regardless of the rate or quantity of that service. The amounts of the fee, which shall vary by size of private line and be collected on a per-connection basis, are set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time.
B. 
Customers who are late in making payment of the standby fee will be given notice as to their deficiency in payment, and a copy of this notice shall be sent to the customer's insurance carrier.
C. 
Standby fees shall be due on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1.
[Amended 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
A. 
There are hereby established standard connection fees as set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time.
[Amended 2-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-2; 9-7-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-16]
B. 
Connection fees shall be paid by all persons connecting to the water and/or sewer system, based upon the product of the connection fee multiplied by the number of equivalent dwelling units, as determined and/or approved by the Superintendent of Public Works, or designated representative.
C. 
Any change in use or increase in the same use of any existing property or facility shall be subject to review and reevaluation of the water and sewer connection service and the number of equivalent dwelling units assigned to the project. Any increase in the number of equivalent dwelling units shall subject the applicant to additional connection fees.
D. 
Connection fees shall be due prior to the installation of the physical connection.
[Amended 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5; 2-3-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-1]
Taps into the water and sewer system shall be performed by the property owner’s plumber in accordance with a plan approved in advance by the Borough Engineer. All related expenses shall be the sole responsibility of the property owner.
[Amended 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
A. 
Meters one inch or less in size shall be provided by the Borough. Meters greater than one inch are provided by the applicant and must be approved by the Superintendent of Public Works or designated representative.
[Amended 2-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-2]
B. 
The charges for meters purchased from the Borough are set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time.
C. 
Meter fees shall be due at the time of delivery of the meter.
[Amended 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
A. 
Plan approval and inspection fees for service connections, lateral connections and determination of construction cost for off-site improvements shall be established as set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time.
[Amended 2-3-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-1]
B. 
Use of Borough equipment in connection with inspections and field service shall be charged at hourly rates set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time. The rates shall include the time required to mobilize to and demobilize from the site.
C. 
The labor of Borough personnel in connection with inspections and field service shall be charged at hourly rates set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code as may be amended from time to time. The rates shall include the time required to mobilize to and demobilize from the site.
[Amended 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9; 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
The Borough shall be reimbursed for administrative charges, including interest on unpaid accounts, returned checks, account setups and closeouts and non-quarterly or additional meter readings, as set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code, as may be amended from time to time.
[Amended 6-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-7; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1; 5-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-6; 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-1; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
Application and review fees payable to the Borough are set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code.
[Amended 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9; 4-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-3]
A. 
Where Borough property (meters, outside readers, etc.) is damaged by tampering or other act or neglect by the owner or user of the property being serviced and requires replacement or repair, the property owner shall be responsible for the cost of replacement or repair, including all labor and materials necessary for restoration, except in cases of normal wear and tear and for normal maintenance and upgrade unless otherwise provided in this Code.
B. 
If the owner or user of a property being serviced, or his/her or its servant or agent, damages a portion of the water or sewer system either by acts performed or failure to act where action is indicated and thereafter the Borough must mobilize its Water and Sewer Departments and shut off or turn on water services, or cause the clearing of a line stoppage or the repairing of the system, the cost of the work performed by the Borough shall be charged to the property owner in accordance with the fees established in § 206-6 hereof.
[Amended 2-1-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-1]
Such charges for use of sewers and water shall be due and payable quarterly on January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 at the same places that taxes on real estate shall be payable. Charges unpaid after 30 days shall be charged interest at the same rate of interest charged upon real estate taxes. Unpaid sewer and water charges shall be a lien upon the premises connected until paid, and in the event any such charge shall remain unpaid, such charge, with interest and costs, shall be collected by means of the same remedies as are provided by law for collection of taxes on real estate.
[Amended 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
All connections to the water and/or sewer lines of the borough shall be done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Pennington Borough Water and Sewer Department, regulations of the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority, regulations of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the regulations of the Department of Consumer Affairs and the National Plumbing Code, all as may be modified and amended from time to time. A copy of the rules and regulations of the Pennington Borough Water and Sewer Department may be obtained from the Borough Superintendent of Public Works.
The Superintendent of Public Works, or designated representative, shall be responsible for verifying actual water and/or sewerage flow from users of such services within the borough. All users by accepting the services provided by the borough shall have consented to inspection of their water meter or water and/or sewer hookup by the Superintendent of Public Works or designated representative.
A. 
It shall be illegal for any person to take water from the Borough water system without payment or cause water to be discharged to waste.
B. 
It shall be illegal for any person to allow surface water runoff or groundwater to enter into the sanitary sewer system, including such sources as roof leaders, yard drains, cleanouts, footing drains, cellar drains, basement drains and sump pumps. Any person who violates this article shall be subject to the fines as further described in Chapter 159, Sewer Use.
C. 
It shall be illegal for any person to take, or cause to be taken, water from any public fire hydrant of the Borough without prior permission of the Superintendent of Public Works or his/her designated representative.
