WATER AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM
The town shall have the power to:
A. Construct, operate and maintain a sanitary 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
and 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. 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 limitations 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 impedes the establishment, construction
or operation of any town sewer or water main shall, upon reasonable
notice, remove or adjust the obstruction 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 power provided
in Section 1202. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions
of this section may be made a misdemeanor and/or a municipal infraction.
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, sinkdrains, 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 and/or a
municipal infraction.
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.
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 by ordinance provide that 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 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. 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.
[Amended 2-26-1988 by Res.
No. 88-1]
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, 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 and 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 be made a misdemeanor
and/or a municipal infraction.
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 may be made
a misdemeanor and/or a municipal infraction.
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 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 30 days, the service may be discontinued. All charges may be
a lien on the property, collectible in the same manner as town taxes
or by suit at law.
The provisions of this article shall not extend to any town
located in a sanitary district or special tax area or district authorized
to discharge the powers provided in this article as to the particular
powers included in the authorization.