[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Brooklawn as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Sewers — See Ch. 118.
[Adopted 9-8-1982 by Ord. No. 227]
[Amended 12-21-2009 by Ord. No. 16-09; 4-18-2016 by Ord. No. 7-16; 12-19-2016 by Ord. No. 19-16]
A. 
The owner of every house, building and structure now erected and the owner of every house, building and structure hereafter erected or acquired, which may be occupied by human beings and is located on a street, road, avenue or other public thoroughfare along the line of any water service, now constructed or hereafter constructed in the Borough of Brooklawn shall, within six months of the adoption of this ordinance,[1] connect and hook up such house, building or structure to the water system of the Borough of Brooklawn.
[1]
Editor's Note: "This ordinance" refers to Ord. No. 19-16, adopted 12-19-2016.
B. 
Application for service connections shall be made to the Borough Clerk or Chief Water Clerk by the owner of the property to be supplied with water or by the plumber who has been engaged by the owner to do the work before any such connection shall be made. A connection charge of $750 shall be made for individual residential dwellings and $1,000 for any other type of property. The service connection from the main to the curb stop shall be installed by the Borough of Brooklawn Water Department for individual residential dwellings only. All others shall be installed under the supervision of the Borough of Brooklawn Water Superintendent, at the expense of the owner of the premises to be serviced.
C. 
Each individual property or building shall be serviced by a separate service line. In a case where unusual circumstances may arise in connection with the construction of a building and the volume of water or number of service lines necessary to service that building should be in question, it shall be resolved by the Borough Clerk or Chief Water Clerk and his determination shall be final.
D. 
It shall be the responsibility of each property owner to provide for a location for the installation of a water meter inside the building to be serviced. The location of the water meter in the building shall be determined by the Superintendent of the Water Department. The Water and Sewer Committee shall have power to stop and prevent the discharge of sewage from any premises within the Borough into any street, watercourse or other public place or into any cesspool, drain or private sewer and may direct that the proper connection be made with the public sewer for the removal of sewage from any premises whenever it may seem to the Water and Sewer Committee that the public interests will be served thereby.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1-97; Ord. No. 5-97; Ord. No. 6-99]
A. 
A supply of water for building or other special purposes, except on a lot or premises already supplied with water which is properly metered, must be separately applied for.
B. 
Service under any application may be discontinued without notice for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
The use of water for any other property or purposes than that covered by the application.
(2) 
Willful waste of water due to improper or leaking pipes or fixtures or failure to repair same when so directed.
(3) 
Refusal to permit properly authorized Water Department personnel access to premises for the purpose of inspecting the service lines and other related appurtenances or for reading or changing meters or other necessary reasons.
C. 
Upon request of the owner of the premises in question, water service may be turned on or off upon payment of the appropriate fee.
D. 
Installation of service lines from the main to the curb stop shall be made by the Borough of Brooklawn Water Department for residential premises only. Service lines for any other purpose shall be installed by the customer at his or her expense and under the direction of the Water Department Superintendent.
E. 
Service may be discontinued upon 10 days’ written notice to the last known address of the property owner if water service bills remain unpaid 30 days after they are due.
[Amended by 6-11-1990 by Ord. No. 7-90; Ord. No. 1-97; Ord. No. 2-97; Ord. No. 5-97; Ord. No. 6-99]
A. 
In the case of a new account, the cost of the meter will be billed to the customer.
B. 
A gate valve or ball valve shall be installed in the service line on either side of the meter and immediately adjacent to the meter.
C. 
The owner of the property shall be responsible for all damages occurring to the meter, except from normal wear and usage, and will be billed for same.
D. 
If a property owner wishes to have his meter tested and the test proves the meter to be within 3% of total accuracy, a service charge of $100 shall be made. If the meter is faulty, the excess charge will be dropped for that quarter only.
[Amended 2-22-2017 by Ord. No. 2-17[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection E, which immediately followed and authorized the Borough Council to appropriate and spend funds from the 1996 Fiscal Year Budget for the purchase of electric water meters and replacement of main water valves.
[Amended by 6-11-1990 Ord. No. 7-90; Ord. No. 1-97; Ord. No. 5-97; Ord. No. 6-99]
A. 
Bills for water service shall be due and payable within 30 days after date of billing, which shall be no more than quarterly and no less than semiannually.
B. 
When a meter has become inoperative or is malfunctioning for any reason, excess charges will then be calculated by using a prior quarter of that particular account.
C. 
