[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Beacon 3-4-2002 by L.L. No. 8-2002; amended in its entirety 6-16-2025 by L.L. No. 6-2025. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth procedures and guidelines in the event of a drought emergency to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and businesses in the City of Beacon should the City's potable water reservoirs reach certain capacities. These procedures, and thresholds set forth below, are not intended, nor shall they be construed, as limiting the powers reserved to the Mayor, City Council, or Department Heads under applicable local, state, and federal laws, rules or regulations to take such actions necessary to safeguard the general welfare, health, and safety of the residents and businesses of the City of Beacon resulting from drought conditions.
B. 
Findings. The City Council of the City of Beacon hereby finds that due to a significant shortfall of precipitation, a major water leak event, a water system failure, or excessive water consumption beyond the capacity of the City's water system, etc., and that the City's water system will be unable to supply sufficient potable water to meet the needs of the citizens of the City of Beacon, the Mayor shall have the authority to mandate such measures as are necessary to reduce consumption of water with the City of Beacon water system to a level sufficient to preserve an adequate supply of water to meet the City's basic water needs.
Upon the Mayor ordering the implementation of restrictions on water use pursuant to this Chapter, the City Administrator shall provide notice to the City Council and announce such restrictions at the soonest available City Council meeting, on the City's website, provide notice to local news outlets, and give notice in such other manner(s) as deemed advisable. The restrictions on water usage ordered by the Mayor pursuant to this Chapter shall take effect on such date and time set forth in the order. The restrictions on water usage herein shall remain in effect until modified due to a change in stage level or until the drought emergency is declared terminated by the Mayor with the advice of the Superintendent of Water and Sewers. The Mayor, with the advice of the Superintendent of Water and Sewers and upon a finding that the City's reservoirs have reached the capacities set forth below, may order the following regulations be implemented as emergency measures to prevent the waste of water:
A. 
Stage I: 60% of reservoir capacity.
(1) 
No person or entity shall cause, permit or allow:
(a) 
The continuing leak or waste from any water pipe, valve, faucet, conduit, equipment, facility, or device connected to the City of Beacon water system, or which utilizes City of Beacon water, on or in any premises owned, leased, managed, operated, or controlled by such person or entity.
(b) 
The washing of any vehicle by means of a hose, fire hydrant, or other active source connection to the City of Beacon water system, except a commercial vehicle washing operation if equipment has been installed and is utilized so that at least 50% of the water used is recirculated by means of a system approved by the Department, or high-pressure restrictor hoses may be used in a coin-operated car wash.
(c) 
The washing of any street, sidewalk, driveway, outdoor area, outdoor steps, building exterior, or other structures by means of a hose, fire hydrant, or other active source connected to the City of Beacon water system or which utilizes City of Beacon water.
(d) 
The use of water from any source for any ornamental purpose, including but not limited to use in fountains, artificial waterfalls, reflecting pools, lakes and ponds.
(e) 
The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to water any lawn, golf course, ornamental shrub, plant, or tree, except that:
[1] 
City of Beacon water may be used to water any lawn, tree, shrub, garden or golf course, greens and tees only from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
[2] 
City of Beacon water may be used at any time to irrigate, from a hand-held container, vegetables or fruits for human consumption.
[3] 
Plant nurseries and other commercial users engaged in the business of growing, distributing, or selling plants may use such water on their business premises for watering ornamental shrubs, plants, or trees, provided that each user reduces its use of water by 15% or such other percentages as may (hereafter) be prescribed for nonresidential water users.
(f) 
The opening or use of any fire hydrant, or of the water there from, for any purpose other than fire protection except in accordance with a permit obtained from the Water Department and only for the period of and the purpose authorized by such permit and in strict adherence to all terms and conditions set forth therein.
(g) 
The operation of an air-conditioning system utilizing water from the City of Beacon water system in a cooling tower, unless within 30 days from the effective date of this chapter a separate meter is installed to continuously measure the flow of water to the cooling tower or the water is recirculated.
