[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Commissioners of the Town
of Westernport 10-5-2015 as Ch.
284 of the 2015 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The public water system shall be under the immediate supervision
and control, so far as operation is concerned, of a Water Superintendent,
who shall be employed by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
B.
The Water Superintendent shall have charge of all work done on the
water system, and it shall be his duty to see that all extensions,
installations, and repairs in connection with the water mains of the
Town are promptly and properly made, and that all meters are regularly
read and charges made therefor, and that proper records of water furnished
to every taker are made up and returned to the Town Clerk, who shall
prepare and render bills for the same. The Water Superintendent shall
do all things necessary for the proper and efficient operation of
the water system, making from time to time the necessary inspections
of the water system, and shall keep a strict account of all purchases
made for and on behalf of the water system and of all materials used
thereon, and on hand, and shall perform such other services as may
from time to time be required by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
A.
All owners of improved property located within the corporate limits
of the Town of Westernport shall be and are required to connect to
the water system operated and maintained by the Town.
B.
All applications for the introduction of water into any premises
or for the extension of any water pipes shall be made in writing upon
an application form furnished by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport
stating fully all purposes for which water is required and the location
of the premises to be supplied, with a description of all fixtures
and installations. No connection shall be made in any case until the
owner of said premises shall agree in writing to pay all water bills
for water used upon said premises by said owner or its agents, until
such time as the owner shall give notice in writing to the Mayor and
Commissioners of Westernport to discontinue the use of said water
in said premises.
C.
The Town shall do all work required in the tapping of the mains and
shall furnish corporation cocks and boxes and service pipes to the
curbline. A tapping charge or service fee of $1,000 shall be paid
for each house or distinct premises or tenement served with water,
and where service pipes are intended to supply two or more distinct
premises or tenements, they must be provided with separate and distinct
stopcocks for each tenement on the outside of the same, or when only
one stopcock is used, the owner of the real estate shall be responsible
for all charges for water for all parties in said building.
The Town Clerk shall keep a record for each and every premises
or building within and without the corporate limits connected to the
public water system. This record shall show the date of the latest
inspection, the person making the inspection and the charges resulting
therefrom, as well as the record and date of reports of any alterations,
additions, and installations to the water service of every premises
or building.
A.
The rates at which water shall be supplied and any regulations or
fees affecting access and/or usage of the public water system shall
be established by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
B.
A late fee of $20 shall be assessed against individuals that do not
pay in full on or before the date the water bill becomes due. If the
water bill of any individual/entity remains unpaid for 30 days beyond
the date the bill becomes due, the Town of Westernport may discontinue
water service to that individual/entity. Water service shall not be
restored until all arrears, expenses and a fee of $100 have been paid.[1]
C.
Where two or more families occupy the same dwelling, the same not
being an apartment, and share water facilities, each family will be
charged separately for access to and/or usage of the public water
system.
D.
Persons age 65 or older who live alone shall be provided a discount
of $5 per month. This discount shall also apply for households with
persons 65 years or older living with a dependent family member.
A.
A general inspection by the Water Superintendent or any other duly
authorized agent of the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport shall
be made of all premises or buildings requesting access to the public
water system. Said individual carrying out inspections shall be granted
free access at all reasonable times to all parts of the premises so
inspected.
B.
No water taker shall be allowed to supply others except by special
written permission from the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
Hydrants, taps, water closets, urinals, and other fixtures will not
be allowed to be kept running when not in actual use, nor shall any
person allow the water to run from any pipe, hydrant, or spigot at
any time for the purpose of preventing the same or pipes connected
therewith from freezing, but all service pipes and fixtures connected
therewith shall be kept in good repair and protected by the owner
from freezing or other damage, nor shall any pipes be allowed to leak
or any fixture allowed to remain out of order so as to waste water.
The Water Superintendent or other duly authorized agent of the Town
of Westernport shall have free access at all reasonable hours to all
parts of the premises to which water is supplied to make necessary
examinations. The consequences of any violation of any of the preceding
rules set forth in this section will be, at the option of the Mayor
and Commissioners, the stoppage of the supply of water without preliminary
notice and a forfeiture of any advance water payment, and water service
will not be restored except upon payment of all damages and a service
charge of $100 and satisfactory understandings with the party that
no future violations will take place and no future cause of complaint
shall arise.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to supply water by hose or any other means to any individual or corporation who or which has failed to connect to the public water system or who or which has had his or its water shut off by the Town. Violation of this subsection shall result in shutting off the supply of water without preliminary notice and a forfeiture of any advance water payment, and water service will not be restored except upon payment of all damages and a service charge of $100, Additionally, violation of this subsection shall constitute a municipal infraction subject to Chapter 135 of the Code of the Town of Westernport.
