[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Beverly as Art. XXX of the Code of Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 5-20-2024 by Ord. No. 046]
The City Engineer, in addition to having charge of all engineering, shall, under the jurisdiction of the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works, have the general charge and supervision of the water distributing plant and pipes and all the property of the City pertaining thereto, shall maintain the same in good condition, shall use and operate the same, and shall exercise a general supervision over all the water business of the City, and shall lay and maintain all pipes, conduits and other fixtures and appliances necessary for distributing water to the inhabitants of the City.
In all cases where meters are furnished and attached, the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works shall record, in a book kept for the purpose, the style, size and number of each meter, date when purchased, location, date when set, reading at such date, a detailed statement of test and percentage of error shown and the reading and date when reset, as well as a description of all defects and repairs of such meters.
The Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works shall repair all leaks and breaks from any cause in the main pipes, hydrants, gates or services attached to the distributing plant; and when in the performance of these repairs, or for any other purpose, it becomes necessary to shut off the water from any pipe, the Director shall duly notify all takers thus to be deprived of water, except in cases of emergency; and shall sufficiently repair all injuries to any street, sidewalk, highway or other public property caused by the distributing plant. The Director shall keep a detailed record of the height of water in the reservoir and sources of supply of the City.
[Amended 5-20-2024 by Ord. No. 046]
The Director of Municipal Finance shall have the power to prescribe such water and sewer rates as may be approved by the City Council, subject to such changes as the City Council may from time to time adopt. The Director of Municipal Finance shall commit all bills for water and sewer rates and the use of water to the Collector of Taxes for collection.
All City water used by private contractors under City contract shall be charged for and the regular schedule of rates for the same collected in the manner provided in this chapter. The payment therefor by each contractor shall be provided for in the specifications of each contract.
[Amended 4-4-2002 by Ord. No. 98]
A. 
Authority. This section is adopted by the City of Beverly under its police powers to protect public health and welfare and its powers under MGL c. 40, § 21 et seq., and implements the City of Beverly's authority to regulate water use pursuant to MGL c. 41, § 69B. This section also implements the City of Beverly's authority under MGL c. 40, § 41A.
B. 
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect, preserve and maintain the public health, safety and welfare whenever there is in force a state of water supply conservation or state of water supply emergency by providing for enforcement of any duly imposed restrictions, requirements, provisions or conditions imposed by the City of Beverly.
C. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, trust, partnership or association, or other entity.
STATE OF WATER SUPPLY CONSERVATION
A state of water supply conservation declared by the City of Beverly pursuant to Subsection D of this section.
STATE OF WATER SUPPLY EMERGENCY
A state of water supply emergency declared by the Department of Environmental Protection under MGL c. 21G, §§ 15 through 17.
WATER USERS or WATER CONSUMERS
All public and private users of the City of Beverly's public water system, irrespective of any person's responsibility for billing purposes for water used at any particular facility.
D. 
Declaration of a state of water supply conservation. The Mayor, acting through the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works, may declare a state of water supply conservation upon a determination by said Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works that a shortage of water exists and that conservation measures are appropriate to ensure an adequate supply of water to all water consumers. Public notice of a state of water supply conservation shall be given pursuant to Subsection F of this section before it may be enforced.
E. 
Restricted water uses. A declaration of a state of water supply conservation may include one or more of the following restrictions, conditions, or requirements limiting the use of water, as well as any other restriction, condition or requirement that the City of Beverly determines to be necessary to protect the water supply. The applicable restrictions, conditions or requirements shall be included in the public notice required hereunder.
(1) 
Odd/Even day outdoor watering. Outdoor water use, whether by hose or automatic sprinklers, by water users with odd-numbered addresses is restricted to Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Outdoor watering by water users with even-numbered addresses is restricted to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. There shall be no outdoor watering on Sunday.
(2) 
Outdoor watering ban. All outdoor water use is prohibited.
(3) 
Outdoor watering hours. Outdoor water use, whether by hose or automatic sprinklers, is permitted only during daily periods of low demand, to be specified in the declaration of a state of water supply conservation and public notice thereof.
(4) 
Filling swimming pools. Filling of swimming pools is prohibited.
(5) 
Automatic sprinkler use. The use of automatic sprinkler systems is prohibited.
F. 
Public notification of a state of water supply conservation; notice to DEP. Notification of any provision, restriction, requirement or condition imposed by the City of Beverly as part of a state of water supply conservation shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City of Beverly, or by such other means reasonably calculated to reach and inform all users of water of the state of water supply conservation. Any restriction imposed under Subsection E shall not be effective until such notification is provided. Notification of the state of water supply conservation shall also be simultaneously provided to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
G. 
