[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Dover as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 7-77]
A.
BOROUGH MANAGER
CUSTOMER
PERSON
SERVICE PIPE
STREET
WATERWORKS
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
The Borough Manager for Dover Borough or his or her authorized
agent or such official as is designated by the Borough Council to
receive applications under this article.
[Amended 4-5-1999 by Ord.
No. 1999-1]
Any person, as hereinafter defined, owning any premises receiving
water from the Borough of Dover waterworks.
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
That pipe leading from the curb to the premises of a customer.
Any street, alley or lane.
Includes the plant, fixtures, mains, reservoirs, rights-of-way
and all other properties and facilities now or hereafter operated
and maintained by the Borough of Dover in order to collect, treat
and distribute water for municipal purposes and for the use of the
inhabitants thereof, and shall also include those officers and employees
of the Borough collectively engaged in the management, operation and
maintenance thereof.
B.
In this article, the singular shall include the plural,
and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
The waterworks of the Borough of Dover, as it
is now constituted or shall hereafter, as the Borough Council may
from time to time direct, be extended through other portions of the
Borough and/or outside the Borough limits, shall be operated and maintained
under the provisions of this article, subject to the authority of
the Borough at any time to amend, alter, change or repeal the same.
The Borough Council shall have charge and management
of the waterworks, subject to such delegation of authority to a Water
Committee, if any, and the Borough Manager as is provided herein.
For the protection of the waterworks, the following
regulations shall be in force:
A.
No person shall damage, injure, molest, disturb or
interfere with any pipe, hydrant, stop cock, reservoir, machinery,
tool or any other property belonging to or appertaining to the waterworks.
B.
No person shall, except with authority from the Borough
Manager or any person subordinate to him in the waterworks, open,
close, interfere with or attach to or connect with any fire hydrant,
stop valve or stop cock belonging to the Borough; provided, however,
that in case of fire the opening and use of the fire hydrants needed
in the fighting thereof shall be under the direction of the Fire Chief
of the Borough.
C.
No person shall damage, injure, molest, disturb or
interfere with any meter or meter seal connected to, being a part
of or owned by the waterworks. The owner of the premises, if the owner
resides at such premises, or in the event that the owner does not
reside at the premises, then the adult members of the family residing
at the premises, shall be deemed to be responsible for the protection
of any meter and meter seal on any such premises.
[Added 7-3-1978 by Ord. No. 7-78]
D.
In addition to any penalty provided by this article,
the Borough Council may, upon determination that a meter or meter
seal has been damaged, injured, molested, disturbed or interfered
with, direct that the owner of the premises where such meter or meter
seal is located be charged an estimated charge for water usage, which
such estimate shall be based upon prior usage of the premises, and
in the event there is no prior usage of the premises, such estimate
shall be used upon similar usage within the Borough.
[Added 7-3-1978 by Ord. No. 7-78]
E.
The Borough shall have the right to disconnect water
service to any property served by the Borough waterworks if the Borough
Council has determined after investigation that said property has
remained vacant for a period of at least 30 days and if five days'
written notice has been given to the property owner informing him
of the intention of the Borough to disconnect water service. Such
notice shall be given to the property owner at the property address.
The water service shall be disconnected at the curb stop.
[Added 5-7-1979 by Ord. No. 2-79]
[Amended 4-5-1999 by Ord.
No. 1999-1]
The Borough shall by resolution from time to
time establish rates and charges for water service to customers.
All persons within the Borough of Dover shall
hook up to and use water from the Dover Borough Waterworks for any
and all water needs.
[Amended 3-2-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-5]
A.
No private wells shall be allowed to be operated by
any person within the Borough of Dover for the use of water for any
purpose whether within or without the Borough.
B.
All private wells within Dover Borough shall be sealed
in accordance with the following requirements:
(1)
The well shall be measured for depth before it is
sealed to ensure freedom from instructions that may interfere with
effective sealing operations.
(2)
The liner pipe shall be removed to ensure placement
of an effective seal. If the liner pipe cannot be readily removed,
it shall be perforated to ensure proper sealing.
(3)
Concrete, cement grout or neat cement shall be used
as primary sealing materials and shall be placed from the bottom upward
by methods that will avoid segregation or dilution of the material.
(4)
The Dover Borough Manager, Dover Borough Engineer
or other official designated by Borough Council shall be present during
the sealing so that the depth of each layer of all sealing and backfilling
materials may be recorded, as well as the quantity of sealing material
used and measurements of static water levels and depth are recorded.
C.
