Owners of private water distribution systems shall be responsible
for ensuring that their system is inspected, maintained, and operated
to provide an adequate quantity of safe drinking water to those consumers
served and for firefighting purposes. This responsibility includes
maintaining or contracting for an adequate number of trained staff
to perform all duties necessary, and performing maintenance and replacement
of water main and appurtenances when necessary to keep the facilities
in good operating condition. This responsibility also includes ensuring
that sufficient fiscal resources are available for needed repairs
and eventual system replacement.
Owners of the following water systems located on private property
shall comply with the private water system maintenance requirements
of this article if they have any of the following:
A. Systems that have a valve or a fire hydrant.
B. Systems that have water service to a building or a curb stop from
a water main.
C. Systems that serve more than one building.
D. Systems that exceed a combined 150 feet of water main and/or service
piping measured from the right-of-way.
Unless an alternate schedule is approved by the water utility,
owners of each private water system shall perform all the following:
A. Valve exercising. All distribution system valves shall be exercised,
consistent with water utility policy, at least once every two years.
B. Hydrant exercising. All hydrants shall be exercised, consistent with
water utility policy, at least once every two years.
C. Hydrant/valve maintenance, inspection, and fire flow testing. Hydrants
and valves shall be inspected annually and maintained in proper working
condition, consistent with the manufacturer's recommendations,
American Water Works Association (AWWA) and National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) standards. Fire hydrants shall be flow tested occasionally
sufficient to demonstrate current flow rates.
D. Flushing dead-end mains. Mains shall be flushed to remove sediment
or water of poor quality, consistent with water utility policy, at
least once every two years.
E. Leakage detection. Mains, valves, hydrants, and services shall be
inspected for leaks according to AWWA M36, consistent with that of
the water utility policy, at least once every year. Water systems
that are master metered at the right-of-way are exempt from annual
leak detection maintenance requirement.
F. Hydrant sandblasting and painting. Hydrants shall be sandblasted,
primed, and painted chrome yellow; caps shall be color coded to the
fire flow rate per NFPA, consistent with water utility policy, as
needed, but not to exceed once every eight to 10 years.
G. Repair leaks. Repair leaks that have been identified in a timely
manner:
(1) Significant surfacing leaks within eight hours.
(2) Surfacing leaks within eight hours to one day.
(3) Minor (barely visible) surfacing leaks within one day to three days.
(4) Nonsurfacing detectable leaks within one to two weeks.
H. Additional maintenance. Perform all additional prudent water main
and appurtenance maintenance, repairs, or replacements per AWWA and
NFPA as necessary to keep the facilities in good operating condition,
typically within four to six weeks of detection.
I. Cost for services performed by the Town shall be placed on the tax
roll. Should the Town, its employees or contractors perform any work
at the request of a private system or perform any work for an immediate
safety issue on a private water system, the Town will place the charges
for its time and expense on the tax roll of the property pursuant
to Wis. Stats. § 66.0627 or by any other manner allowed
by law.
Owners of private water systems shall provide records and documentation
of private water system inspections, maintenance, and operations to
the Town water utility:
A. Provide documentation of a valid service contract that authorizes
the performance of needed maintenance and emergency repair work should
the need arise.
B. Provide and maintain detailed water system as constructed plans and
a list of materials, parts, and equipment that the system is constructed
of.
C. Provide copies of all maintenance contracts, test records, reports
and verification of payment documenting required system maintenance
activities have taken place.