[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg 7-15-1992 by L.L. No.
1-1992. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg, pursuant to the authority
granted it under Article 12-A of the Town Law and §§ 10
and 20 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, hereby enacts as follows.
The Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg sits as commissioners
of several water districts in the Town of Martinsburg. It is desirable
to have uniform rules and regulations to govern the users of the water
systems within those districts. It is the purpose of this chapter
to adopt such a system of regulations.
The Town Board as Commissioners of any water district may from
time to time adopt rates by resolution after public hearing. The current
rate structure for each district is annexed and confirmed by adoption
of these regulations.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The schedule of rates is included at the end of this chapter.
A.
A property owner must properly complete an application form (water
service connection application) and pay a fee of a minimum of $1,000
with the application.
[Amended 8-20-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008; 1-20-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
B.
The connection to be installed by the Town shall be from the water
main to the curb stop.
C.
As part of the application, the applicant must submit a scaled drawing
showing the proposed point of connection to the water distribution
system and the point of connection to the premises. If street or road
excavation is required, the applicant must secure a road opening permit
from the jurisdictional government (i.e., New York State highway;
NYSDOT; county highway; County Superintendent of Highways; Town road,
Town Highway Superintendent) and submit a copy of the road opening
permit with the application. The proposed connection drawing must
be approved by the Town Superintendent of Highways as part of the
permit.
D.
All connections to the water distribution lines must be performed
by a person qualified to make a connection to a public water supply.
The applicant shall submit the name of the qualified person retained
to make the connection. All connections to the Town's waterlines are
to be performed only under the physical observation of the Town Superintendent
of Highways or his designee. Before any backfilling can take place,
the Town Superintendent of Highways or his designee must inspect and
approve the connection, pipe bedding and backfilling.
E.
A curb stop is required for each connection and must be located off
the highway right-of-way, if possible.
F.
Where connection within the district requires the extension of a
main, which main will service such new connection, it shall be at
the sole expense of the person requiring such extension of main to
pay for the extension. Where such main is extended across private
property, an easement must be given to the district of sufficient
width to allow the main to be maintained and repaired in the future.
The extension of main and easement shall be in accordance with requirements
of the Superintendent of Highways.
[Added 9-15-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
G.
In the Glenfield Water District Extension approved by the New York
State Comptroller's Office in 1995, the district shall be responsible
to provide connections from the main to the house of any residents
connecting to the system on the following conditions:
[Added 10-9-1995 by L.L. No. 3-1995]
(1)
That the individual requesting connection provide the Town with an
easement in recordable form from the main to within three feet more
or less of the house or premises being served.
(2)
That requests for connection take place during construction so that
it may be coordinated with other construction work being done in connection
with the expansion of the district.
(3)
That funding is available for such connection during the construction
period from September 1995 through December 31, 1995.
(4)
All connections so made shall be considered to be a part of the Glenfield
Water District.
[Added 9-15-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
A.
A district is not obligated to provide service to any outside users.
Where service is provided to outside users, it shall be provided only
if the outside user agrees to sign a contract to pay for such water
with the Town in a form acceptable to the Town Board and Town Attorney.
B.
When providing water to outside users, the Town shall be responsible
for the delivery of water only to the boundary of the district or
any rights-of-way owned by the district. It shall be the responsibility
of the outside user to properly install and maintain all mains, laterals,
and other appurtenant features to deliver water from the boundaries
of the water district or district rights-of-way to the outside user's
premises. The outside user shall be fully responsible for all maintenance
of all facilities outside of the boundaries of the district or district
right-of-way. In the event of a leak, the Town and district retain
the ability to turn off water to the outside user, unless and until
such leak is properly repaired.
C.
Fees to be charged to outside users for the use of water shall be
in amount at least equal to that charged to users within the district
plus a reasonable profit to be agreed upon in writing pursuant to
contract.
D.
Outside users shall be subject to all the other terms and conditions
of these rules and regulations as from time to time amended, including
payment of bills and late payments and penalties.
E.
In the event that there is insufficient water to provide service
to resident within the district, the Town, as Commissioner of the
district, retains the ability to terminate water service to outside
users upon reasonable notice. In the event that the Town, as Commissioner
of any water district, should institute conservation measures due
to shortage of water supply, all outside users shall be equally subject
to such conservation measures and penalties for noncompliance.
A.
Water meters are the responsibility of the property owner. An approved
water meter must be installed and sealed prior to water service being
turned on.
B.
Water meters shall be of a type and size as specified by the Superintendent
of Highways.
C.
Prior to turning on water service, the Superintendent shall have
the water meter double-sealed. It is the property owner's responsibility
to notify the Superintendent immediately if a seal is broken.
