[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Two
Rivers Title 5, Ch. 1, of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
City Manager. The Water and Light Plant and the Sewage Disposal Plant
and the Communications Plant shall be operated by the City Manager
in lieu of a commission created pursuant to § 66.0805, Wis.
Stats.
B.
Rates, rules and regulations.
(1)
The Water and Light Plant shall be operated pursuant to this chapter
and rates, rules and regulations on file with and approved by the
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
(2)
The Communications Plant shall be operated pursuant to this chapter
and any applicable orders of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
C.
Operating rules. All persons now receiving water, electric or communications
services from the utility or who may hereafter make application therefor
shall be considered as having agreed to be bound by all applicable
orders, rules and regulations as issued by or filed with the Public
Service Commission of Wisconsin.
D.
Validity. Should any section, clause or provision of this chapter
be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
the same shall not affect the validity of the chapter as a whole or
any part thereof, other than the part so declared to be invalid.
E.
Conflicting provisions repealed. All ordinances in conflict with
any provision of this chapter are hereby repealed.
[Amended 4-2-2018]
Pursuant to the authority granted under §§ 66.0813
and 66.0821(2)(b), Wis. Stats., the City may in the exercise of its
reasonable discretion extend water, sewer, electrical or telecommunications
service to serve persons or places outside the City's corporate
limits. Such discretion shall be exercised pursuant to the adoption
of a resolution by the City Council.
Water and sewer main and lateral extensions may be made upon
petition of 50% of the abutting property owners or when ordered by
the Council. Special assessments to pay the cost thereof shall be
levied pursuant to § 66.0703, Wis. Stats.
A.
Sewer service charge. There is hereby established a sewer service
charge, which shall be levied against all premises now or hereafter
serviced by sanitary sewers if such premises were not subjected to
a special assessment for such sanitary sewers when the same were installed.
B.
Amount. Such sewer service charge shall be the original special assessment
cost of the improvements, plus any indirect costs thereof, including,
but not limited to, the City's carrying costs for financing the
cost of the improvement. Such annual carrying charge shall be in an
amount calculated to increase or decrease with the consumer price
index (CPI).
C.
Payment. Such sewer service charge may be paid in cash or in equal
annual installments upon the same terms provided for payment of special
assessments made against other properties in the same year in which
laterals are installed to such premises. The first installment payment
shall be paid before such premises are connected to the sanitary sewers
adjacent to such premises, and subsequent payments shall be due and
payable at the same time and manner as real estate taxes and other
special assessments are paid.
D.
Application for service. The owner of any premises against which
a sewer service charge is levied pursuant to this section shall make
application for municipal sewer service to the City Treasurer. Such
application shall specify the service desired and shall contain the
legal description of the premises to be serviced. The City Treasurer
shall compute the amount of such service charges and certify the same.
Such certification shall be subject to review and final determination
by the Council upon application by the property owner. The City Treasurer
shall keep an accurate record of the determination and payment of
all such service charges and of the premises against which they are
levied.
E.
Installment payments. If the owner of any premises subject to sewer
service charges shall request the privilege of paying the same in
installments, such owner and spouse, if any, shall execute an agreement
for the payment of the same which shall contain the legal description
of the premises subject to such service charges, and the same shall
be recorded by the City Treasurer in the office of the Register of
Deeds of Manitowoc County and shall be a lien upon such premises until
paid. In default of payment of any installment due pursuant to such
agreement, the City shall have the right to disconnect such premises
from the municipal sewer systems.
F.
Connection without payment prohibited. No person shall connect any
premises against which a sewer service charge is made pursuant to
this section to the municipal sewer systems before such charge is
paid or provided for pursuant to this section.
G.
Application. This section shall not apply to charges or assessments
for unremunerated improvements made to property being annexed to the
City, which shall be governed by § 2-7-14 of this Code.
A.