[Added 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
D. 
It shall be illegal for any person to have, or cause, any physical connection between the Borough water system and any facility, or other system, which has sources of water which may be contaminated or of questionable or unknown quality and/or facilities with cross-connection hazards over which the Borough has little or no control for the purpose of protecting the Borough water system from backflow from such other facility or system.
[Added 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
E. 
It shall be illegal for any person to operate, or cause to be operated, any valve or curb stop of the Borough water system without the prior permission of the Superintendent of Public Works or his/her designated representative. The foregoing notwithstanding, in the event of an emergency the affected property owner or his/her designated representative shall immediately notify the Borough Public Works Department or the Borough Police Department and request assistance in operating the valve or curb stop. If the Borough Public Works Department does not respond to the call within one hour from the time of the phone call for assistance then the affected property or his/her designated representative may operate the valve or curb stop.
[Added 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
F. 
It shall be illegal for any person to work on any plumbing system in the Borough without first obtaining a permit from the Borough Construction Code Official in those instances in which a permit is required by the Uniform Construction Code. The foregoing notwithstanding, only licensed plumbers shall perform the actual connection for water softeners, water treatment or filtration units and any lawn or ground irrigation systems to the water supply of the property where backflow preventor is to be installed.
[Added 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
[Added 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
Any existing property in the borough which is using a well as its source of water, whether potable or for other purposes, shall either:
A. 
Cause the existing well to be sealed in accordance with regulations issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection or the State Department of Health, as the case may be (documentation provided to the borough); or
B. 
Install on the public service line an approved backflow-prevention device, as defined by the New Jersey Department of Protection and as approved by the Borough Superintendent of Public Works.
[Amended 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5]
Upon the sale of a property served by the water or sewer system, an inspection of the interior of the unit shall be required in order to ensure that the water and/or sewer service connections have not been altered or damaged (including meters, readers, sump pump connections, etc.). Any alterations or damages required to be repaired will be the responsibility of the seller of the property. Notice of the impending sale shall be given to the Borough at least ten days prior to the anticipated closing date. The fee for this inspection is set forth in Chapter 98 of this Code, as may be amended from time to time. The fee is doubled for an inspection on less than the required ten-day notice. The fee for this inspection will be covered under the account closeout line item.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 11-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-9]
Any person who violates this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $500, nor more than $1,000 for any subsequent offense, as well as imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof, as well as being responsible to reimburse the Borough for the cost of the water consumed, waste discharged, or damages to the Borough systems.
A. 
Approved backflow prevention devices shall be required on all physical connections between the Borough water system and any facilities which have sources of water which may be contaminated or of questionable or unknown quality, and/or facilities with cross-connection hazards over which the Borough has little or no control for the purpose of protecting the Borough water system from backflow from such other facility.
B. 
In addition to the list contained in Appendix A of N.J.A.C. 7:10, Subchapter 10, Physical connection and cross-connection control by containment, the following is a list of additional types of facilities which are considered as possible cross-connection hazards: a building with fixed irrigation systems.
C. 
Approved backflow prevention devices shall be tested by a licensed and appropriately certified plumber once every three years. A copy of the certification shall be provided to the Borough on or before the three-year anniversary date of the installation of the backflow device. Failure to submit the required documentation shall be considered an illegal action.
[Adopted 5-12-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-3]
A. 
All water meters greater than one inch shall be installed, maintained, repaired and replaced pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Pennington Borough Water and Sewer Department.
B. 
All water users having meters greater than one inch shall have these meters calibrated and certified as accurate within five years after the date of installation and every five years thereafter. The calibration and certification shall be performed by a qualified water meter service company, using test equipment approved by the State Bureau of Weights and Measures. Documentation of the calibration and certification shall be submitted promptly to the Pennington Water and Sewer Department. The minimum permitted degree of accuracy of a meter shall be determined according to the rules and regulations of the Water and Sewer Department. Any meter failing to comply with the applicable standard of accuracy shall be repaired or replaced as necessary to meet the standard.
C. 
As used in this article, the "rules and regulations of the Pennington Borough Water and Sewer Department" mean and include the Department’s "Construction Rules and Regulation - Application and Design Instructions" and "Construction Rules and Regulation - Standard Details," which shall be consistent with applicable state regulations and the standards of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), as determined by the Borough Engineer.
D. 
The Pennington Water and Sewer Department shall notify water users of any failure to comply with an obligation to calibrate, certify, repair or replace a meter as required by this article. Any such failure to comply which continues after 90 days from the date of such notice shall be subject to the fines and penalties prescribed by § 206-16. In addition, if the user persistently fails or refuses to comply, the Water and Sewer Department may elect to perform the obligation of the user at the expense of the user. This right on the Borough’s part shall not diminish in any way the liability of the user for the penalties and costs otherwise applicable.