D.
Meter leakage or damage. It is the property owner's responsibility
to repair any leakage or damage to the water meter or connections.
If the property owner is notified that there is leakage or damage,
he must have it repaired within 30 days of notification. If not repaired
within 30 days, a fee of $25 will be assessed against the property
owner and the Superintendent has the option of terminating the water
service, and restoration of water service shall be imposed each time
termination and/or restoration of service is required.[1]
A.
Meter readings. Where applicable, meters will be read on or about
the last day of April and October.
C.
Payment of bills. All water bills are due and payable when prepared.
All bills are payable without penalty up to and including the 30th
day after the date of the bill. Payment must be received at the Town
Clerk's office. Any payment received after the 30th day from the date
of the bill is assessed a penalty of 10%. The date of a check or envelope
postmark does not enter into the criteria of determination of penalty
imposition. If the 30th of the billing month falls on a weekend or
legal holiday (when Town Clerk's office is closed), payment without
penalty shall be extended to the next business day. Failure to pay
a water bill within 30 days of rendering the bill shall be cause for
termination of water service.
D.
Estimated bills. Where applicable, when the meter reader is unable
to gain access to read a meter, he will leave a postcard for the property
owner to record the meter reading and mail to the Town Clerk's office
within the next seven calendar days for billing. If the card is not
received within the next seven days, an estimated bill will be prepared
based on the highest bill of the past 12 months.
A.
When service has been terminated per § 225-8A, service will not be restored until all bills and penalties and service charges are paid in full. This includes an additional fee of $25 for service restoration. In addition, a deposit equal to the highest bill of the past 12 months is required. This deposit will be refunded only after one year of satisfactory payment of water bills.
A.
It is the responsibility of the current property owner to notify
the Town Clerk's office to the impending date of transfer and request
a meter reading for final billing.
B.
The Town Clerk's office shall, upon notice of the impending transfer
of property, make arrangements for reading the meter if applicable.
Upon meter reading a final bill will be prepared and mailed to the
owner. Final bills are due at the Town Clerk's office within five
days. Upon receipt of payment, water records will be changed to reflect
the new owner. Should the final reading be less than the minimum charge,
the final bill will be prorated at $0.50 per day since the last reading.
In nonmetered districts, a prorated water bill will be prepared.
C.
This constitutes a special reading and the fee of $25 applies.
A.
The Town has the responsibility of maintenance of all facilities
in the highway right-of-way.
B.
The property owner has the responsibility of maintenance within the
boundaries of his property. The district may notify a property owner
to make certain repairs on the owner's property if the failure to
repair would affect the water system. The failure to timely make such
repairs shall be grounds for termination of service. The Town district
is hereby authorized to enter onto a property owner's property to
make emergency repairs to safeguard the district's water system. Should
the district do so, all such charges shall be billed back immediately
to the property owner as a special assessment.
Hydrants are solely for the purpose of fire protection. Hydrants
shall not be turned on except by authorized fire departments for the
sole purpose of fighting fires or by Town maintenance personnel for
maintenance, flushing, repair or testing.
In metered districts, all requests for water service to multidwelling
units shall be brought to the Town Board for consideration. The Town
Board shall determine whether a single meter per building or a separate
meter for each dwelling unit will be required. In no event may the
owner of a multidwelling unit buy water from the district and make
a profit on the resale of water.
[Amended 1-20-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
A.
Should
lower than normal pressure or other emergency-type situations occur
in the water distribution system or a serious fire hazard exist, a
restriction may be placed on water usage above basic health and sanitation
requirements. If water restrictions are imposed, compliance is mandatory.
B.
The Town
Board, as Water District Commissioners, may limit the volume of water
supplied to a commercial and/or agricultural user within the District
in order for the District to remain within the limits prescribed by
the District's water use permit, or to insure that residential
users within the District have an adequate supply of potable water.
All payments for water usage and charges are payable at the
Town Clerk's office only. Payments may be made in person or by mail.
A.
The opening of a water hydrant by an unauthorized person or evidence
that attempts have been made to bypass a meter or on any manner obtain
water from the district without proper payment will result in prosecution
under the penal laws of New York State.
B.
A violation of these regulations could result in the termination
of water service to the violator. All violations of these regulations
shall be brought to the attention of the Town Board for disposition.
C.
A person found to be in violation of these regulations shall be guilty
of a violation and subject to a fine not to exceed $250 per offense.
Each week of continued violation shall constitute a separate offense.
D.
Where appropriate, the district may seek injunctionable relief in
a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of any provision
of these regulations.
