A.
It is hereby found, determined and declared to be necessary for the
public health, safety, welfare and benefits of the City of Smithville
and its inhabitants that the existing waterworks of said City and
the existing sewerage system of said City and all future improvements
and extensions thereto be combined and that they shall thenceforth
be operated and maintained as a combined waterworks and sewerage system.
B.
The waterworks of the City of Smithville and the sewerage system
of said City and all future improvements and extensions thereto, whether
to the waterworks or to the sewerage system or to both, shall be and
the same are combined and it is hereby declared that said waterworks
and said sewerage system and all future improvements and extensions
thereto as aforesaid thenceforth be operated and maintained as a combined
waterworks and sewerage system.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 705, Combined Waterworks and Sewerage System, adopted 6-6-1973
by Ord. No. 520 §§ 1, 2, as amended. Section 2 of this
ordinance also provided an effective date of 11-1-2015.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.020; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
Water service shall be supplied only through water meters installed
and meeting the City's specifications, and only one (1) connection
shall be permitted to each water meter.
B.
Unmetered connections to fire hydrants by anyone other than a designated
representative of the City of Smithville, Missouri, or the Smithville
Fire Protection District for purposes other than system maintenance
and/or repair or fire protection is specifically prohibited.
C.
No free water service or sewerage service shall be furnished to any
premises, or the owner or occupant thereof, except to the City itself.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.030; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
The City has established a water rate and a sewer service rate designed
to raise sufficient revenue to pay the cost of operating the City's
water and sewer systems, including:
1.
The cost of purchasing water and treatment for human consumption
and the cost of sewage treatment and disposal services;
2.
The maintenance, repair, and operation of all water service
and sewer service equipment and facilities owned and operated by the
City;
3.
Related accounting, administration and overhead costs;
4.
Payments of all necessary debt service and maintenance of bond
covenants for bond issues or other indebtedness related to the City's
water and sewer facilities; and
5.
Maintenance of necessary reserves for repair and replacement
of water and sewer facilities.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.040; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017; Ord. No. 3208-23, 10-17-2023]
A.
The monthly quantity charges and monthly service charges for City
water and sewerage services shall be as set forth in the City's Schedule
of Fees. Wholesale water sales may be set by special contract at the
discretion of the Board of Aldermen.
B.
The monthly quantity charges and monthly service charges for water
and/or sewerage customers outside the corporate City limits shall
be one and one-half (1 ½) times the charges applicable to City
customers. For sewer customers outside the corporate City limits with
no regular water usage data available, a flat rate shall be charged
based upon the average sewer usage of customers within the City multiplied
by the non-City customer rates.
C.
Sewer customers connected to the City sewer system, both inside and
outside the City limits, shall pay an inflow and infiltration sump
pump surcharge of twenty dollars ($20.00) per month unless those customers
have been adjudged exempt from such fee by certification that no direct
or indirect sump pump connection to the sanitary system exists by
either a free inspection by City staff or, at the customer's expense,
by a qualified plumber licensed to do business in the City of Smithville.
Upon certification of exemption, the assessment of the fee shall end
after the first full monthly billing cycle after certification.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.050; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017; Ord. No. 3093-21, 3-23-2021; ]
A.
Each account shall be billed separately and rendered monthly.
B.
If the meter should fail to register for any reason, or if the meter
reader should be unable to gain admittance to the premises at the
time the meter is due to be read, an estimated bill will be submitted.
Such bill will be based on a reasonable estimate of consumption.
C.
During the billing periods of December, January and February, the City shall calculate the average water usage known as a "winter sewer average" for residential contributors/customers. The winter sewer average shall (unless chosen otherwise under Subsection (D)) be applicable to the other nine (9) months of the calendar year.
D.
Winter Average Sewer Rate System.
1.
Sewer rates to be charged for the collection and treatment facilities
and services made available by the sewer system of the City shall
be regulated and charged as follows:
a.