Termination of a state of water supply conservation; notice. The Mayor, acting through the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works, may terminate a state of water supply conservation upon a determination by the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works that the water supply shortage no longer exists. Public notification of the termination of a state of water supply conservation shall be given in the same manner required hereunder.
H. 
State of water supply emergency; compliance with DEP orders. Upon notification to the public that a declaration of a state of water supply emergency has been issued by the Department of Environmental Protection, no person shall violate any provision, restriction, requirement, or condition of any order approved or issued by the Department intended to bring about an end to the state of emergency.
I. 
Enforcement. The Commissioner of Public Services, the Director of Municipal Inspections, the Fire Chief and the Chief of Police, or their designees, shall be authorized to issue citations for violations of this section.
J. 
Violations and penalties. Any person violating this section shall be liable to the City of Beverly in the amount of $50 for the first violation and $100 for each subsequent violation. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
The Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works shall, as often as twice in each year, cause the premises of every person taking water to be visited, and the water meter therein to be examined by a properly qualified inspector, and shall exercise a constant supervision over the use of water.
The Director of Municipal Inspections shall cause the entrance of all water pipes hereafter laid to any building in the City to be at least 10 feet distant horizontally for its entire length from any house sewer line or a distance of at least 18 inches above such house sewer line.
When a water pipe is laid in any public or private street or way of the City, the City Council shall assess upon owners of estates abutting on such street or way the cost thereof, based upon the estimated average cost of the water pipes in the water supply system adopted by the City by the following fixed uniform rate: $1 per foot of frontage which such estates have upon any street or way where a water pipe is constructed and $0.01 per square foot of area which such estates contain within 100 feet from such street or way. Such assessments shall be ascertained, assessed and certified by the City Council, to the Board of Assessors for assessment, and notice thereof shall be given to the party to be charged or his tenant or lessee.
When estates abut upon more than one street or way, assessment for water pipes based upon frontage shall be assessed upon the frontage of one such street or way, and upon so much of such other street or streets as is not exempted by the City Council. The City Council may exempt from assessment so much of the frontage on such other street or streets as it deems just and equitable.
If any water pipes are laid in a public or private way or land at the total expense of the owner thereof, his land shall not be assessed for such water pipes, except for the cost of connecting it with water pipes already established. The pipes thus laid become public and available for use by future residents.
[Amended 1-26-1993 by Ord. No. 67]
A. 
All meters two inches in size and larger shall be tested at the following frequencies:
Meter Size
(inches)
Testing Frequency
(years)
2 to 3
5
4 to 6
3
Above 6
1
B. 
The users of large meters shall pay for the actual cost of testing plus a fifteen-percent charge for overhead costs. Any meters found to be more than 3% in error shall be repaired or replaced. The actual cost of repairing or replacing the meter shall be paid for by the user of the meter. A fifteen-percent charge shall be added to this cost for overhead.
C. 
Demand charge. The Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works is hereby authorized to collect a one-time demand charge from all newly constructed and newly created residential, commercial, and industrial units, including new residential condominium, commercial and industrial units within existing buildings, according to the schedule of charges appearing below. The purpose of such demand charge is to fund a portion of the cost of supplying sufficient water at adequate pressure to meet the increasing demands for water by the cumulative effect of new residential, commercial, and industrial units being supplied with water. Such demand charge shall be separate and distinct from the application for water permit fee and shall be paid after approval of the application for water but prior to the initiation of water service and issuance of the building permit.
Water Demand Fee
Schedule of Charges
[Added 6-6-2016 by Ord. No. 101]
Pipe Size at Building
(inches)
Cubic Inches/Foot
Domestic Use
Fire Suppression
1
9.43
$2,500
$2,000
1 1/4
14.7
$4,677
$3,118
1 1/2
21.2
$6,744
$4,496
2
37.7
$11,994
$7,996
4
150.8
$47,975
$31,983
6 to 8
339.3 to 603.2
$149,920
$99,947
10 to 12
942.5 to 1,357.2
$365,806
$243,870.50
[Amended 10-17-1988 by Ord. No. 412]
Fees shall be collected by the Public Services Department for the following water meter services:
A. 
Seasonal removal and resetting of water meters, for each removal or resetting.
B. 
Repair of frozen meters due to the negligence of the owner or occupant of the property: price of meter, plus labor to remove and install.
C. 
Meter tests if the meter is found to be working and measuring correctly, per test.
[Amended 2-21-1989 by Ord. No. 108B]
The Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works is hereby authorized to collect a fee for each fire flow test on hydrants within the City, to be charged to the person or entity so requesting such fire flow test.