The Borough Council shall give written notice of the
requirement for a private well to be sealed to the owner of the property
on which the private well is located. The notice shall inform the
property owner that the private well must be sealed in accordance
with this article within 20 days from the date of receipt of the notice.
The failure of a property owner to seal a well within 20 days from
the date of receipt of the notice shall be a violation of this article.
The failure of the property owner to seal a well within 20 days from
the date of receipt of subsequent notices shall be a separate violation
of this article.
D.
If the Borough has provided a property owner with
three notices of the requirement to seal a private well and if upon
the expiration of 20 days from the date of receipt of the third notice
the property owner has not sealed the private well, the Borough shall
have authority to enter upon the property of the owner and to seal
the well in accordance with the requirements of this article and to
collect the cost thereof, together with 10% of such cost, with interest
from the time of completion of the sealing, by action at law or by
a lien to be filed and collected in the same manner as municipal claims.
Introduction of Borough water shall not be made
into any premises until application shall have been made to the Borough
Manager by the owner of such premises or by his authorized agent.
Such application shall be made upon a form to be prescribed by the
Borough and, upon such application, the applicant shall state fully
all purposes for which he shall desire such water and shall answer
fairly and without concealment all necessary questions relating to
number of rooms, cisterns, accessibility to neighbors and all possibilities
for illegal use of water.
A.
The service pipe shall be the property of the owner
of the premises to which it is connected and all repairs to the same
shall be made at the expense of such property owner, who shall keep
his pipes and fixtures in good repair, in such condition as to avoid
unnecessary waste and protected against frost, at his own expense.
The property owner shall be held responsible for any waste or damage
that may result from any defective service pipe or other pipe located
within the premises or any fixture.
B.
The property owner shall be responsible for all expenses
for the water system from the curb stop. The property owner shall
be responsible for the cost and installation of necessary water meters.
The water meters shall be installed with the supervision of a Borough
official designated by the Borough Council. The Borough shall service,
maintain and replace, if necessary, all water meters three-fourths-inch
or smaller, and the property owner shall service and maintain all
meters larger than three-fourths-inch, and all such service and maintenance
shall be done at the supervision of a Borough official designated
by the Borough Council. A remote readout for the water meter on the
premises shall be installed and maintained by the Borough at the request
of the property owner and the expense for such remote readout for
the water meter and installation thereof shall be paid by the property
owner.
[Added 5-7-1979 by Ord. No. 2-79]
The Borough shall furnish no material or labor
for use upon private premises.
No person shall extend or cause to be extended
any service pipe from one property to another without special permission
having been granted therefor by the Borough Council and without a
stop being placed in such a position that the supply of water for
either property can be shut off without closing of the supply of water
for the other property.
Whenever Borough water is introduced into any
premises or changes are made in any water pipes or fixtures that might
affect the supply, the rates or the security against frost, the plumber
doing such work shall notify the Borough Manager of the location and
nature of such work, and the Borough Manager shall thereupon cause
such work to be promptly and carefully inspected. No water shall be
turned on permanently in any location until the Borough Manager shall
be satisfied that every applicable provision of this article has been
complied with. Prior to such approval of the Borough Manager, water
shall be turned on by the plumber only as may be necessary in order
to test his work.
The following regulations shall be in effect
in order to prevent waste or excessive use of water or irregularity
of pressure:
A.
The Borough Manager may inquire into and investigate
into the cause of any unusual flow or apparently unnecessary waste
of water upon the premises in the Borough. If said flow or waste results
from want of repair of any pipe or other fixture, he shall require
the owner of such premises to make such necessary repairs within 10
days, and upon failure of such owner to make such repairs within the
time limit, he shall have the authority to shut off the supply of
water leading to such premises. Such water shall not again be turned
on until the customer shall have made the required repairs and paid
the fee which is hereby established for such service.
B.
No person shall use the Borough water or permit it
to be used for any purpose other than that for which the customer
pays water rates.
C.
No person shall allow water fixtures to run when not
in use for the purpose for which intended.
D.
No person shall allow water to flow continuously in
order to guard against freezing or for any other purpose, except by
special permission from the Borough Manager, provided that the Borough
Manager may at any time rescind such special permission when he shall
deem its continuance to be detrimental to the operation of the waterworks
and the service available to other customers.
E.
Except in case of fire, no large current of water
shall be permitted to flow at intervals, causing irregularity of pressure.
The use of fixtures that may create water hammers is prohibited.
F.
Any property owner who requests the Borough to shut
off water service at a curb stop or to turn on water service at a
curb stop shall pay a fee for each such service in an amount set by
resolution of the Borough Council.