Contributors/Customers. Residential contributors/customers shall
mean any contributor to the City's sewer collection system whose structure
is exclusively used for domestic dwelling purposes with no more than
a single dwelling unit on each separate water meter. Users of a portion
of a structure which portion is separately metered for water use and
is used exclusively as a dwelling are also classified as residential
contributors. Residential contributors shall not include the users
of hotels, motels, boarding houses, nursing homes, residence halls,
or multi-unit residential complexes served by a common water meter
or meters. Exceptions may include contributors with a service contract
approved by the Board of Aldermen. For residential contributors/customers,
monthly sewer user charges shall be based on one (1) of the following:
(1)
Average monthly water usage as determined by water meter usage during the months of December, January, and February, of which the readings will occur in at least two (2) of these months. Such average water usage thus determined shall remain the basis for determining the contributor's monthly sewer charge until a new average consumption is determined following the next winter averaging period. If a residential contributor has not established an average, such contributor's user charge shall be the mean winter average charge of all other residential contributors or at the contributor's option, the volume method in Subsection (D)(1)(a)(2) below.
(2)
Residential contributors choosing the volume method shall be
billed each month based upon actual consumption.
b.
All other sewer contributors/customers other than residential contributors/customers,
monthly sewer charges shall be based upon said customer's current
month's water usage.
E.
The City Administrator, or designated representative, shall have
the authority to amend bills for water and sewerage services attributable
to billing process errors and/or discrepancies, or where the City
Administrator, or designated representative, determines that a bill
does not present a fair usage amount.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.060; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
If any customer has failed to make payment of any bill by the specified
date and time as indicated on the customer's bill, a delinquent charge
shall be applied to the customer's account, as set forth in the City's
Schedule of Fees.
B.
Delinquent charges from a customer's discontinued account may be
transferred to an active account of the same customer.
C.
Any delinquent charges due on terminated accounts may be submitted
to a collection agency or forwarded to the City Attorney's office
for further collection actions.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.070; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
Application for water and sewerage services shall be made by
the owner or occupant of the property to be served, and upon the approval
of such application, such applicant shall have the right to connect
with the City's combined waterworks and sewerage system, all costs
of such connection to be borne by such applicant. A deposit is required
to be paid by any such applicant at the time of his/her application.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.080; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017; Ord. No. 2992-18, 3-20-2018]
Deposits for water service shall be as set forth in the City's
Schedule of Fees and shall be retained to insure payment of all bills.
When service is discontinued to the applicant permanently, the deposit,
less any amount due the City for water or other services, shall be
refunded without interest.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.090; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
A customer shall be liable for all water service furnished to a premises
until such time as the customer has properly notified the City to
discontinue the service for the customer's account.
B.
New accounts may not be established until the applying customer has
satisfied any and all delinquent balances on any other account.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.100; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017; Ord. No. 2992-18, 3-20-2018]
A.
In the event the customer has concerns about the accuracy of the
meter serving their account, the City offers two (2) separate options
for the customer concerns to be addressed. The two (2) options perform
two (2) separate and distinct functions, depending upon the customer
concern. To request either of these services, the customer shall submit
a request on a form provided by the City for such request.
B.
The cost and results of these services are as follows:
1.
Data Logs. The water meter maintains the hourly usage of water
for a maximum of one hundred eighty (180) days in its electronic storage
system. If a customer has concerns about their water usage, a data
log report will allow them to identify how much water is being used
on an hourly basis. To obtain this data, the customer shall submit
a request form authorizing the City obtain the data log and agree
to the charge for such services as identified in the Schedule of Fees.
These charges shall appear on the next regular bill.
2.
Meter Tests.
a.
If the customer believes that the water meter is providing inaccurate
water usage readings, individual meters can be removed and sent to
a third-party testing service to determine its performance. The City
has adopted the American Water Works Associations standards, which
include the specifications for meter performance. Those standards
identify a meter as accurate if it reads the amount of water passing
through at +/- two percent (2%).
b.
In order to obtain this test, the customer shall submit a request
form that the City conduct a meter test using an independent third-party
testing services and agree to pay the cost of such testing in accordance
with the Schedule of Fees and this policy. The customer will only
be billed the costs of testing if the meter does not exceed one hundred
two percent (102%) of the actual water usage. The customer is entitled
to a bill adjustment in the event the test result exceeds one hundred
two percent (102%). The billing or adjustments shall occur as follows:
(1)
If the test reveals that the meter reading exceeds
one hundred two percent (102%) of the actual water passing through
during the test, it is considered inaccurate and the customer is entitled
to a bill adjustment. The period of adjustment shall be the two (2)
prior billing cycles and the time of the current cycle that includes
the inaccurate meter. The water and wastewater charges shall be reduced
to reflect a one hundred percent (100%) reading from the inaccurate
readings. If the period of inaccuracy includes any time associated
with calculating the winter average for the account, such winter average
will also be reduced.
