[Adopted 2-28-2005 by Ord. No. 76]
The water collection, treatment and distribution
system owned and operated by the Town of Dagsboro shall be known collectively
as "Town of Dagsboro Water Utility." The operation and management
of this utility shall be under the control of the Town Council who
shall direct the construction of additions thereto and the maintenance
thereof and, in all cases not particularly provided for by this article
or other ordinances of the Town, shall determine in what manner and
upon what terms water may be taken from the water utility, any property
owner or water consumer and the character of the connections and appliances
which may be made or used therefor.
The following definitions shall apply under
this article concerning water service:
BUILDING
A structure built, erected and framed of component structural
parts, designed for the housing, shelter, enclosure or support of
persons, animals or property of any kind.
CROSS-CONNECTION
Any connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate
piping systems, one of which contains potable water and the other
water of unknown or questionable safety, whereby water may flow from
one system to the other.
CONSULTING ENGINEER
The Consulting Engineer or its authorized agent or representative
of the Town of Dagsboro.
CUSTOMER
Any person being supplied with water service by the Town.
Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Town, the customer shall
in all cases be the record title owner of the property receiving water.
DWELLING UNIT
A space in which one family may reside, including detached,
semidetached, attached, and multiple units.
MAY
"May" is a permissive word.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other
body of surface or ground water.
ORDINANCE
When used alone shall mean these regulations, subsequent
amendments, or any emergency rule or regulation which the Town may
lawfully adopt.
OWNER
The record title owner of the property receiving water. The
term "owner" shall be deemed to include persons who own property as
tenants by the entirety, tenants in common, or joint tenants in addition
to other natural persons, firms, companies and corporations.
PERSON
Any natural individual, firm, partnership, company, association,
society, corporation, organization, or any other group acting as a
unit.
POTABLE WATER
Water which is satisfactory for drinking, culinary and domestic
purposes, and meets the requirements of the Health Authority having
jurisdiction.
SHALL
"Shall" is a mandatory term.
SPECIFICATIONS
Those specifications established and/or adopted by Town Council.
TOWN
The Town of Dagsboro or its designee.
TOWN OF DAGSBORO UTILITY SERVICE
Any connection to the water system, and shall include but
is not limited to all requirements, service, irrigation only, fire
protection only, and irrigation and fire protection only service.
WATER CHARGE
The rate for usage of water over the base rate/customer service
charge.
WATER SERVICE PIPE
The pipe from the water main or other source of potable water
supply to the water distribution system of the building or unit served.
[Added 9-26-2011]
All plumbing installed in any structure must be the subject of a previously acquired plumbing permit, unless the proposed work is exempt from the requirement of acquisition of a building permit. The plumbing work must be done in accordance with State of Delaware plumbing regulations, must be inspected by a State of Delaware-approved Plumbing Inspector, and must be in compliance with the requirements of §
270-8 of this article.
The Town Council shall designate an official
who may, from time to time, examine and inspect the premises where
water from the water utility is used in order to ascertain the nature,
character and extent of such water use and the condition of the water
pipes, fixtures and appliances, and to determine if water is being
wasted.
A. All plumbing work installed under the scope of this
article shall be inspected to insure compliance with the ordinance
and to assure that the installation is in accordance with the approved
plans and the permit. It shall be the duty of the installing plumber
to give reasonable advance notice to the Town when plumbing work is
ready for inspection and testing, at least 24 hours in advance of
the requested inspection with no inspection to be scheduled after
3:00 p.m. Prior to inspection and testing, the service water pipe
shall not be connected to the water meter house connection. The equipment,
material, and labor necessary for the inspection and the test, except
the water meter, shall be furnished by the installing plumber. The
plumbing shall not be covered until it has been inspected, tested
and approved, and it shall be uncovered upon direction.
B. Upon the satisfactory completion and final test of
the plumbing, a notice of compliance will be issued to the owner by
the Town.
C. The Consulting Engineer and other duly authorized
employees of the Town bearing proper credentials and identification
shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection,
observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with
the provisions of this article.
D. The Consulting Engineer and other duly authorized
employees of the Town bearing proper credentials and identification
shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the
Town holds a duly negotiated easement for the purpose of, but not
limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair,
and maintenance of any portion of the waterworks lying within said
easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement,
shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated
easement pertaining to the private property involved.
Any customer who has had water shut off for
nonpayment of a bill, service charge, violation of this article, failure
to repair leaks, or failure to comply with the request of curtailment
during a water emergency, in addition to any other fees, monies owed,
deposits or fines, shall pay a reconnection fee as established by
resolution before service is reinstated.
