The town may:
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. Enter into agreements with the town of Delmar, Delaware,
for the joint control and operation of water and sewer systems.
G. Do all things it deems necessary for the efficient
operation and maintenance of the above plants and systems.
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, the given public service corporation,
company or individual 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 is 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 §
DC10-2. 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, 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
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 Commission, 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 provide by ordinance that no private
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 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 may extend its water or sewerage systems
beyond the town 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, has a 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 the entry by any owner, tenant
or person in possession, or the agent of any of them, by ordinance,
may be made a misdemeanor.
[Amended 5-10-1982 by Res. No. 33-1982]
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
is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90)
days or by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.), or both.
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 may charge and correct 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 Manager,
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.