(2)
If the test reveals that the meter reading does
not exceed one hundred two percent (102%), then the customer will
be charged the testing fees as listed in the Schedule of Fees. In
no event will the customer be billed for water in the event the test
reveals the meter reading below one hundred percent (100%).
[R.O. 1991 § 705.110; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017; Ord. No. 2989-18, 2-6-2018; Ord. No. 2992-18, 3-20-2018; Ord.
No. 3200-23, 9-5-2023]
A.
Definition And Conditions.
1.
MONTHLY AVERAGE
NON-RESIDENTIAL WASTEWATER ADJUSTMENT
WATER AND WASTEWATER LEAK ADJUSTMENT
As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The amount of water usage calculated in accordance with Section 705.050(C); or if no such average has been established in accordance with that Section, then the average shall be the total number of gallons of water used divided by the total number of months billed.
A financial adjustment to an account not categorized as residential
in the City utility billing system to the wastewater portion of a
utility bill related to a water leak.
A financial adjustment to an account categorized as residential
in the City utility billing system to a utility bill related to a
water leak.
2.
The Board of Aldermen may consider approving a leak adjustment
under the following conditions:
a.
The customer notifies the City staff of a water leak and requests
a leak adjustment.
b.
Water consumption for the month in question is more than two
(2) times the monthly average for this property (for each month involved
in the leak).
c.
Leak adjustments may occur only once in any thirty-six-month
period and shall cover a single event only [up to a maximum of two
(2) monthly utility bills].
d.
The adjustment request must include a plumber's repair receipt,
material and supplies receipts or other proof that the leak has been
repaired.
f.
The customer shall be sent a copy of the adjustment request,
and must attend the scheduled Board hearing on the matter. Failure
to be present to provide information or answer questions at that hearing
is cause for the Board to deny the request.
3.
No adjustments shall occur when any of the following exist:
a.
Excessive use is due to the customer's usage decisions, such
as seasonal use, sod watering, gardening, filling swimming pools/spas,
etc.
b.
Excessive use is due to a third party from whom the customer
can recover costs (theft, vandalism, construction damage, etc.).
c.
Excessive water volume beyond the first two (2) months of a
multi-month leak.
d.
Leak adjustment has occurred for this property within the past
thirty-six (36) months.
B.
Adjustment Calculations For Residential And Non-Residential Accounts.
1.
For calculations to the water portion of a residential account,
the adjusted bill(s) shall charge the normal water rate on all water
volume used up to two (2) times the average monthly water use for
this property and shall also charge the City's wholesale water purchase
rate as listed in the Schedule of Fees on all water volumes greater
than two (2) times the average monthly water use for this property.
In no event shall a non-residential account be given an adjustment
for water rates or usage caused by a leak.
2.
For wastewater adjustment calculations to residential and non-residential
accounts, if the leak is inside the building, the wastewater bill
shall not be adjusted because the water will have drained into the
sanitary system. If the leak is outside the building, the wastewater
portion of the bill will be adjusted to reflect the average monthly
usage for the property.
C.
Rules Upon Resolution Of Request By The Board
1.
Upon resolution by the Board of Aldermen, the customer shall
make payment in full or make payment arrangements with City Hall in
accordance with the then current payment policies no later than ten
(10) days following the Board hearing.
2.
If the customer fails to comply with the payment obligations
above within the allotted ten (10) days, then the account shall be
treated as past due and be subject to the imposition of late fees
and discontinuance of service in accordance with the regular billing
procedures of this Chapter.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.120; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
Service may be discontinued for any of the following reasons:
1.
For non-payment of any water bill due and owing or for any fee
or charge accruing under this Chapter:
2.
For willful or indifferent wastes of water due to any cause;
3.
For failure to protect and maintain the service pipe of fixtures
on the property of the customer in a condition satisfactory to the
Water Department;
4.
For tampering by the customer or others with the knowledge of
the customer with any meter, connection, service pipe, curb cock,
seal, or any other appliance of the City controlling or regulating
the customer's water supply;
5.
For failure to provide the City free and reasonable access or
for obstructing the way of ingress to the meter or other appurtenances
controlling or regulating the customer's water supply, exclusive of
the public main:
6.
For violation of any rule or regulation of the Department.
B.
