The Town of Mount Airy 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, a sewage treatment plan and stormwater sewers.
C. 
To construct, operate and maintain an electric light and power plant.
D. 
To construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve, or dispose of all parts, installations and structures of the above systems and plants.
E. 
To have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates made for any of the above plants or 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.
The Town of Mount Airy shall have the power to acquire by gift, purchase, lease or condemnation any land, improvements, rights-of-way, sources of water or other property of any kind or interest therein or franchise connected therewith within Carroll County or Frederick County, whether used for public, quasi-public or private purposes, either in fee or as an easement, for the purpose of establishing, operating, extending or maintaining a water system, water plant, sanitary sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, stormwater sewers, or any other public improvement. Any condemnation proceedings under this section shall be carried on in accordance with the provisions of § C11-2 of this Charter, and the activities mentioned in this section shall be considered as public improvements within the meaning of § C11-2 of this Charter.
Any public service corporation, company or individual, before beginning any construction of or placing or of changing the location of any main, conduit, pipe or other structure in the public ways of the Town, shall submit plans to the Mayor and obtain his written approval. 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 Mayor may order it removed.
All individuals, firms or corporations having mains, pipes, conduits, or other structures in, on, or over any public way in Carroll County or Frederick 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 of Mount Airy. If the use of the powers in this section shall involve a taking, in the constitutional sense, of the franchise or right in the exercise of which the obstruction had its origin, the Town of Mount Airy shall have the power to condemn an easement in the right or franchise. If necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, the Town may use its condemnation powers provided in § C11-2. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy may enter upon or do construction in 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, sanitary sewerage system, sewage treatment plant or stormwater sewers provided for in this Charter. 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. When the Town desires to enter on any state public way for the purposes aforesaid, it must first comply with the provisions of applicable state law.
The Town of Mount Airy 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 of Mount Airy, 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 and left in such a way as not to injure public health. All wells found to be polluted or a menace to health shall be abandoned and closed. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy shall 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 of Mount Airy may require such changes in plumbing, fixtures or connections as it deems necessary to prevent such waste or improper use.
No water supply, sewerage or stormwater drainage system, and no water mains, sewers, drains or connections therewith, shall be constructed or operated by an person or persons, firm, corporation, institution or community, whether upon private premises or otherwise, without the written consent of and under rules prescribed by the Council. All 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 liable to affect adversely the public comfort and health. Any cesspool or other private method of sewage disposal affecting or liable to affect adversely the public comfort and health shall be deemed a nuisance and may be abated by the Town. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
Any employee or agent of the Town of Mount Airy, 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 at all reasonable hours and after reasonable advance notice to the owner, tenant or person in possession, upon any private premises and into any building in the Town or in those portions of Carroll County and Frederick County served by the Town's water or sewage disposal systems. Any restraint or hindrance offered to such entry by any owner, tenant or person in possession or the agent of any of them, shall be 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 of Mount Airy, 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.
For the purpose of financing and paying for the construction, operation, maintenance, repair, overhead and property depreciation of the water supply system, water plant, sanitary sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, stormwater sewers and any other improvements provided for under the provisions of this subtitle, the Town of Mount Airy shall have the power:
A. 
To issue bonds in accordance with the provisions of § C6-18 of this Charter.
B. 
To assess the cost of water, sewer or stormwater mains or any part thereof on the property abutting on the water, sewer and stormwater mains in accordance with § C10-2 of this Charter.
C. 
To charge and collect such service rates, water rents, ready-to-serve charges or other charges as may be necessary for water supplied and for the removal of sewage. These charges are to be billed and collected by the Mayor, and, if water bills are uncollected within 30 days, the water may be turned off. All charges shall be a lien on the property, collectible in the same manner as Town taxes.
D. 
Waiver of charges.
[Added 6-6-2022 by Res. No. 2021-2]
(1) 
The waiver of a water bill in its entirety may be authorized by the Town Council upon application of the property owner or occupant. A waiver will be considered by the Town Council in open session, without disclosure of the property address, the name or contact information of the applicant, or amounts due for which the applicant seeks a waiver. The Town Council may authorize a payment plan for charges where the Town Council does not authorize a waiver of the water bill.
(2) 
If no waiver is issued and no payment plan is agreed upon, and the charges thereafter remain unpaid, then the property in connection with the unpaid bill shall be considered in default, and the Town may impose a lien on the property and collect same as unpaid taxes, in accordance with the Town Code and Town policy.