If a reading cannot be obtained at the end of a given quarter, a similar previous quarter shall be used to calculate the excess charge for that quarter. This procedure may be continued for no more than three consecutive quarters. At the end of that time, the Chief Water Clerk shall send a registered letter or certified mail, return receipt requested, advising the property owner to make arrangements to have the meter read within 15 days or the water service will be discontinued. Upon obtaining a reading and the payment of a turn-on charge of $25.00 and water service charges, if any, the service will be restored.
D. 
When a sudden abnormal increase or decrease in a consumer's usage is evident and properly identified Water Department personnel are denied access for rereads or inspection for leaks or other necessary immediate reasons, then service shall not be resumed until the reread, inspection or other necessary reason for access has been satisfied and the consumer has paid a turn-on/turn-off service charge of $50.
[Amended by 6-11-1990 Ord. No. 7-90; Ord. No. 1-97; Ord. No. 5-97; Ord. No. 6-99]
A. 
No person except the Superintendent or other authorized Water Department personnel shall take water from any public fire hydrant other than for fire purposes or for the use of the Fire Department.
B. 
Private fire service mains or sprinklers may be permitted with the approval of the Water Superintendent and Chief Water Clerk after the approval of proper plans and specifications. A connection charge of $1,000 shall be made, and an annual standby service charge of $400 shall be billed thereafter.
C. 
An annual charge of $150 per private hydrant shall be made for private fire hydrants serviced by the Borough of Brooklawn.
A. 
All pipes, meters and fixtures shall be subject at all reasonable hours to inspection by properly authorized Water Department personnel.
B. 
No plumber, owner or other unauthorized person shall turn the water on or off at any curb stop or disconnect, remove or tamper with any meter at any time.
[Amended 4-10-1989 by Ord. No. 4-89; 6-11-1990 by Ord. No. 7-90; by Ord. No. 5-97; by Ord. No. 6-99; 5-21-2001 by Ord. No. 8-01; 10-21-2002 by Ord. No. 14-02; 5-18-2009 by Ord. No. 6-09; 5-21-2012 by Ord. No. 4-12; 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 11-15; 6-20-2016 by Ord. No. 9-16; 5-17-2021 by Ord. No. 10-2021; 2-18-2025 by Ord. No. 4-2025]
A. 
Meter charge.
(1) 
The quarterly meter charge to be imposed on all service connections within and without the Borough of Brooklawn for meter sizes less than one inch shall be:
(a) 
Effective July 1, 2025: $103.
(2) 
The quarterly meter charge to be imposed on all service connections within and without the Borough of Brooklawn for meter size of one inch shall be:
(a) 
Effective July 1, 2025: $165.
(3) 
The quarterly meter charge to be imposed on all service connections within and without the Borough of Brooklawn for meter sizes of 1 1/2 inches or greater shall be:
(a) 
Effective July 1, 2025: $240.
B. 
Service charge.
(1) 
Effective July 1, 2025, all residential, commercial and industrial customers within and without the Borough of Brooklawn shall be charged a minimum quarterly rate of $103 per separate apartment, dwelling or commercial unit or user served by said water service connection after the first unit.
C. 
Water allowance. For each minimum quarterly rate charged, the customer shall receive a quarterly allowance of 9,000 gallons of water.
D. 
All excess gallons used over the nine-thousand-gallon minimum quarterly allowance per apartment, dwelling or commercial unit shall be billed at the rate of $6.00 per 1,000 gallons.
E. 
Multiunit apartment dwellings, commercial customers and shopping centers.
(1) 
Effective July 1, 2025, in the case of multiunit apartment dwellings, commercial customers and shopping centers, where units are not individually metered, the total number of units serviced per water service connection after the first unit shall be multiplied by $90 to determine the minimum quarterly charge.
F. 
Hotels and/or motels, where units are not individually metered, shall be treated as one unit for the purposes of this section, with water charges to be determined pursuant to this section.
G. 
All bills shall be rendered on a quarterly basis and shall be delinquent after the 30th day of the month of billing.
H. 
Bills remaining unpaid 30 days after they are rendered shall be charged interest at the rate of 8% per annum until such payment is made, and when such bill or the accumulation of bills is in excess of $1,500, then the interest rate shall be charged at the rate of 18% per annum until such bill or bills are paid.
I. 
The Borough Council of the Borough of Brooklawn, in its discretion, may, by resolution, waive the fees imposed under this section to the Board of Education of the Borough of Brooklawn or any property owned and/or operated by a nonprofit organization as defined in N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6.
J. 
Notwithstanding any section or chapter of this Code to the contrary, the quarterly meter charge to be imposed on all service connections for properties subject to a $250 reduction in property taxes pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-8.40 shall be $103.
K. 