[Added 5-7-1979 by Ord. No. 2-79; amended 4-5-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
The customer shall, at all times, properly protect
the meter upon his property from injury, by frost or other cause,
and shall be responsible for the cost of all repairs to any such meter
damaged through his negligence or that of any of the members of his
family, his agents, workers, servants or employees, such charge to
be payable in full at the time when his next water bill shall be due
and payable.
If a meter fails to register or otherwise becomes
out of order, such meter shall be replaced or repaired by the waterworks,
and the current bill shall be estimated and determined by the average
amount of water used in a previous corresponding period. No deduction
from any water bill shall be allowed on account of leakage.
No customer served with metered water shall
take or receive, or permit to be taken or received, any water from
the waterworks into a building for which a meter is installed except
that such water shall have passed through and been registered by such
meter.
The owner of a metered property shall notify
the Borough Manager immediately of any change of ownership of such
property, so that the Borough Manager may cause the meter to be read
so that the final consumption shall be billed to the seller and all
future billings shall be made to the buyer.
All bills for water rates shall be rendered
to the owner of the premises to which water is furnished by the waterworks,
and such owner shall in all cases be liable for payment of such bills.
The Borough Council is hereby authorized to
limit or discontinue the supply of water, in cases of emergency, and
to shut off the supply of water for repairs or extensions, it being
the judge of the time and necessity.
The Borough Manager, any employee of the waterworks
and any member of the Borough Council shall have the right at any
and all hours to enter upon or into any premises to which water is
supplied by the waterworks for the purposes of inspecting any pipe
or fixture, setting, reading or repairing any meter, turning water
off or on and enforcing the provisions of this article generally.
No person shall deny entrance to any such premises to any officer
or employee hereby granted such right of entry.
[Amended 3-2-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-5;
amended 4-5-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article or any amendment thereof shall, upon conviction thereof
before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more
than $600, together with cost of prosecution for each and every violation,
and in default of payment of such fine and cost to be imprisoned for
a period of not more than 30 days.
[Adopted 4-6-1981 by Ord. No. 81-1]
This article shall be known as the "Dover Borough
Water Rationing Plan Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The usage of water by a water customer in excess of the water
allotment provided under this article for that customer, over any
applicable period.
The owner or operator of Dover Borough water supply system,
and its officers, employees and agents.
The territory and the customers serviced by Dover Borough
Water System.
The temporary suspension of water supply, or reduction of
pressures below that required for adequate supply, to any customer,
any portion of a water supply system or an entire system.
The maximum quantity of water allowed for each customer over any applicable period as established pursuant to § 155-29 of this article.
Any person who is connected to and receives water service
from the water supply system.
This Water Rationing Plan is intended to establish
measures for essential conservation of water resources and to provide
for equitable distribution of limited water supplies in order to balance
demand and limited available supplies and to assure that sufficient
water is available to preserve public health and safety within Dover
Borough water supply service area during water shortages as determined
from time to time by Dover Borough Council or by the Mayor.
A.
The Water Rationing Plan shall apply to all water
customers within the service area of Dover Borough Water Supply Service
Area during water shortages when such shortages are deemed to exist
by Dover Borough Council or by the Mayor after considering the amount
of water that can be pumped from the Borough wells, the height of
water level in Well No. 6, the height of water level in the Borough's
water tower, the amount of rainfall and the water demands of the customers.
The objective of this Water Rationing Plan is
to effect a reduction of water usage within Dover Borough Water Service
Area in order to extend existing water supplies and, at the same time,
assure that sufficient water is available to preserve the public health
and sanitation and provide fire protection service.
The following water uses are declared nonessential
and are prohibited within the service area during periods of water
shortage as determined by Dover Borough Council or by the Mayor:
A.
The watering of lawns.
C.
The noncommercial washing of automobiles and trucks.
D.
The washing of streets, driveways and sidewalks.
E.
The serving of water in restaurants, clubs or eating
places unless specifically requested by the individual.
F.
Ornamental water use, including but not limited to
fountains, artificial waterfalls and reflecting pools.
G.
The use of water for flushing sewers or hydrants by
any public or private individual entity except as deemed necessary
and approved in the interest of public health or safety by the Dover
Borough Council.
H.
The use of fire hydrants by fire companies for testing
fire apparatus and for fire department drills except as deemed necessary
in the interest of public safety and specifically approved by the
Dover Borough Council.
I.
The use of fire hydrants except as necessary for fire
fighting or protection purposes.
Each and every water customer, regardless of whether residential, commercial, industrial, municipal, institutional or other type of user, shall achieve the water use reductions set forth in this Water Rationing Plan. In order to achieve the overall objectives of the plan, the water use restrictions and limitations set forth in § 155-29 shall apply.
