All connections and water applied for hereunder, and all the water used hereunder, shall be upon the express condition that the Village shall not be liable, nor shall any claim be made against it, for damage or injury caused by reason of the breaking of any main, branches, service pipes, apparatus or appurtenances connected with said water and sewer system or plant, or any part or portion thereof, or for any interruption of the supply by reason of the breakage of machinery, or by reason of stoppage, alteration, extensions or renewals.
A.
The Village and its employees shall have ready access to the premises, places or buildings where meters and valves are located for the purpose of reading, examining, connecting or disconnecting service, testing and repairing the same, and examining and testing the consumption, use and flow of water, and it shall be unlawful for any person or corporations to interfere with, prevent, or obstruct said Village or its duly authorized agent in its duties hereunder. Every consumer of said water shall take the same upon the conditions prescribed in this chapter.
B.
All sewage charges shall be measured and based upon the amount of water purchased from the Village, provided that a user shall be permitted to install, at the user's expense, additional meters so as to measure separately the gallons of water purchased and the gallons of sewage placed into the sewer system, and when so metered, the sewer charge and the water charge shall be separate and shall be based upon the separate metering thereof. All such double-metering installations shall be made to the reasonable requirements of the Village of Forrest Department of Public Works. Determination of the gallons used shall be based upon water meter readings.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 100, General Provisions, Art. I)]
For violation of any of the foregoing rules or for the nonpayment of water bills, the Village reserves the right to turn off the water after twenty-four-hour notice and to forfeit any payments made, and after the water has been turned off from any service pipe on account of nonpayment of water bills, or violation of rules, the same will not be turned on until all delinquent bills and penalties are paid, together with expense of turning off and on such water, no water will be furnished to any person who is indebted to said Village on account of water consumed, material or repairs.
A.
Charges for water shall be a lien upon the premises as provided by statute. Whenever a bill for water and sewer service remains unpaid 45 days after it has been rendered, the Clerk may file with the Recorder of Deeds of Livingston County, a statement of lien claim. This statement shall contain the legal description of the premises served, the amount of the unpaid bill, a notice that the Village claims a lien for this amount as well as for all charges for water served subsequent to the period covered by the bill, and the date when the amount become delinquent.
B.
If the consumer of water whose bill is unpaid is not the owner of the premises, and the Village Clerk has notice of this, then notice shall be mailed to the owner of the premises, if his or her address is known to the Village Clerk, whenever such bill remains unpaid for a period of 30 days after it has been rendered.
C.
The failure of the Clerk to record such lien claim or to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice, shall not affect the right to foreclose the lien for unpaid water bills as mentioned in the following section.
A.
Property subject to a lien for unpaid water charges shall be sold for nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as in the case for the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be by bill in equity in the name of the Village.
B.
The Village Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute such proceedings, in the name of the Village, in any court having jurisdiction over such matters, against any property for which water bill has remained unpaid 30 days after it has been rendered.
C.
The aforementioned lien will extend to and cover an amount in addition to the unpaid water charges represented by amounts expended by the Village for administrative costs, court costs and attorney fees to foreclose the lien.
No owner or plumber shall be permitted to conduct water pipes into any two distinct premises or tenements unless separate and distinct stopcocks shall be placed on the outside of such premises along the sidewalk opposite the same, nor shall any pipe be allowed to cross lots or buildings to adjoining premises.
The right is reserved to suspend the use of lawn fountains and watering systems for lawns and gardens whenever, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, public exigencies require it.
In all cases where one service pipe supplies two or more separate consumers in a building, one meter may be placed at the service connection for either or all of the said consumers, and the water rent, as registered by such meter, shall be charged to and be payable by the owner of such premises or building.
A copy of this chapter, properly certified by the Village Clerk, shall be filed in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Livingston County, Illinois, and shall be deemed notice to all owner of real estate of liability for service supplied to any user of the service of the combined waterworks and sewerage system of said Village on their properties, and it shall be the duty of the Village Clerk and such other officers of the Village to take all action necessary or required by the laws of the State of Illinois thereunto enabling to file all claims for money due to the Village and to prosecute and enforce such claims in the manner, form, and time as permitted by the laws of the State of Illinois.
A.
Whenever it shall be necessary to disconnect service from any water or sewer, the person doing, and the property owner, shall notify the appropriate Village officials at least 24 hours prior to the disconnection, whether the disconnection is made because of demolition, change of plumbing or sewer connection, or for any other reason. It shall be the duty of the owner of the premises to make such disconnection at the owner's sole cost, according to the specification and requirement of the Village of Forrest, including properly capping the water and sewer line so as to maintain the integrity of same, according to the seasonable requirements of the Village of Forrest officials, with the owner paying all expense and furnishing all approved materials necessary therefor, but with the work to be made under the supervision of the Village officials.
B.
Penalty. In the event an owner fails to do same, the appropriate Village officials may do same at the Village cost, and charge same plus administrative and other fees as a lien against the premises and collect same against the owner thereof in the same manner as other liens provided by Chapter 385.
[Amended 6-3-2004 by Ord. No. 427]
The method for computation of rates, service charges, and other penalties and charges established within the "Village Services Billing Policy and Charges" shall be made available to a user within 10 days of receipt of a written request for same. Any disagreement over the method used or in the computations thereof shall be remedied by the Village President within 10 days after notification of a formal written appeal describing the alleged discrepancies. The decision of the Village President will be final.
[Amended 6-3-2004 by Ord. No. 427]
The IEPA or its authorized representative shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records of the Village which are applicable to the Village user charges for the purpose of making an audit, examination, excerpts, and transcripts to insure compliance with the terms of the special and general conditions to any state grant, loan agreement, and rules of any state loan.