Final water reading request will incur a fee of $25.
[Amended 5-18-2009 by Ord. No. 6-09; 5-17-2021 by Ord. No. 10-2021; 2-18-2025 by Ord. No. 4-2025]
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable for penalties or any combination thereof as set forth in § 1-15 of the Code of the Borough of Brooklawn, in the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court before whom such violation is heard and conviction made. Each day that a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation, subject to the penalty provisions of this article.
B. 
If a violation of any of the rules, regulations or procedures set forth in this article is found on any premises serviced by the Borough of Brooklawn Water Department, the water service will be discontinued without notice and the Borough of Brooklawn shall not be under any obligation to refund any payments previously made.
C. 
Water services shut off for violations of this article or for failure to make payments when due will not be returned to service until all bills are paid in full, including the additional turn-on charge of $100.
[Adopted 10-9-1989 by Ord. No. 13-89]
Whenever the governing body shall be satisfied and finds that a water emergency exists in the municipality, it may adopt a resolution declaring that a water emergency exists in the municipality. Such resolution shall be adopted by the governing body at any regular, special, adjourned or emergency public meeting of the governing body. Such resolution shall identify that portion of the municipality affected by the water emergency, which may include the entire municipality, and shall specify which of the water use regulations contained in § 145-10 of this article is being imposed, as well as any exemptions as may be authorized. Such resolution shall be effective immediately upon publication according to law and shall continue in effect for 90 days, unless extended or repealed as set forth in § 145-11 of this article. For the purpose of this article, a water emergency shall exist if, for any of the following reasons:
A. 
The public utility providing water service to all or a portion of the municipality has adopted water use restrictions, has notified the municipality, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, as well as any other state, county or local agency entitled to notice, of such restrictions and such restrictions are not overruled or declared invalid by any state, county or local agency having the jurisdiction and power to do so: or
B. 
The governing authority is otherwise satisfied that a water emergency exists in the municipality.
Upon adoption by the governing body of a resolution declaring that a water emergency exists in the municipality in accordance with § 145-9 of this article, all citizens shall be urged to observe voluntary indoor conservation measures, and any of the following water use restrictions shall be imposed and shall be applicable to all residents and tenants, except where a bona fide health emergency exists, and to exempt businesses, as specified herein, during the water emergency:
A. 
The complete ban and prohibition of outside water usage, including the watering of lawns and plants, the filling of pools and the washing of cars;
B. 
Outside water usage on alternate days allowing outside water usage by persons or businesses having even house or box numbers on even days and those having odd house or box numbers on odd days with outside water usage being completely banned and prohibited on the 31st day of any month during the water emergency; or
C. 
Any other water use restriction specified by the governing body in the resolution required by § 145-9 of this article which is reasonable under the circumstances considering the nature and extent of the water emergency. Any water restriction imposed pursuant to this subsection shall be limited in application to that portion of the municipality, which may include the entire municipality, identified as being affected by the water emergency in the resolution of the governing body adopted in accordance with § 145-9 of this article.
The resolution of the governing body required by § 145-9 of this article shall, in addition to complying with § 145-9, provide a period of time during which the water use restrictions imposed shall be applicable and which shall be no longer than reasonably necessary to abate the water emergency under the circumstances considering the nature and extent of the water emergency. At the expiration of the time period specified in the resolution, the water use restriction shall lapse and be inapplicable and unenforceable. If the governing body shall be satisfied that the water emergency has been abated prior to the expiration of the time period specified in the resolution, it shall adopt a resolution declaring the water emergency ended and the water use restrictions inapplicable. If, at the expiration of the time period specified in the resolution, the governing body shall be satisfied that the water emergency continues to exist, it may adopt a resolution in accordance with the requirements of this article continuing the water use restrictions.
The water use restrictions imposed pursuant to this article shall be enforced during a water emergency by the local authorized official. Whenever a local authorized official shall find a violation of the water use restrictions, such authorized official shall give the violator a written warning and explain the penalties for a second and third offense as provided by § 145-13 of this article. The local authorized official shall keep such records as may be reasonable and necessary for the purpose of determining the persons and businesses who have been warned upon a first offense. The local authorized official is hereby empowered to write summonses for the violation of the water use restrictions imposed pursuant to this article.
After a first offense in accordance with § 145-12 of this article, any person or business who thereafter violates the water use restrictions imposed pursuant to this article shall be fined or imprisoned in accordance with this section. For a second offense, the fine imposed shall be $500 or imprisonment for 10 days, or both. For a third and subsequent offense, the fine imposed shall be $1,000 or imprisonment for 30 days, or both.