All property situated within the City of Chicopee shall be eligible
to receive water service from the City upon compliance with this chapter.
The timing and methods for extending or providing service shall be
at the Superintendent's sole discretion. Eligibility for water service
outside of the City shall be conditioned upon the Superintendent's
approval and compliance with this chapter.
The Superintendent shall act as registrar and shall keep all required records and books and shall make such reports to the Commission as detailed in Chapter
16 of the Ordinances of City of Chicopee. He shall file with the City Collector and City Auditor on the first day of each month a list of water commitments which are payable on those days, and on the first day of each month he shall file with the City Collector and City Auditor a statement of all water commitments and other claims which may have become due to the City during the preceding month in this Department. Whenever any bill is abated or changed by the Commissioner, a certificate of such abatement or change, signed by the Superintendent, shall be delivered to the City Collector and City Auditor and shall become his voucher for the amount therein stated.
The City owns all public water mains, transmission mains, hydrants,
valves, and associated appurtenances located within public ways, City-owned
easements, whether recorded or by prescription, and private ways open
to public travel within the City unless otherwise specified in writing
by the Superintendent (with a copy provided to the owner). The City
also owns all water service pipes from public water mains located
within public ways, all easements, whether recorded or by prescription
and private ways open to public travel within the City to an owner's
property line, except where a building, foundation wall, retaining
wall, stairs, areaways or other subterranean structures are located
on the property line, in which case the City owns the water service
pipe to a distance of 18 inches outside the property line.
The Superintendent shall control the use of all public water
mains in the City, except for certain water mains of adjacent communities
that are interconnected with the City water system. No person shall,
without prior written authorization from the Superintendent, uncover,
make any connections with or opening into, alter, or disturb a public
water main. No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently
break damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure,
appurtenance or equipment which is part of the City's water distribution
system.
All private water mains in the City that convey water from public
water mains owned by the City shall be controlled by the City, but
shall be constructed, installed, repaired, operated and maintained
by their owners at the owner's expense. The Superintendent may direct
the owner to repair or replace a private water main, if in the judgment
of the Superintendent such action will reduce the quantity of water
lost through leaks from that main or where such leaks may jeopardize
the operation of the public water system. Repairs to private water
mains shall be made by and at the expense of the owner. The Superintendent
shall inspect and approve the connection of the private water main
to the City's public water main. Ownership of the curbstop shutoff
valve and meter within and connected to a private water main is the
property of the City and shall not be tampered with, removed, repaired,
replaced, disturbed or manipulated in any way except by the City Water
Department.
An applicant may propose an extension, replacement or relocation
of public water mains to serve new or rehabilitated buildings. All
proposed extensions, replacements or relocations, including any tests,
studies, investigations and inspections required for design, shall
be designed and constructed in accordance with the City's Design Criteria,
and subject to the approval of the Superintendent. All expenses, including
all engineering, legal, permitting, construction, and inspection expenses,
involved in applying for and constructing an extension, replacement
or relocation shall be borne by the applicant.
A. Bonding and approval of contractors. Contractors must post a bond
in a form satisfactory to the City and in an amount and for a period
of time that the Superintendent deems sufficient to guarantee construction
quality and operating performance. Bonding is required before work
commences on any public water main extension, replacement or relocation
by contractors working for the City or an owner on City-owned property
or easements.
B. Release agreement. After approval of a proposed extension, replacement
or relocation of a water main and after the attendant construction
has been approved by the Superintendent, the applicant shall transfer
ownership of the extended, replaced or relocated water main to the
City through a release agreement in a form prescribed by the Superintendent.
The release agreement shall be accompanied by as-built plans for the
extended, replaced or relocated water main and any other information
required by the Superintendent. Until such time as the release agreement
is signed by the Superintendent, the extended, replaced or relocated
water main shall be considered to be privately owned by the applicant
and shall be subject to the requirements pertaining to private water
mains contained in this chapter.
C. Denial or modification of proposal. The Superintendent may deny the
request of an applicant to extend, replace or relocate a public water
main if the Superintendent determines that the proposed work does
not conform to the City's Design Criteria or the Superintendent determines
that the work will adversely affect its system or that of existing
users. The Superintendent may condition approval of a request to extend,
replace or relocate. Among other things, the Superintendent may require
that an applicant who proposes to extend, replace or relocate a public
water main make certain improvements or modifications to the existing
system.
D. Water main replacement. If an applicant requests new water service
pipe or fire pipe which, in the judgment of the Superintendent, will
impose a demand in excess of the capacity of the existing main, it
may be necessary to replace the existing main with one of appropriate
size. The applicant shall pay the full cost thereof, including any
tests, studies, investigations and inspections required for design
and construction.
E. Major development project reviews. When the Superintendent must utilize
outside professional engineering and legal reviews for major development
projects, the applicant shall pay for such reviews.