The Town shall have the power:
(1) To construct, operate and maintain a water system and water plant.
(2) To construct, operate, and maintain a sanitary sewerage system, and
a sewage treatment plant.
(3) To construct, operate, and maintain a stormwater drainage system
and stormwater sewers.
(4) To construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve,
or dispose of all parts, installations, and structures of the above
plants and systems.
(5) To have surveys, plans, specifications, and estimates made for any
of the above plants and systems or parts thereof or the extension
thereof.
(6) 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 limitation 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 Section 1202. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions
of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
[Amended 7-1-2013 by Res.
No. 2013-04]
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 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 mains. 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 violations of an ordinance passed under
the provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
[Amended 7-1-2013 by Res.
No. 2013-04]
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.
[Amended 7-1-2013 by Res.
No. 2013-04]
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.
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 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 shall have the power to extend its water or sewerage
systems beyond the Town limits.
Any employees or agents of the Town, while in the necessary
pursuit of their 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 Clerk-Treasurer,
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 provision of this subtitle shall not extend to any portion
of the Town located in a sanitary district or special tax area or
district authorized to discharge the powers provided in this subtitle,
as to the particular powers included in the authorization.