The owners of any buildings used for human habitation and located
adjacent to a water and sewer main or in a block through which a water
or sewer main extends are required to connect the plumbing facilities
of such buildings to such water and sewer mains. If any person fails
to comply with this section for more than 10 days after notice, in
writing, he shall be guilty of an offense, and the City may cause
such connections to be made and the expense thereof shall be assessed
as a special tax against the property pursuant to § 281.45,
Wis. Stats.
B.
The City Council may extend the time for connection hereunder or
grant other temporary relief where strict enforcement would work an
unnecessary hardship without corresponding public or private benefit.
The City Engineer shall keep a record of all sewer connections
and make maps showing the location of same and position of all house
drains, connections, junctions and other data necessary for efficient
service.
Water service charges shall be as established by the Public
Service Commission.
[Amended 1-15-2018]
A.
Intent and purpose. The City Council finds that it is in the public
interest to establish a comprehensive program for the removal and
replacement of lead or lead-contaminated water services in use within
both the City's water system and in private systems and, to that
end, declares the purposes of this section to be as follows:
(1)
To ensure that the water quality at every tap of utility customers
meets the water quality standards specified under the federal law;
(2)
To reduce the lead in the City's drinking water to meet the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and ideally to a lead
contaminant level of zero in City drinking water for the health of
City ratepayers;
(3)
To meet the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) requirements
for local compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule (see 56 CFR 6460,
40 CFR Parts 141.80 to 141.90 and §§ NR 809.541 to
809.55, Wis. Adm. Code); and
(4)
To eliminate leaks due to pipe material or joint deterioration.
B.
Water system maintenance, repair and reconstruction.
(1)
Inspection required. The Utility Director or duly authorized agent
shall inspect private connections to the public water mains at the
time that the utility system is to be maintained, repaired or reconstructed,
or when deemed appropriate by the Utility Director.
(a)
Any existing private lead water lateral shall be considered
illegal. Other laterals shall also be considered illegal if contaminated
with lead.
(b)
Prior to the actual reconstruction of the water main and lateral
system, each property owner shall be given written notice of the project.
Such notice shall be made not less than 30 days prior to commencement
of the actual work.
(c)
As the reconstruction progresses, the Utility Director or duly
authorized agent shall inspect each private water lateral connection
for the presence of lead. In the event inspection had been made previously,
the Utility Director or duly authorized agent shall determine the
condition of the private water connection from inspection records.
(d)
In the event that the private water lateral does not contain
lead, the City shall reconnect the same to the utility system at an
appropriate point near the right-of-way line.
(e)
In the event that the private water lateral is found to contain
lead, the Utility Director or duly authorized agent shall immediately
notify the owner, in writing, of that fact.
(2)
Owner to replace service. The owner shall, at the owner's expense,
replace the lead water lateral or water lateral contaminated with
lead. In all cases, the City shall supply an appropriate connection
point as part of its work. The owner may elect to:
(a)
Contract with a licensed contractor to complete the repair. Work needed to accomplish the repair shall be done at the expense of the owner. Within 30 days of the giving of notice of deficiency under Subsection B(1)(e) of this section, proof of arrangements for repair shall be provided to the Utility Director or duly authorized agent, and, within 90 days of the giving of notice, the repairs shall be completed.
(b)
Have the City's contractors, if available, complete the
repair.
[1]
The City may, as part of any project, request unit bid prices
for the calculation of the cost of making appropriate repair to the
private building water laterals.
[2]
If available, and should the owner select this option, the owner
will be charged the entire cost of making the repair, except to the
extent a City policy provides an exception to a portion of the costs.
C.
Authority to discontinue service. As an alternative to any other
methods provided for obtaining compliance with the requirements of
this Code regarding replacement of illegal private water laterals,
the utility may, no sooner than 30 days after the giving of written
notice, discontinue water service to such property served by illegal
private water lateral after reasonable notice and an opportunity for
hearing before the City Utilities Committee under Ch. 68, Wis. Stats.