The mayor and the city attorney, and each of them, are hereby authorized to enforce the provisions of this article by any one or more of the enforcement mechanisms set forth in this article.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(A), adopted 9/14/98)
The inspectors, agents or representatives of the city charged with enforcement of this article shall be deemed to be performing a governmental function for the benefit of the general public, and neither the city, the mayor nor the individual inspector, agent, or representative of the city engaged in inspection or enforcement activities under this article, when acting in good faith and without malice, shall ever be held liable for any loss or damage, whether real or asserted, caused or alleged to have been caused as a result of the performance of such governmental function.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(B), adopted 9/14/98)
As a condition of the city providing water service, directly or indirectly, to property, whether within or outside the corporate limits, and as a condition of connection to the public potable water system by customers under this article, any authorized officer or employee of the city may enter, inspect, monitor or conduct enforcement activities with respect to any part of the public or private potable water system servicing such premises, shall have a right to enter without delay to, upon, or through any premises to gain access to a cross-connection, backflow prevention assembly or piping, and, without limitation, may inspect any customer’s potable water system or piping or records pertinent thereto, required under this article and/or the cross-connection control ordinance, rules or regulations of any governmental entity with whom the city may have an interlocal agreement for the provision of wholesale water services. This right of entry shall extend to public streets, easements, and private property within which any portion of the public or private potable water system servicing such premises may be located.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(C), adopted 9/14/98)
The customer connected to the public potable water system shall make all necessary arrangements, at its sole expense, to remove without delay security barriers or other obstacles to access by the mayor.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(D), adopted 9/14/98)
If the mayor has been refused access to a building, structure, or property or any private potable system connected to the public potable water system and if the mayor has demonstrated probable cause to believe that [there exists] a violation of this article, a plumbing permit, or other order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall health, safety, and welfare of the community, then, upon application by the mayor, a judge of the municipal court shall issue a search and/or seizure warrant describing therein the specific location subject to search and the property or items subject to seizure. Such warrant shall be served at reasonable hours in the company of a uniformed police officer. In the event of an emergency affecting public health and safety, such inspection shall be made without the necessity of a warrant.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(F), adopted 9/14/98)
Whenever the mayor determines that any person has violated or is violating this article, the conditions of registration as a certified technician, a plumbing permit, installation requirements of a backflow prevention assembly under this article, or any other cross-connection protection requirement, the mayor may, but shall not be required to, serve upon said person a written NOV describing the violation and the action required to correct the same. Such NOV shall inform the recipient that, within five (5) calendar days of receipt thereof, the person receiving the same shall provide to the mayor an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific actions for correction of the violation; provided, however that:
(1) 
Submission of the proposed corrective plan shall in no form or manner relieve the user of criminal or civil liability for violations of this article whether before or after receipt of the NOV; and
(2) 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the mayor to pursue any other enforcement action or remedy, including, without limitation, such emergency actions the mayor determines to be necessary, without first issuing a NOV.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(G), adopted 9/14/98)
A person who violates any provision of this article is violating a city ordinance that governs health and sanitation and shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor for each day or portion thereof during which the violation is continued. Each such offense is punishable by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(H), adopted 9/14/98)
The city attorney is hereby authorized to enforce this article by civil court actions in accordance with the procedures therefor provided by state or federal law, including, without limitation, actions for injunction, damages, declaratory relief or other remedies that the city attorney shall deem appropriate to pursue.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(J), adopted 9/14/98)
(a) 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, if a person has received actual notice of the provisions of this article, and after the person received notice of the provisions of this article such person committed or continued acts in violation of this article or failed to take action necessary for compliance with this article, the city attorney any initiate a suit against the owner, occupant, or manager of premises that are in violation of this article, to recover a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per day for each such violation. Each day or fractional part thereof that such noncompliance continues shall constitute a separate violation for which civil penalties shall accrue under this article. Water service may be discontinued if violations are not corrected within five (5) days of notification by the mayor.
(b) 
A suit for civil penalties hereunder shall not prevent nor be a prerequisite for taking any other action against a person in violation of this article. Such suit may also include therein a request for such other and further relief as the city attorney shall deem advisable, including, without limitation, an action for injunction or claim for damages to recover for expenses, loss, or damage to city property occasioned by reason of such violation.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(K), adopted 9/14/98)
All remedies authorized under this article are cumulative of all others unless otherwise expressly provided. Accordingly, the filing of a criminal action shall not preclude the pursuit of a civil or administrative action for violation of this article nor shall the filing of a civil action preclude the pursuit of any other action or remedy, administrative or criminal.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(L), adopted 9/14/98)
A person is responsible for a violation of this article if:
(1) 
The person commits or assists in the commission of a violation; or
(2) 
The person is the owner, occupant, or manager of the property or facilities determined to be the source of a violation of this article.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(M), adopted 9/14/98)
Where an owner of property leases or rents the same to any person as tenant or lessee, the owner or tenant or both may be held responsible by the mayor for noncompliance with the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(N), adopted 9/14/98)
The mayor may contract with a registered certified backflow prevention assembly technician to perform annual testing requirements and charge the customer for said expense(s) included with the monthly water bill. Nonpayment of this special billing shall be grounds for termination of service in accordance with the code of the city. The customer shall complete repairs and a re-certificate of said assembly(s) within five (5) days from a failed annual “test.” Failure to repair defective backflow prevention assembly(s) within the appropriate time will result in notification to remove said service connection.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(P), adopted 9/14/98)
The mayor may refuse or discontinue water service if a backflow prevention assembly is not installed, certified for operation, repaired or replaced as required under this article.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(Q), adopted 9/14/98)
The mayor may require submittal of complete test and maintenance reports to the utility of any testable backflow prevention device installed prior to final release of water or wastewater inspections.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3(R), adopted 9/14/98)
(a) 
Under this article, the water purveyor has primary responsibility to prevent water from unapproved sources, or any other substances, from entering the public potable water supply. The water purveyor is prohibited from installing or maintaining a water service connection to a consumer’s water supply system within its jurisdiction where a health, contaminant, plumbing or pollution hazard exists, or will probably exist, unless the potable water supply is protected against backflow by an approved assembly.
(b) 
The water purveyor shall exercise reasonable vigilance to insure that the customer has taken the proper steps to protect the public potable water supply. To insure that the proper precautions are taken, the water purveyor is required to determine the degree of hazard to the public potable water supply. The water purveyor shall require the customer, at the customer’s expense, to install an approved installation and test periodically as required by this article.
(Ordinance 185, art. 3, sec. XIII, adopted 9/14/98)
The mayor shall be authorized under this article to inspect any premises, real property, or building connected to the public potable water system. Inspections shall include, without limitation, a survey of such premises, real property or building for determination of cross-connections, existing backflow prevention assembly installation(s), annual testing and certification of assemblies by a certified backflow prevention assembly technician, or inspection and/or certification of any backflow prevention assembly(s).
(Ordinance 185, art. 3, sec. XIV, adopted 9/14/98)