Customers may designate in writing a second
party to be notified prior to discontinuation of service for nonpayment,
provided the named second party has agreed in writing to accept such
notice. In such cases, the Town will not discontinue service less
than three days after giving verbal or written notice to the second
party of its intent to discontinue service. The person accepting second-party
status does not incur any obligation whatsoever to the Town.
The Town shall have the right to reserve a sufficient
supply of water to provide for fire and other emergencies and may
restrict or regulate the quantity of water used by the customer whenever,
in the Town's opinion, the public welfare may so require.
Residential swimming pools may be filled from
house services. Larger community pools may be supplied with a separate
water service and meter, such meter to be installed in a meter pit
or heated building. Separate water service for swimming pools will
be billed monthly or quarterly according to size of meter.
The Mayor may declare by executive order, or
the Town Council may declare by resolution or motion, a state of water
emergency when it appears to the Mayor or the Town Council that the
Town's water sources are incapable of producing sufficient water to
meet all the needs of the Town's water users.
A. During a declared water emergency, water service may
be interrupted in any or all parts of the Town in order to effect
repairs, provide water for fire fighting, or for any other good cause.
Upon the expiration of the emergency, water service shall be restored
without charge.
B. Upon such a declaration, and for the duration of the
stated water emergency, it shall be unlawful to use the Town of Dagsboro
municipal water supply water for outside irrigation, watering, or
sprinkler uses except as may otherwise be provided.
C. The declaration of a state of water emergency shall
specify outside watering and irrigation schedules and may specify
other water conservation measures appropriate to the circumstances
of the emergency.
Rates, fees and charges shall be established
by the Town Council of the Town of Dagsboro by resolution and may
include, but are not limited to, the following:
D. Any user paying by check will pay an additional fee
if the check is returned by the bank for any reason.
E. Connection and impact fees shall be as set by ordinance
and resolution.
F. A service charge as established by resolution is hereby
established for each connection or disconnection of water service.
If a disconnection is made in accordance with this article because
of nonpayment of water service charges or liens, a disconnect fee
and a reconnect fee may be established by Town Council.
K. The water
meter installation fee on the schedule listing shall be changed to
the prevailing cost of a water meter at the time of installation.
[Added 6-19-2023]
[Added 3-28-2011]
Notwithstanding the provisions of §
270-18, equitable relief may be sought to enforce the provisions of this article by the filing of a civil action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware to initiate an injunction, mandamus, abatement or any other appropriate equitable action. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article against whom equitable relief has been successfully ordered shall become liable to the Town for any expense, loss or damage incurred by the Town, including, but not limited to, the Town's attorney's fees, Court costs and associated litigation filing fees.
The Town of Dagsboro adopts by reference the Delaware Division
of Public Health of the Department of Health and Social Services,
Office of Drinking Water (Division), Cross-Connection Control Rules,
16 Del. C. § 4462, State of Delaware, Regulations Governing
Public Drinking Water Systems, § 21.0.
Premises types that are deemed by the Town of Dagsboro to represent
a high hazard to the public water system include, but are not limited
to:
- Agriculture facilities (farms, dairies)
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- Beverage bottling plants
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- Car washes
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- Chemical plants
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- Dry cleaners (on-site processing)
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- Film processing plants
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- Food processing plants
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- Laboratories
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- Medical facilities
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- Metal plating industries
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- Mortuaries
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- Petroleum processing or storage plants
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- Piers, marinas, docks, and waterfront facilities
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- Radioactive material processing plants
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- Wastewater treatment facilities
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The Town Manager is hereby authorized and directed to discontinue
water service after reasonable notice to any property wherein any
connection in violation of this article exists and to take such other
precautionary measures deemed necessary to eliminate any danger of
contamination of the public water system. Water service to such property
shall not be restored until the cross-connection(s) has been eliminated
in compliance with the provisions of this article. The Town Manager
shall notify the Mayor and Council of all discontinued water services.
All testable backflow prevention assemblies shall be tested
initially upon installation, repair or relocation to be sure that
the assembly is working properly. Subsequent testing of assemblies
shall be performed on an annual basis as required by the Town of Dagsboro
and in accordance with Division requirements. Only individuals that
are approved and State of Delaware certified shall be qualified to
perform such testing. That individual(s) shall certify the results
of his/her testing. Testing of assemblies' expense shall be responsibility
of the property owner. All test results shall be submitted to the
Town of Dagsboro annually to ensure compliance is maintained. These
records are to be kept for no less than 10 years.
The potable water supply made available on the properties served
by the public water supply are to be protected from possible contamination
as specified by this article and by the state and the Town of Dagsboro
plumbing code. Any water outlet which could be used for potable or
domestic purposes and which is not supplied by the potable system
must be labeled in a conspicuous manner as:
This article does not supersede the state plumbing code and/or
any Town of Dagsboro code regarding backflow prevention but is supplementary
to them.