[Amended 10-1-2018 by Ord. No. 9-4-2018B]
D.
It shall not be lawful for any person or persons or corporation to use the fire hydrants of the Town of Westernport for the purpose of obtaining water for building uses or any purposes whatever without permission first had and obtained from the Mayor of Westernport or the Water Superintendent. It shall not be lawful for any property holder, plumber, or other person to turn on the water supply after the same has been shut off by the proper authority or cause or permit the same to be turned on in the first instance in or upon any premises without authority or permission of the Mayor and Commissioners or the Water Superintendent first had and obtained. It shall not be lawful for any person to interfere with the free use of any part of the public water system of the Town of Westernport or with any connection or property used in connection therewith, or in any manner maliciously injure, deface, or break any part of the same, or in any way intentionally obstruct the proper service of the public water system. A violation of any of the provisions of this subsection shall constitute a municipal infraction subject to Chapter 135 of the Code of the Town of Westernport.
[Amended 10-1-2018 by Ord. No. 9-4-2018B]
E.
The Mayor and Commissioners are hereby authorized to extend the Town's
water mains beyond the corporate limits to furnish water to any responsible
party or parties whenever in their judgment the revenue from such
supply will justify the expenditure of the cost of laying such extensions.
A charge of $1,000 plus the cost of making a tap or service connection
shall be made for each premises beyond the Town limits connecting
into the water system.
F.
By resolution, the Mayor and Commissioners shall enter into contracts
to furnish responsible water companies outside the corporate limits
with water whenever in their judgment the revenue from such contracts
justifies the cost of making the connections and maintaining that
service. However, no contract shall be made that does not stipulate
that the water company will charge rates equal to or above the rates
then in effect to the people within the corporate limits of Westernport.
All commercial and public users of water shall be required to
have meters installed.
A.
The Mayor and Commissioners may provide for and cause the installation
of water meters in any part or portion of the public water system.
Meters shall be installed at a cost to the consumer. In the event
a consumer ordered to meter fails to comply within 30 days, the water
service to said consumer will be discontinued.
B.
All new water consumers becoming such after the passage of this article
shall be at once metered by the Town which shall charge a tapping
fee of $1,000, which fee shall cover the cost of the meter, including
all necessary pipes, valves and other materials necessary in connection
therewith.
C.
Whenever the Mayor and Commissioners shall decide that it is necessary
or desirable to install for any present or future water consumer a
meter of one inch or more in size, then such meter shall be furnished
and installed by the Town of Westernport at the cost of the water
taker.
D.
All property owners within the corporate limits of Westernport who
have a swimming pool shall be metered upon installation of the pool.
A.
Any person wishing to discontinue the use of water must notify the
Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport in writing by the 25th day
of the preceding month or water rent for service for the next monthly
period will be charged. Water rent for the entire month will be charged
to those applying for service on or before the 15th day of the month
and half the monthly rate for those applying after the 15th day of
the month.
B.
In case of emergency or shortage of water, the Mayor and Commissioners
may, by order, limit and regulate the use of water for certain periods
or for certain purposes or limit or prohibit the use of certain fixtures
or equipment as to them may seem right and proper.
C.
The Mayor and Commissioners may adopt and promulgate such rules and
regulations as may be deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes
of this article in accordance with the provisions of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, the Charter of said Town and other applicable ordinances
and administrative regulations.
All public sewers now owned, or hereafter to be constructed
or acquired, by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport, and all
private sewers connected with or emptying into any public sewer, and
all sewers, public or private, laid in or along any street or public
alley of the Town of Westernport, shall be under the control and management
of the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
A.
The rates at which water shall be supplied and any regulations or
fees affecting access and/or usage of the public sewer system shall
be established by the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
B.
A late fee of $20 shall be assessed against individuals that do not
pay in full on or before the date the sewer bill becomes due. If the
sewer bill of any individual/entity remains unpaid for 30 days beyond
the date the bill becomes due, the Town of Westernport may discontinue
water service to that individual/entity. Water service shall not be
restored until all arrears, expenses and a fee of $100 have been paid.[1]
C.
