[CC 1985 § 30-131; Ord. No. 7482 § 1, 8-18-2003]
There is established a City of Marshall Water Conservation Plan.
[CC 1985 § 30-132; Ord. No. 7482 § 2, 8-18-2003]
It is declared that, while water is a renewable resource, it
is a finite one; that the general welfare requires that the water
resources available to the City be put to the maximum beneficial use
to the extent to which they are capable; and that the waste or unreasonable
use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that
the conservation of such waters is to be exercised with a view to
the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interests of the
people of the City of Marshall and for the public welfare.
[CC 1985 § 30-133; Ord. No. 7482 § 3, 8-18-2003]
The purpose of this Chapter is to provide a mandatory water
conservation plan to minimize the effect of a shortage of water to
the citizens of the City and, by means of this Chapter, to adopt provisions
that will significantly reduce the consumption of water over an extended
period of time, thereby extending the available water required for
the citizens of the City, to protect basic human health, safety and
quality of life, to share the impacts caused by a water shortage in
accord with the severity of the water shortage, and to minimize the
hardship to the City and the general public to the greatest extent
possible.
[CC 1985 § 30-134; Ord. No. 7482 § 4, 8-18-2003]
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all potable water
retail and wholesale customers and property served by MMU wherever
situated and shall also apply to all property and facilities owned,
maintained, operated or under the jurisdiction of the various officers,
boards, departments or agencies of the City. Wholesale water customers
are required by contract to implement and enforce conservation measures
as necessary to reduce their consumption in a comparable ratio to
the reduction by retail customers.
[CC 1985 § 30-135; Ord. No. 7482 § 5, 8-18-2003]
The plan would become effective upon a determination by the
Board of Public Works that a probable water shortage problem exists.
When it can be anticipated that there is a probable water shortage,
this plan will be implemented until it is determined that a shortage
no longer exists. The General Manager shall monitor and evaluate the
projected supply and demand for water monthly and the extent of the
conservation required by the customers of MMU in order for MMU to
prudently plan for and supply water to its customers. The General
Manager shall notify and recommend to the Board of Public Works the
appropriate stage of water conservation to be implemented. Depending
on the severity of the shortage of water, State One, Stage Two or
Stage Three may be implemented. Such stage implementation shall be
made by Board of Public Works resolution. The resolution and the prohibited
use provisions shall become effective and operable immediately upon
publication in a daily newspaper of general circulation.
[CC 1985 § 30-136; Ord. No. 7482 § 6, 8-18-2003]
A.
Stage One (Voluntary).
1.
Request voluntary conservation effort and compliance
with the following restrictions:
a.
No washing of sidewalks, driveways, parking areas,
tennis courts, patios, or other paved areas. No use of potable water
for any purpose that results in overspray, flooding or runoff onto
hardscape, driveways, streets, adjacent lands or into gutters.
b.
No refilling of swimming pools.
c.
No washing of cars, other motor vehicles, trailers
or boats, except from hand-held buckets. Exceptions: the use of wash
water which the health, safety and welfare of the public is contingent
upon frequent vehicle cleaning, such as garbage trucks and vehicles
which transport food and perishables.
d.
No potable water to be used for dust control.
e.
No use of water from any fire hydrant except for
fighting fires, or as necessary to preserve the public health and
safety or for essential government services such as police, fire,
and other similar emergency services.
f.
No watering of any lawn, garden, trees, or other
plants between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., except from
a handheld container. Irrigation using recycled water is exempt from
this limitation but must be clearly posted.
g.
No water shall be used to clean, fill or maintain
levels in decorative ponds, fountains or similar structures unless
such water is part of a recirculation system or unless such water
is recycled water, which must be clearly posted.
h.
Hotels and motels are to post notices of water
shortage conditions urging guests to conserve water.
i.
