All property owned and controlled by the City of Sundown, including its plant, water supply, mains and system and the organization used by said city in furnishing an adequate supply of water to the inhabitants of said city and vicinity, shall hereafter constitute and be known as the city water works.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-1)
(a) 
All water furnished by the city water works to its consumers shall be measured by meters. The size, type and right to own and control all meters installed or used by consumers of its water shall be determined by said city water works, which shall keep all meters owned by it in repair without expense to consumer. When it is impractical to meter water for special occasions or situations, water may be sold and charged for at estimated consumption upon a written permit issued under such conditions as may be prescribed by the city council.
(b) 
Should any meter fail to register correctly the amount of water used by s consumer since the previous reading, the right shall exist, on the part of the city water works to average the month and charge for water on the basis of any three months’ average.
(c) 
Should any consumer feel that his meter is registering improperly, he shall make request in writing to the city water works to have his meter tested. The same shall be tested as quickly as possible and if there is as much as a 2% error in the registering of a meter 1 inch or less, or an error of 3% in a meter larger than 1 inch, there shall be no charge for testing, but in case there is not such an error, the consumer shall pay $1.00 for the said test.
(d) 
Whoever intentionally by any means or devise prevents water from passing through any meter belonging to the city water works or used in connection with the supply of water to any consumer by said city water works to register the amount of water passing through meters, or intentionally prevents a meter from duly registering the quantity of water supplied, or in any way, interferes with its proper action of just registration or without the consent in writing of the superintendent of said city water works intentionally diverts any water from any pipe or pipes of the city water works, or otherwise intentionally uses, or causes to be used, without the consent of the city water works any water produced or distributed by said city water works or any person who retains possession of or refused to deliver any meter or other appliance loaned to hits by the city water works for the purpose of furnishing water through same with intent to defraud said city water works, shall for each such offense be fined as hereinafter provided. The presence at any time on or about any such meter or pipe of any device or pipes resulting in the diversion of water preventing of its free passage and registration by the meter or diverting from the meter as above defined or resulting in the preventing in water reaching the meter, or preventing the just registration of the meter or meters or the taking of any water except through a meter as above set forth shall constitute-prima.-facie evidence of knowledge on the part of the person owning or having custody and control of the room, building, place or premises where such device or pipe is of the existence thereof and knowledge of such existence to the person who would be benefiting by the failure of the water to be properly metered, and shall further constitute prima facie evidence of intention on the part of such person or persons to defraud and shall bring such person prima facie within the scope, meaning and penalties of this article and ordinance.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-2)
(a) 
Under no conditions shall fire hydrants be used for furnishing water except for fire department or sewer department, provided, however, that the water superintendent by and with the consent and approval of the city administrator may grant a special permit in writing to contractors or other engaged in street improvement or other construction work under such regulations as may be prescribed by the city administrator, to use water from not more than one opening on fire hydrants.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, except a member of the fire department or employee of the city, to open or use water from a fire hydrant, or to take off the cap except as hereinbefore provided.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-3; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
Meters shall be read monthly, and the consumer notified in writing, or otherwise and proof of this notice may be made by showing of a statement sent to the last known address of said consumer, of the amount due from him to said city water works, stating is said notice that water bills shall become due and payable at the city hall on the date the bill is rendered. If, within fifteen days after the date of the bill, the amount due is not paid, it will be sufficient notice from the consumer to discontinue service, and service shall be discontinued and not re-established until the full amount due has been paid, plus a additional fee, as provided for in the fee schedule found in the appendix of this code, for turning water back on. If it is deemed necessary by the city water works to remove consumers meter in order to stop the use of water until past due amounts are paid, then in this event the city water works shall make an additional charge, as provided for in the fee schedule found in the appendix of this code, for removing and resetting meter.
(b) 
Where water is cut off from any consumer or from any premises on account of nonpayment for water service furnished, the city water works shall not permit water to be again furnished to the said premises, or to the said consumer at any other premises until the full amount delinquent shall have been paid.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-4)
(a) 
The city water works shall be authorized to furnish water at or inside the city limits to consumers outside the city limits upon such terms, conditions and rates as may from time to time be prescribed by the city council by resolution, except that in no event shall such rates be lower than the schedule of rates charged consumers within the city limits.
