Water rates and regulations will be as established by the State
Public Service Commission and the rates and regulations so ordered
are adopted as the rates and regulations of the Village and incorporated
in this article as part hereof. Any further changes in rates and regulations
ordered from time to time to time by the Public Service Commission
are adopted by the Village and incorporated in this article as a part
hereof.
A. Charges to be lien on real estate. All water services, charges and
special assessments shall be a lien on the lot, part of a lot or real
estate on which service is supplied or available for service. All
charges accrued during the preceding year not paid by October 15 of
the following year shall be certified to the Village Clerk and placed
upon the real estate tax roll for collection as provided by state
statutes.
B. Special assessments. There may be levied from time to time special
assessments against certain properties benefited by public work or
improvements to the Water Utility.
C. Mandatory hookup.
(1) The owner of each parcel of land presently occupied and serviced
or capable of being serviced by such water system shall be hooked
up to the water system within 30 days after notification by the Committee.
If unoccupied, hookup shall be before occupancy. Such mandatory hookup
shall apply to all buildings located within the Village capable of
being served if such property is not served by a private well which
tests safe according to standards of the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources.
(2) The owner of each parcel of land required to hookup under Subsection
C(1) which is not hooked up to such water system shall be subject to a forfeiture for such violation. In addition to such forfeiture, he shall pay the Village Treasurer upon billing therefor an amount equal to 100% of the minimum quarterly charge for water service of the required size to be collected in the event of nonpayment as a special assessment on the real estate tax bill.
D. Maintenance of services. All water services within the Village from
the street main to the curb stop, including all controls between the
same, shall be maintained by the Utility without expense to the property
owner, except when damaged as a result of negligence or carelessness
of the property owner, tenant or owner's agent, where they shall be
repaired at the property owner's expense. All water services from
the point of maintenance by the system to and throughout the premises
shall be maintained free of defective conditions by and at the expense
of the property owner or occupant. If the property owner does not
repair a leak between the curb stop and building within 24 hours,
the water shall be shut off until the repair is made.
E. Use of private wells upon connection to municipal water service.
(1) Restricted. Since it is recognized that the entire private water supply in the Village has the potential for pollution, the building distribution system upon connection to the municipal water system shall be completely severed from the private well. Well owners shall comply with Article
III, Private Wells, of this chapter. Thereafter, such private well shall be restructured to be used only for sprinkling lawns, washing cars and other outside uses not involving human consumption. If such private well does not test safe according to standards of the State Department of Natural Resources, such well shall be permanently sealed and abandoned in accordance with § NR 811.13, Wis. Adm. Code.
(2) Reconnection.
(a)
Once the private water supply has been severed from the municipal
system, there shall be no reconnection of such private supply to the
municipal system.
(b)
After severance of the private well, no cross-connection between
the public and private system will be allowed.
(3) Permit procedure for new wells. New wells will be permitted to be
constructed only under the following conditions:
(a)
Such new well must be located in an area where municipal water
service is not available and cannot readily be made available.
(b)
The new well is constructed in complete conformity with state
and local regulations and codes.
F. Billing and payment.
(1) Billing. Billing for water service shall be on a quarterly basis
with quarters ending March 31, June 30, September 30 and December
31. The property owner is held responsible for all water bills on
the real estate he owns. All water bills and notices relative to water
service shall be addressed to the owner and mailed to the address
of the premises referred to on such bill or notice.
(2) Failure to receive bill no excuse. Reasonable care shall be exercised
in proper delivery of water bills. Failure to receive a water bill
shall not relieve any owner of responsibility for payment of a water
bill within the prescribed period and not exempt any person from any
penalty imposed for delinquency in the payment thereof.
G. Penalty for polluting water or injuring waterworks. No person shall
willfully pollute or otherwise injure any water supplied by the system
in any tunnel, aqueduct, reservoir, pipe, etc.; willfully injure or
cause damage to the system, building, machinery or fixture pertaining
thereto; willfully and without authority of the Water and Sewer Committee
impede or divert the flow of water in any tunnel, aqueduct, pipe,
etc., belonging to such system; or willfully and without authority
of such Committee bore or otherwise cause to leak any tunnel, aqueduct,
reservoir, pipe, etc., used in the system to hold, convey or distribute
water.
H. Damage recovery.
(1) The Utility shall have the right to recover from any person any expense
incurred by such Utility for repair or replacement of any water pipe,
curb cock, gate valve, hydrant or valve box damaged in any manner
by any person by reason of operation of any electrical system, performance
of any work under their control or by negligence.
(2) Owners or operators of motor vehicles shall be liable for the cost
of repair of any hydrant damaged by such vehicle. The Utility or the
Village shall not be responsible for the damage caused to the motor
vehicle by reason of such accident.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article or rules or regulations established by the Village or Water and Sewer Committee relating to the Village water system, any person who shall turn on the water into any premises from which the water has been shut off or has not yet been turned on, any person who shall connect any water main or service pipe without a permit therefor or any person who shall violate any provision of state statutes applicable hereto, Wisconsin Administrative Code or any other provisions which are incorporated by reference shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a penalty as provided in §
1-4 of this Code.