(h) 
The operation of any air-conditioning system in excess of two tons of rated capacity or greater or any refrigeration unit rated at 10 horsepower or greater using water from the City of Beacon water system unless such air-conditioning system or refrigeration unit is equipped with a water recirculating device approved by the Department.
(i) 
The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to fill or maintain the water level in any swimming pool, except that, provided the pool is operated with recirculating equipment, City water may be used to fill the pool once during each calendar year and thereafter may be used as necessary to maintain the water level in such pool.
(2) 
Each nonresidential user of water from the City of Beacon water system shall prepare and retain a water consumption reduction plan enabling it to reduce its use of water in stages of 15%, 20% and 25% based upon its water consumption during the calendar year. Such plans shall be designed to achieve and maintain a reduction of 15%, 20% or 25% immediately upon the declaration of a Stage I, Stage II or Stage III emergency, respectively. Each such user shall promptly implement the first phase of its plan during Stage I and shall reduce its consumption by 15%. On and after 30 days from the effective date of this chapter, each such user shall have its water consumption reduction plan available at all times for inspecting and copying by employees of the Department.
B. 
Stage II: 40% of reservoir capacity or one well out of service. If at any time the Superintendent of Water and Sewers determines that the measures set forth under Stage I of this chapter have not resulted in a sufficient level of conservation in light of existing water supply conditions, a Stage II drought emergency shall be declared. Upon declaration of a Stage II emergency, in addition to those measures set forth herein above, and in place of Subsection A(1)(e)[1] and [2] and (i) under Stage I:
(1) 
No person or entity shall cause, permit, or allow:
(a) 
The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to fill or maintain the water level in any swimming pool.
(b) 
The use of water from the City of Beacon water system to water any lawn, golf course, ornamental shrub, or plant, except that City of Beacon water may be used to irrigate with a hand-held container vegetables or fruits grown for human consumption.
(2) 
Each nonresidential City of Beacon water system water user shall fully implement its Stage II water consumption plan and shall immediately reduce use of water by no less than 20%.
C. 
Stage III: 20% of reservoir capacity. If, after the imposition of the measures set forth in Stage II of this section, the Superintendent of Water and Sewers finds that water consumption must be further reduced, a Stage III emergency shall be declared and, in addition to the measures set forth hereinabove.
(1) 
All nonresidential users of water from the City of Beacon water system shall reduce their consumption by no less than 25%.
(2) 
All users, both residential and nonresidential, shall install water-flow-restricting devices on all shower heads.
(3) 
All air-conditioning systems utilizing water from the City of Beacon water system shall be operated only in accordance with hourly restrictions established by the Superintendent of Water and Sewers.
A. 
Violations of this chapter shall be punishable by the general penalty provisions of § 1-3A of the Beacon Code. The Building Inspector, Deputy Building Inspector, Code Enforcement Officer(s), and all sworn members of the Beacon Police Department are hereby expressly authorized to issue appearance tickets to any person or entity for any violation(s) of this chapter.
B. 
In addition to any penalties which may be imposed by the Beacon Code, where a leak and/or waste notice has been served in accordance with City regulations and the condition to which such notice relates has not been corrected, a penalty of up to $50 per day may be imposed by the Superintendent of Water and Sewers and added to the water rents re-levied on the tax rolls.
C. 
Water service may be terminated for violations of any provision of this chapter or for any waste of water.
A. 
Upon the application of any person or entity, the City Administrator, with the advice and consent of the Superintendent of Water and Sewers, may, in their discretion, grant a variance relieving such person or entity from compliance with any of the requirements of this chapter if such person or entity demonstrates to that:
(1) 
Undue hardship would otherwise result.
(2) 
There are no possible alternatives.
(3) 
The applicant has taken and will take all possible measures to conserve water, with a complete description of such measures and the water savings to be effective.
(4) 
Such a variance is not inconsistent with the purpose of this chapter.
B. 
In connection with any variance which may be granted, the City Administrator shall impose such terms and conditions as deemed appropriate.