[Adopted 5-19-1999 by Ord. No. 519]
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise,
the meaning of the terms and phrases used in this article shall be
as follows:
The Tamaqua Area Water Authority, a Pennsylvania municipality
authority.
The Borough of Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania,
a political subdivision, acting by and through its Borough Council
or, in appropriate cases, by and through its authorized representatives.
Any property located within this Borough upon which there
is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation,
occupancy or use by human beings or animals to which structure shall
be connected to the Public Water System.
The person, custodian, guardian, trustee, caretaker, executor,
administrator in whose name the deed for a property is designated.
An individual, partnership, company, corporation, association,
corporate political body, joint ownership or any other entity capable
of functioning in the context used herein.
The property, building, or other site to which water service
is furnished, including:
A building under one roof, owned or leased by one person, occupied
as one residence or business;
Each combination of buildings owned or leased by one person,
served by one service line, and occupied by one family or business;
Each side of a double unit or each housing unit;
Each apartment, condominium, manufactured housing, mobile home,
office, or suite of offices located in a building having several such
apartments, offices, or suites of offices and using in common one
or more means of entrance; or
Such other situations as the Authority shall deem proper and
advisable.
The provision by the Authority of water as a commodity of
readiness to provide water for any purposes and of any services related
thereto.
The Authority's water supply and distribution facilities
taken as a whole or any portion thereof, situate in or adjacent to
this Borough and owned, maintained and operated by the Authority.
A.
The owner of any improved property which is located within the corporate
limits of the Borough of Tamaqua, except any improved property which
constitutes an industrial establishment which has its own supply of
water for use other than human and/or agricultural use or consumption,
and excepting any improved property which as of the effective date
of this article is being served by a private water source, and whose
principal building or structure is within 150 feet of the public water
system shall connect such improved property with and shall use such
public water system in such manner as the Borough and/or Authority
may require, within 60 days after notice to such owner from the Borough
to make such connection; subject to such limitations and restrictions
as may be established herein or otherwise shall be established by
the Borough and/or Authority. If the Borough and/or the Authority
determines that it cannot reasonably make the connection to such improved
property and/or cannot provide adequate water pressure, the Borough
and/or the Authority shall exempt such property from the requirement
to use the public water system.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee, or occupier of any improved property in the Borough to employ any means of cross-connecting any other water source to the public water system, including service lines and house plumbing served by these services. Private water sources, including wells, may be continued to be used by the owner of the improved property so long as the private water source is not used for domestic purposes (including use for drinking water), agricultural purposes, or interconnected to the public water system. This provision limiting the use of private water sources shall not apply to owners of improved property whose principal building and/or structure is not within 150 feet of the public water system or whose improved property is exempted from the requirement to use the public water system pursuant to the provision of Subsection A.
C.
The owner or owners of the aforementioned improved property identified in Subsection A hereof shall permit the Borough and/or Authority's designated inspector full and complete access to all water system facilities in each building and in and about all parts of the property for the purposes of inspecting said facilities.
D.
The notice by this Borough to each owner of improved property to make connection to the public water system referred to in Subsection A, shall consist of a copy of this article, including any amendments at the time in effect, and a written or printed document requiring such connection in accordance with the provision of this article and specifying that such connection shall be made within 60 days from the date such notice is given. Such notice may be given at any time after the public water system is in place which will provide potable water to the particular improved property in accordance with Subsection A. Such notice shall be served upon the owner of such improved property either by personal service or by registered mail, return receipt requested.
E.
All service connections shall be made by each owner of the improved
property pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Authority.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to pay
a fine of not more than $500, together with the costs of prosecution
in each case. Each day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
It is hereby declared that the enactment of this article is
necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Borough of Tamaqua.
