(a) Employees of the city shall have the right to enter upon the property
of utility customers of the city at any time for the purpose of inspecting,
installing, removing, and repairing utility meters of the city and
also for the purpose of reading utility meters on the property of
utility customers to determine the usage of utilities by each customer.
(b) Each utility customer of the city and their agents, employees, and
representatives shall provide employees of the city with free and
open access to their property on which a city utility meter is located
and also free access to the city utility meters on said property for
the purpose of reading the meters to determine the amount of utilities
used on said property and also for any other authorized purpose as
heretofore set out in this section.
(c) Each utility customer of the city and their agents, employees, and
representatives, shall eliminate and prevent all safety hazards on
their property that endanger the personal safety and well being of
any city employee coming on their property for the purpose of reading
the utility meter or other lawful purposes, including safety hazards
from dogs and other animals on the property of the utility customer.
(d) In the event that a safety hazard as heretofore defined exists on
the property of a city utility customer which restricts the city employee
from having free access to the utility meter on said property or if
there is any other restriction that prevents free access to the meter,
then the city employee shall make additional visits as needed to the
property to read the meter or for other lawful purposes, and the utility
customer shall then be charged a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00)
for each additional visit caused by the existence of a safety hazard
or by the existence of any other condition which prevents free access
to the meter.
(Ordinance 1041 adopted 5/10/05)
(a) A formal notice must be given of proposed installation or repair
of any buried lines, and/or cables, upon and along any right-of-way
of city roads. This notice must be in writing and submitted for approval
to the public works director or his designee prior to any work being
performed. Each written request should contain detailed drawings,
and plan specifications, of the proposed utility line, and shall be
submitted in copies of three. Repair work can be done by notification
to the public works director. The city must receive proper location
so final inspections can be made of roadways.
(b) Any brush, trees, and/or debris material will be properly disposed
of by the contractor or property owner and not left in the ditch,
the right-of-way or the road. Rocks which are dug up by a plow, trencher,
tractor or any other equipment must be disposed of properly by the
contractor or property owner. All services to be performed shall not
interfere nor hinder the normal flow of traffic and must follow Texas
Manual Uniform Traffic-Control Devices.
(c) Any damages to the roadway and/or city right-of-way will be repaired
to their original condition and to the satisfaction of the public
works director or his designee. The city will not be responsible for
any damages which occur to buried utility lines within the city roads
or city rights-of-way.
(d) The depth of underground lines shall be as specified herein for each
type of utility. If depth placement is not practical or unusual conditions
exist the department shall specify other protection as may be appropriate
in lieu of the depth of bury required for the particular utility line.
Any and all buried utility lines will be placed at a minimum depth
of 24 inches. A deviation from the specified depth must be requested
in writing and approved by the city public works director or inspector.
(e) High pressure gas and liquid petroleum lines will be constructed
no less than forty-eight (48) inches lower than the lowest part of
the drainage or bar ditch, and the drainage is to be considered at
least two (2) feet below the center of the roadway.
(f) Fiber optic lines will be constructed no less than forty-eight (48)
inches lower than the lowest part of the drainage or bar ditch and
the drainage is to be considered at least two (2) feet below the center
of the roadway.
(g) Communications cables will be constructed no less than thirty-six
(36) inches lower than the lowest part of the drainage or bar ditch
and the drainage is to be considered at least two (2) feet below the
center of the roadway.
(h) Water lines will be constructed no less than thirty-six (36) inches
lower than the lowest part of the drainage or bar ditch and the drainage
is to be considered at least two (2) feet below the center of the
roadway; crossings to be encased.
(i) Underground power line crossings and longitudinal shall be encased
(placed in conduit) and buried a minimum of thirty-six (36) inches
under roadway ditches, and forty-eight (48) inches below the pavement
surface.
(j) Cable television and copper cable communication lines shall have
a minimum depth of cover thirty (30) inches under ditches or twenty-four
(24) inches beneath the bottom of the pavement structure, whichever
is greater.
(k) Utility lines shall be located to avoid or minimize the need for
adjustment of future road improvements and to permit access to the
utility lines for their maintenance with minimum interference to road
traffic. No line or cable shall be buried in the center of the ditch.
All lines must be placed in the back slope, not to interfere with
the drainage in the ditch. Any buried cable shall not be placed on
top, or inside any existing culverts.
(l) In general, underground utility line crossings shall be encased in
the interest of safety, protection of the utility, protection of the
roadway and for access to the utility.
(m) Casings shall consist of a steel pipe or other separate structure
around and outside the carrier line and shall be designed to support
the load of the roadway and imposed loads thereon including that of
construction machinery. The strength of the casing shall equal or
exceed structural requirements for drainage culverts and it shall
be composed of materials of satisfactory durability under conditions
to which it may be subjected.
(n) The utility company shall place a readily identifiable and suitable
marker at each right-of-way line where it is crossed by any high pressure
gas or liquid petroleum line, except where marked by a vent; communication
cables; water line; underground power lines; and/or cable television
and copper cable.
(o) All lines placed under any existing roadway shall be installed by
boring or tunneling, encasing of the line may be required. No trenching
or cutting of the city roads is to be done without notification to
the city. The use of explosives for any excavations on the right-of-way
incident to utility line installation shall not be permitted. During
installation all traffic-control devices (signs, markings, barricades,
cones, etc.) must be used to warn motorists of the construction activity
and shall conform to the Texas Manual Uniform Traffic-Control Devices.
(Ordinance 1096 adopted 8/21/08)
(a) The city agrees to comply with state regulations for treated wastewater
effluent use as mandated through the Texas Commission of Environmental
Quality. If such regulations are violated, the city and/or the lessee
agrees to pay all costs associated with remediation, damage and fines.
(b) All valves will have locked boxes and be labeled nonpotable water
supply. All potable lines will be clearly marked and separated from
reclaimed water lines. The reclaimed water lines shall be purple in
color as mandated in the TCEQ regulations. All underground isolation
valves shall also have cast into the cast iron valve lid, “reuse”
or “NPW.”
(c) Appropriate signs will be posted on all valves, all pumping systems,
and any public access areas (example: do not drink the water, authorized
personnel only).
(d) Metering equipment will document all water delivered to the irrigation
site. This information will be read and recorded monthly by the city.
(e) The city will use signage, sampling and securing of unauthorized
areas (locked valve boxes and pump stations and the lessee will use
as irrigation timing practices (watering after dark, etc.)) to minimize
the risk of inadvertent human exposure.
(f) The city will provide daily inspection of transfer pipeline and irrigation
distribution system to check for pipeline failures and/or pump station
faults. The complete system will be evaluated annually for system
needs and/or repairs. Should the system be in need of repairs or maintenance,
the system will be disabled and all repairs be performed before activation
of effluent pumping begins.
(g) Plant manager will and does maintain all state TCEQ required certifications
to operate wastewater treatment facility.
(h) Should the reclaimed water quality be noncompliant with title 30
TAC chapter 210 of a system failure occur, the city is authorized
to disable the system as to prevent transfer of effluent water. The
system shall not be reactivated until the city is satisfied that water
quality or failure has been brought back into TCEQ required standards.
(Ordinance 1103 adopted 4/2/09)