(b) 
Nothing in this section of this article or any other ordinance, shall be constructed to compel the city water works to furnish consumers beyond the corporate limits or to continue such supply once begun; and the city water works reserves the right to furnish such customers it deems advisable and at any time wholly or partially to discontinue the supply upon violation of any of the terms of this article had such consumer resided in the city.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-5)
Before any consumer may have water service from the city, he must deposit with the city a reasonable amount as in the opinion of the city may be necessary, except that no deposit shall be for an amount less than as provided for in the fee schedule found in the appendix of this code. Said deposit shall not bear interest, and shall be refunded to the depositor when he shall have discontinued the use of city water and shall have paid all bills and accounts due the city for any account whatever connected with the water service, and shall return the receipt when reclaiming the deposit. If the receipt is lost, he must give security to the city or furnish the city satisfactory evidence of his right to receive the deposit. This deposit is required and made in the nature of a guarantee for the payment of water service accounts, and damages to service connections or meters caused through the neglect, abuses, or failure to properly care for the same by the consumer or his agents, and the said deposit or any part thereof may be applied by the city to the payment of any such account when it becomes past due. This deposit shall not be made nor accepted in the nature of a prepayment, but only as a guarantee. Failure to pay the water bill when due by the consumer is considered notice from consumers to discontinue service and apply so much of the deposit as is necessary for the payment of the then past due account. In case any deposit or any part thereof shall have been applied in payment of past due accounts, no service may be reestablished until the deposit shall have been restored to the full amount required.
(Ordinance 454, sec. I, adopted 9/25/06)
All property owners, their agents and tenants shall be held responsible as consumers for loss of water, due to leakage in pipe or plumbing inside the discharge side of the meter or on said property, and if this water is not paid for according to the rates then in effect, when it becomes due, the water shall be cut off by the city water works and not turned on again until all claims are paid or adjusted to the satisfaction of the city water works. In the event of any change in tenant, or consumers, in rented property, and there exists, at the time, arrearages for past leakage, the landlord and property owner shall be held to account for payment for this leakage, before service will be extended and water furnished, to the second tenant.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-7)
(a) 
No plumber, or any other person, shall turn on or off water from the street stopcock without a written permit first obtained from the city water superintendent, except only in case of repairs.
(b) 
No consumer shall supply water to other persons or to other families or suffer them to take it, except for use on the premises, without the permission of the city water superintendent.
(c) 
After water is introduced into a building or upon any premises, the same shall not be extended by any plumber or any other person to any other premises for additional fixtures.
(d) 
Every person taking water from the city water works shall at all reasonable times permit the superintendent or his agents, to enter the premises and building for examination of pipes and fixtures, and the manner in which the water is used, and refusal by any consumer shall result in refusal of water supply from the city water works until such permission be granted.
(e) 
The city water works reserves the right to make all repairs and renewals of service pipes from main to curb and it shall be unlawful for any other person, or persons, to repair or renew service pipes from main to curb.
(f) 
The right is reserved by the city water works to temporarily discontinue and to re-connect without notice water supply to all consumers for the purpose of making repairs, connections extensions and cleaning of mains, machinery, reservoir or any part of said city water works.
Any consumer desiring to discontinue the use of water shall give notice in writing to the office of the city clerk on or before the date on which he will discontinue to use the same and he shall be liable for the use of water until such notice is given.
(g) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to install, alter or change any water or sewer line without securing a permit therefore from the city plumbing inspector or other official designated by the city council to inspect and supervise the installation of water and sewer lines. A permit shall be issued by such official provided such official finds that the plans submitted by the owner or person in charge of the premises for such installation and or alteration of lines are in compliance with the ordinances of the City of Sundown and the laws of the State of Texas. All such installations shall be subject to supervision, inspection and approval by the city plumbing inspector or other designated official who shall disapprove and not permit the use of any installation of water and or sewer lines which may constitute an unsanitary condition or shall constitute any condition detrimental to public health or safety.
(h) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to turn on city water services to any building or premises without authority to do so from the city water superintendent.
(i) 
It shall be unlawful for any person in any manner to deface the houses, walls, machinery or fixtures connected with or pertaining to the city water works and its system.
(j) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to individually, or/in association with others, willfully break, injure or tamper with any part of the water works system of the city for any purpose whatsoever, or in any other manner maliciously to interfere with or prevent the running and operation of such system and the water supply therein.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-8)
Each owner or person having control of, or in charge of any residential or business building or structure in the city, which is now supplied or shall hereafter be supplied with water and or sewer services by the city, shall be and is hereby required to install a separate water line and a separate sewer line to connect each such building or structure so furnished with water and or sewer services with the city's main lines in the street or alley adjacent to such premises. Each separate water line shall be installed in a manner to permit the city to install a separate water meter for each such building or structure for which water is supplied by the city. In this section the definition of a residential building or structure includes a recreational vehicle, mobile home, or HUD-code manufactured home.
(1986 Municipal Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Section 8-1-9; Ordinance 592 adopted 6/13/2023)