Discontinuing the supply of water to a premises for any reason shall
not prevent the Department from pursuing any lawful remedy by action
at law or otherwise for the collection of monies due from the customer.
C.
When water service to a customer has been terminated for any of the
above-stated reasons, other than temporary vacancy of the premises,
it will be reestablished only after the conditions, circumstances,
or practices which caused the water service to be discontinued are
corrected to the satisfaction of the Department, and upon payment
of any charges due and payable by the customer in accordance with
this Chapter and as set forth in the City's Schedule of Fees and Charges.
Credit card, debit card, cash, or money orders shall be the only forms
of payment accepted to reestablish the account and for the water to
be turned on.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.130; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
No water shall be turned on for service in premises in which
the plumbing does not comply with the ordinances of the City, provided
that water may be turned on for construction work in unfinished buildings,
subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.140; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
No customer system which is constructed, expanded, modified, or repaired
after January 1, 1989, and is connected to the public drinking water
system shall contain lead base materials.
B.
If lead base materials have been used in the construction, expansion,
modification, or repair of a customer system which occurs after January
1, 1989, and which customer system is attached to the public drinking
water system, due notice shall be given to the customer. The customer
shall immediately comply by having the lead base materials removed
from the plumbing system and replaced with lead free materials. If
the lead base materials are not removed from the plumbing system,
the City shall have the right to discontinue water service to the
premises.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.150; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
Water Connection Fee.
1.
No connections to a water main shall be made without application
and payment of applicable fees prior to said connection.
2.
All such connections shall be made by the City of Smithville
at the full expense of the applicant. Said expense to include the
cost of materials, supplies, labor and equipment as established by
the City's Schedule of Fees.
B.
Special Service Connection Fees. In addition to the provisions of Subsection (A), residential and commercial properties located in Section 10, Township 53N, Range 33W, Block 4, except Lot 6, legally described as follows and on file in the City offices, shall pay an installation fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in consideration of additional expenses incurred by the City of Smithville for installation of water service to said properties. In the event that fees in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) were paid by a property owner for water service in the above-described area, said property owner shall be entitled to a refund equal to the amount paid less the appropriate connection fees as described in this Subsection and Subsection (A).
C.
Water Impact Fees.
1.
At the time of application for water service connection, the
applicant shall pay a water impact fee based upon water meter size,
according to the City's Schedule of Fees.
2.
All such funds collected as an impact fee in this Section shall
be kept in a fund to be used only for capital improvement projects
that expand capacity of the system, including, but not limited to,
new water lines, upsizing existing water lines, installing booster
pumps, or installing loops to increase pressure or security of the
system.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.160; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
All service pipes from the mains to the premises served shall
be installed by, and at the cost of, the owner of the property to
be served or the applicant for the service. Such installation shall
be under the supervision of the Building Inspector.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.170; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
A.
All repairs for water lines, sewer lines, and other related appurtenances
due to damage while making underground excavations shall be at the
expense of the person or persons causing said damage if no attempt
was made to have said utility lines, etc., located or the person or
persons were so grossly negligent that such damage could have been
easily avoided. Such repair costs shall include the cost of supplies,
the cost of labor, the cost of equipment, and in the case of water
utility damage, the cost of lost water.
B.
All repairs for service pipes and plumbing systems of buildings shall
be made by and at the expense of owners of the premises served, provided
that for the purpose of this Section, service pipes shall be those
service pipes from the water meter to the building. The City may,
in an emergency, repair any service pipes, and if this is done, the
costs of such repair work shall be repaid to the City by the owner
of the premises served.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.180; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
Excavations for installing service pipes or repairing the same
shall be made in compliance with the ordinance provisions relating
to making excavations in streets, provided that it shall be unlawful
to place any service pipe in the same excavation with, or directly
over, any drain pipe or sewer pipe.
[R.O. 1991 § 705.190; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
It shall be unlawful for any person not authorized by the City
to tamper with, alter or injure any part of the City waterworks or
supply system, or any meter. Upon conviction, there shall be imposed
a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than five hundred
dollars ($500.00).
[R.O. 1991 § 705.200; Ord. No. 2932-15 § 1, 9-1-2015; Ord. No. 2980-17, 10-3-2017]
Any person violating the provisions of this Chapter shall upon conviction be subject to a fine and/or imprisonment as set out in Section 100.220 of this Code. Each such day such violation shall continue shall be deemed to be a separate offense.
