The Town shall have the power to:
A. Construct, operate and maintain a water system and
water plant.
B. Construct, operate and maintain a sanitary sewerage
system and a sewage treatment plant.
C. Construct, operate and maintain a stormwater drainage
system and stormwater sewers.
D. Construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter,
repair, improve or dispose of all parts, installations and structures
of the above plants and systems.
E. Have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates
made for any of the above plants and systems or parts thereof or the
extension thereof.
F. 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 §
C12-2. 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 may require that all cesspools, sinkdrains 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
may 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. The Town 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. Any cesspool or
other private method of sewage disposal affecting or likely to affect
adversely the public comfort and health 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 made a misdemeanor.
The Town shall have the power to extend its
water or sewerage systems beyond the corporate limits.
Any employee or agent of the town, while in
the necessary pursuit of his 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 restraint or hindrance offered to such entry by any owner,
tenant or person in possession or the agent of any of them may, by
ordinance, 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. Any violation of the provisions of this section
shall be a misdemeanor.
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-serve 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 Town Clerk, 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
at law.
The provisions of this Article shall not extend
to such properties located in a sanitary district or special tax area
or district authorized to discharge the powers provided in this Article,
as to the particular powers included in the authorization.