The town shall have the power:
A. To construct, operate and maintain a water system
and water plant.
B. To construct, operate and maintain a sanitary sewerage
system and a sewage treatment plant.
C. To construct, operate and maintain a stormwater drainage
system and stormwater sewers.
D. To construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter,
repair, improve or dispose of all parts, installations and structures
of the above plants and systems.
E. To have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates
made for any of the above plants and systems or parts thereof or the
extension thereof.
F. To do all things it deems necessary for the efficient
operation and maintenance of the above plants and systems.
Any public-service corporation, company or individual,
before beginning any construction of or placing of or changing the
location of any main, conduit, pipe or other structure in the public
ways of the town, shall submit plans to the town and obtain written
approval upon such conditions and subject to such limitations as may
be imposed by the town. Any public-service corporation, company or
individual violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor. If any unauthorized main, conduit, pipe or other
structure interferes with the operation of the water, sewerage or
stormwater systems, the town may order it removed.
All individuals, firms or corporations having mains, pipes, conduits or other structures in, on or over any public way in the town or in the county which impede the establishment, construction or operation of any town sewer or water main shall, upon reasonable notice, remove or adjust the obstructions at their own expense to the satisfaction of the town. If necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, the town may use its condemnation powers provided in §
C11-2. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The town may enter upon or do construction in,
on or over any county public way for the purpose of installing or
repairing any equipment or doing any other things necessary to establish,
operate and maintain the water system, water plant, sanitary sewerage
system, sewage treatment plant or stormwater sewers provided for in
this Charter. Unless required by the County, the town need not obtain
any permit or pay any charge for these operations, but it must notify
the county of its intent to enter on the public way and must leave
the public way in a condition not inferior to that existing before.
The town shall provide a connection with water
and sanitary sewer mains for all property abutting on any public way
in which a sanitary sewer or water main is laid. When any water main
or sanitary sewer is declared ready for operation by the town, all
abutting property owners, after reasonable notice, shall connect all
fixtures with the water or sewer main. The town may require that,
if it considers existing fixtures unsatisfactory, satisfactory ones
be installed, and shall require that all cesspools, sink drains and
privies be abandoned, filled, removed or left in such a way as not
to injure public health. All wells found to be polluted or a menace
to health shall be ordered to be abandoned and closed. Any violation
of an ordinance passed under the provisions of this section may be
made a misdemeanor.
The town may make a charge, the amount to be
determined by the Council, for each connection made to the town's
water or sewer mains. This charge shall be uniform throughout the
town, but may be changed from year to year. Arrangements for the payment
of this charge shall be made before the connection is made.
In order to prevent any leakage or waste of
water or other improper use of the town's water system or sewage disposal
system, the town may require such changes in plumbing, fixtures or
connections as it deems necessary to prevent such waste or improper
use.
The town may by ordinance provide that no water
supply, sewerage or stormwater drainage system, and no water mains,
sewers, drains or connections therewith, shall be constructed or operated
by any person or persons, firm, corporation, institution or community,
whether upon private premises or otherwise, and may provide that cesspools
or other private methods of sewage disposal shall be operated and
maintained in such a manner that they do not and will not be likely
to affect adversely the public comfort and health and may be deemed
a nuisance and may be abated by the town. Any violation of an ordinance
passed under the provisions of this section may be abated by the town.
Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions of this
section may be made a misdemeanor.
The town shall have the power to extend its
water or sewerage system beyond the town limits.
Any employee or agent of the town, while in
the necessary pursuit of official duties with regard to the water
or sewage disposal systems operated by the town, shall have the right
of entry, for access to water or sewer installations, at all reasonable
hours and after reasonable advance notice to the owner, tenant or
person in possession, upon any premises and into any building in the
town or in the county served by the town's water or sewage disposal
system. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions
of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
No person shall do anything which will discolor,
pollute or tend to pollute any water used or to be used in the town
water supply system.
The town, if it deems it advisable, may contract
with any party or parties, inside or outside the town, to obtain water
or to provide for the removal of sewage.
The town shall have the power to charge and
collect such service rates, water rents, ready-to-service charges
or other charges as it deems necessary for water supplied and for
the removal of sewage. These charges are to be billed and collected
by the Director of Finance, and if bills are unpaid within thirty
(30) days, the service may be discontinued. All charges shall be a
lien on the property, collectible in the same manner as town taxes
or by suit of law.