No customer shall permit water to leak from any
facility on his premises; failure to effect the repair of any leak,
within forty-eight hours after the customer is notified of or discovers
the leak, shall subject said customer to all penalties provided herein
for waste of water.
j.
No restaurant, hotel, cafe, cafeteria or other
public place where food is sold, served or offered for sale, shall
serve drinking water to any customer unless expressly requested by
the customer.
k.
Commercial and industrial users to reduce usage
to the maximum extent reasonably possible.
2.
If, after the initiation of Stage One, weather
conditions, expected trends in demand, or other factors indicate that
the water shortage will continue, Stage Two may be implemented.
B.
Stage Two (Mandatory). Stage One restrictions would become
mandatory. If, after initiation of Stage Two, it appears that the
water shortage will continue or worsen, Stage Three may be implemented.
C.
Stage Three (Mandatory). All restrictions in Stage One
will continue to be mandatory, plus it will be mandatory that commercial
and industrial users implement water recycling, delay routine washing
of equipment and facilities, change to processes requiring less water,
and implement such other feasible water conservation measures.
[CC 1985 § 30-137; Ord. No. 7482 § 7, 8-18-2003]
With respect to the mandatory provisions of this plan, a customer
shall be deemed to have been notified and directed to reduce the use
of water as set forth in the plan when the General Manager of Marshall
Municipal Utilities or his designated representative posts such notice
through the news media, except nothing contained herein shall be deemed
to prohibit other means to notify persons of the need to reduce use
of water in accordance with the plan. Notification of the implementation
of this Water Conservation Plan may be made to water customers through
messages on or enclosed with the utility bills.
[CC 1985 § 30-138; Ord. No. 7482 § 8, 8-18-2003]
All persons who receive Municipal Utilities water service shall
be entitled to receive such water service only upon strict compliance
with provisions of the Plan.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate the mandatory
provisions of the Plan when such person is directed to reduce or curtail
their use of water as set forth in Stage Two or Stage Three of the
Plan. A directive to reduce or curtail use of water shall be presumed
when notice is given as set forth in the Plan.
[CC 1985 § 30-139; Ord. No. 7482 § 9, 8-18-2003]
A.
Penalties.
1.
It's unlawful for any customer of MMU to
fail to comply with any of the provisions of this plan. The penalties
set forth in this Section shall be additional to those penalties provided
in any other section of this Code. The penalties for failure to comply
with any of the provisions of this plan shall be as follows:
2.
Any person who is reasonably believed by the General
Manager of Marshall Municipal Utilities or his/her designated representative
to be violating any of the mandatory provisions of the Plan pertaining
to conservation and reduction of water use, shall be first notified
of the mandatory requirements of the Plan. If such violation is repeated
or continues, an assembly may be installed to restrict flow of water,
or the water service may be terminated. The flow-restricting device
shall be based upon the size of the meter. The charge for the installation
shall be the actual cost of installation, but shall not be less than
forty dollars ($40.00). The flow-restricting device may be removed
upon a determination by the Board of Public Works that a shortage
no longer exists, or upon written assurance of compliance with the
provisions of this Plan. The charge for removal of the flow-restricting
device and restoration of normal service shall be twenty-five dollars
if restoration of normal service is performed during regular working
hours on regular working days. If removal of the flow-restricting
device and restoration of normal service is requested by the customer
to be made after regular working hours, on holidays or weekends, the
restoration service charge shall be fifty dollars ($50.00).
B.
Reduction In Water Supplied. If any customer fails to comply
with any provision of this Section, MMU may reduce the amount of water
provided to that customer to the level which that customer would be
using said water if he or she were complying with the provisions of
this Section. The provisions of this Subsection shall be applied in
lieu of, or in addition to, any other penalties provided in this Section,
in the discretion of MMU, and shall be applied without regard to the
status or nature of the customer's service.
C.
Redress. Any person aggrieved by the enforcement of the
requirements of this Plan may appeal to the Board of Public Works.