Where two or more families occupy the same dwelling, the same not
being an apartment, and share water facilities, each family will be
charged separately for access to and/or usage of the public sewer
system.
A.
All owners of improved property located within the corporate limits
of the Town of Westernport shall be and are required to connect to
the sewer system operated and maintained by the Town.
B.
The permission of the Mayor and Commissioners shall first be obtained
prior to making a connection with its sewer system, and that permission
to tap said sewer system shall only be granted upon the payment of
a tapping fee of $250 for each property sewered, and hereafter in
the case of new construction and of new tappage of the sewer system
there shall be a separation of ordinary water drainage from the sanitary
sewage in manner and form as directed by the Mayor and Commissioners
of Westernport.
C.
The sewer system of the Town of Westernport may be made available
to receive and handle sewage created beyond the corporate limits of
the Town of Westernport in the discretion of the Mayor and Commissioners,
provided that said sewage is delivered to the corporate limits, subject
to a surcharge to be determined by the Mayor and Commissioners.[1]
D.
Upon report to the Commissioner of Streets and Public Property of
any needed connection with the public sewers of the Town, the Commissioner
of Streets and Public Property shall take order to serve notice on
the proper person or persons to make the reported needed connection,
said notice to give a reasonable time for the completion of the work,
and any said person or persons failing to make the needed connection
within five days after the expiration of the time set out in the aforesaid
notice shall be subject to fine as per this article.
The Town Clerk shall keep a record for each and every premises
or building within and without the corporate limits connected to the
public sewer system. This record shall show the date of the latest
inspection, the person making the inspection and the charges resulting
therefrom, as well as the record and date of reports of any alterations,
additions, and installations to the sewer service of every premises
or building.
A.
The Commissioner of Streets and Public Property shall from time to
time inspect all premises deemed necessary to ascertain if proper
sewer connections and drainage exist, wherever required, for reasons
of health and sanitation, and shall report to the Mayor and Commissioners
from time to time all additional connections that should be made,
as exigencies arise, as well as all violations of the law that may
come to his knowledge.
B.
Should an inspection by the Commissioner of Streets and Public Property
or any other duly designated agent of the Mayor and Commissioners
of Westernport of any premises sewered into the public sewerage system
show a violation of any provision of this article, the Mayor and Commissioners,
upon 10 days' notice, may discontinue the supplying of water
to said premises and may refuse to accept and take care of sewage
from the property of the owner so in default.[1]
A.
It shall be unlawful to injure, destroy, open, tap or connect with,
or in any manner interfere with the use of any of the public sewers,
except with the permission of the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport.
It shall also be unlawful to injure, break or remove any manhole,
inlet or grate of the public sewers, nor shall any person, persons,
or corporation deposit in any manhole or opening of any sewer garbage,
offal, dead animals, filth, ashes, rocks, petroleum products or any
substance having a tendency to obstruct the flow of or damage the
sewers of the Town of Westernport.
B.
Whenever it shall be determined that sewage of a quality harmful
to the sewerage system is being discharged into said system, the Mayor
and Commissioners of Westernport shall have authority to require that
such harmful sewage be diverted from the system or be treated in a
manner sufficient to render the same harmless. It shall also be unlawful
to discharge any industrial waste into the sewerage system without
first obtaining permission of the Mayor and Commissioners of Westernport
to do so, said Mayor and Commissioners first having investigated the
effect which said industrial waste will have on said sewerage system.
C.
Any person who violates any section of this article, upon conviction
in the Maryland District Court, shall be subject to a fine not to
exceed $100. Each continuing violation of more than one day shall
be considered a separate offense.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Wastes resulting from any processing plant, commercial establishments,
service establishments, or manufacturing or industrial operations,
except the sanitary sewage originating from said places.
Waste from water closets, urinals, lavatories, sinks, bathtubs,
showers, noncommercial garage floor drains, bars, soda fountains,
cuspidors, refrigerator drips, drinking fountains, and stable floor
drains.
Includes mains, sewers, pumping stations, sewage treatment
plant, and any and all other appurtenances common to such systems,
used for the collection, pumping, transportation, treatment and/or
disposal of sewage and industrial waste.