A.
Each water customer shall be allotted a number of
gallons per quarter equal to the average of the gallons used in the
three highest quarters of the previous four quarters for which no
water restrictions were in effect, less 25%.
B.
If sufficient meter reading records are not available,
the Borough Council shall establish the allotted gallons per quarter
based on its best estimate of projected water use by the customer
in accordance with the information available at the time. This allotment
may be adjusted by Borough Council based upon actual usage as meter
reading records become available from time to time.
C.
Water customers are required to provide water purveyor
personnel with reasonable access to read meters as necessary to this
rationing plan. Where access is not readily available, the purveyor
shall make all reasonable efforts to contact customers in order to
arrange for access to read meters. In the event that a water customer
does not allow water purveyor personnel entry to read the meter, after
the purveyor has made reasonable efforts to arrange for such access,
the customer will be allotted a number of gallons as shall be determined
by Borough Council.
D.
Exemption or variance.
(1)
Where the water allotment provided under this section
would create extraordinary hardship, as in the case of special health-related
requirements, the water customer may apply to the water supply purveyor
for an exemption or variance from these requirements. If the purveyor
finds that the allotment provided in this section would impose extraordinary
hardship, the purveyor may establish a revised allotment for the particular
customer.
(2)
Any person aggrieved by a decision relating to such
an exemption or variance rendered by the water supply purveyor may
file an appeal with the Common Pleas Court of York County in accordance
with the provisions and procedures of Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A.
§§ 551 through 555 and 751 through 754.
E.
Water customers are required to provide water purveyor
personnel with reasonable access to the premises served by the water
system to locate leaks in the water system, including but not limited
to faucets, toilets, water-using appliances and fixtures.
F.
Upon notification by the water purveyor of any leaks
in the water system, the customer shall cause the same to be repaired
within seven days from such notification. In the event that the customer
fails to repair such leaks, the Borough Council may have the same
repaired and collect the costs of such repair from the customer.
The following provisions shall govern the implementation
of temporary service interruptions:
A.
In order to effectuate compliance with this plan,
the water supply purveyor is hereby authorized and required to plan
and implement temporary service interruptions to all or part of its
water supply system, as the water supply purveyor may deem appropriate,
when any of the following conditions are determined by the water supply
purveyor to exist, as to its water supply system:
(1)
A twenty-five-percent reduction in system-wide water
usage has not been achieved; and/or
(2)
A twenty-five-percent reduction in system-wide water
usage has been achieved, but has failed to have a significant impact
in extending limited water supplies; and/or
(3)
Temporary service interruptions are necessary in order
to further extend limited or dwindling water supplies.
B.
In the event that the water supply purveyor determines
that temporary service interruptions are necessary, the water supply
purveyor shall notify its customers through public media serving the
customers of the water supply purveyor in its service area, at least
one day prior to the temporary service interruptions, that a planned,
temporary service interruption is to be imposed.
C.
Any water customer who exceeds the allotments established
pursuant to this Water Rationing Plan will be subject to the following
excess-use charge:
D.
In addition to the excess-use charge, noncompliance
with the Water Rationing Plan will result in the following:
(1)
For the first excess use, a warning of possible discontinuation
shall be issued to the customer by the water supply purveyor.
(2)
For the second or subsequent excess use, the water
supplier may interrupt or shut off service to the customer for a period
not to exceed 48 hours or, if the customer provides access, the water
supplier may install a flow restrictor in the customer's service line
for the duration of the emergency. The cost incurred by the water
purveyor to interrupt or shut off and reinstate service or to install
and remove a flow restrictor shall be assessed to the water customer
by the water purveyor.
E.
The water purveyor is authorized to alter meter reading
schedules to assure adequate monitoring of compliance with this plan.
Any person who violates the provisions of this
article or who impedes or interferes with any action undertaken or
ordered pursuant to this article shall be subject to a fine not exceeding
$200 and imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both, for the first
offense and a fine not exceeding $500 and imprisonment not exceeding
90 days, or both, for each subsequent offense. Each day of violation
shall constitute a separate offense.
Nothing in this Water Rationing Plan Ordinance
shall in any way limit or affect the power or authority of the Dover
Borough Council to adopt and enforce ordinances, rules, restrictions
and orders for water conservation and protection of essential water
supplies, provided that such ordinances, rules and restrictions are
not inconsistent with the requirements of this article.
The provisions of this article shall remain
in effect until terminated by action of the Mayor or the Borough Council.
