A.
The Department of Public Works shall be charged with
the duty of furnishing an adequate supply of potable water for the
inhabitants of the City of Hudson. To that end, it shall provide adequate
pumping, filtration and distribution facilities and necessary construction
and reconstruction, extension and repair of the water system, exclusive
of services, except as hereinafter provided.
B.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations
dealing with the construction, maintenance and operation of the mains,
hydrants, service laterals and other connections of the water system,
and the protection thereof, shall apply throughout the entire City
of Hudson.
C.
The Superintendent shall direct the operation of the
waterworks system and shall perform all the duties and exercise all
the powers conferred on the Department of Public Works, and he shall,
with the approval of the Common Council, prepare such rules and regulations
as shall be necessary for the safe, economical and efficient management
and operation of the water system.
The Superintendent shall assess charges for
water from time to time, according to the rules and regulations of
the Department of Public Works. All such assessments shall be subject
to the approval of the Common Council.
All ordinances or resolutions of the City of
Hudson relating to the rules and regulations of the Department of
Public Works, Water Department, shall be considered a part of the
contract with any person or persons having water connections, and
every such person or persons shall be considered as having expressed
his consent to be bound thereby. In case of violation of any of the
rules and regulations, the Superintendent may discontinue the service
as provided herein.
A.
All requests pertaining to the turning on or turning
off of water, installing or removing of meters, etc., originating
with the owner, must be in writing and signed by either the owner
or his authorized agent, except as otherwise provided by the Department
of Public Works.
B.
The Common Council shall have the power to establish
special rates and conditions and to make contracts with municipal
councils, county commissioners or the contracting authorities of other
political subdivisions for the sale of surplus water.
Requests for discontinuance of service in legally
occupied houses will not be honored or accepted for such purposes
as eviction, enforcing collection of rents or as a result of differences
between owner and occupant. The Department of Public Works will not
be liable for damages as a result of the enforcement of this regulation
in such cases.
The Department of Public Works shall maintain
such records of readings of meters as shall facilitate the collection
of charges for water, and shall also maintain a complete system of
records and underground maps, completely indexed and filed.
The Department of Public Works does not guarantee
any fixed water pressure or a continuous supply of water, these being
subject to the varying conditions which may arise in the operation
and maintenance of the water supply and system. Consumers whose operations
require a continuous supply of water of definite pressure should provide
against interruption by the installation of tanks or other auxiliary
supplies or pressure regulation sufficient to carry them over a period
of interruption.
A.
The Department of Public Works reserves the right,
through its authorized agents, to enter at any reasonable hour the
premises to which it supplies water service for the purpose of reading,
repairing, installing, removing and inspecting meters, or for any
other purpose which it may deem necessary for the proper operation
and maintenance of the water supply system. For these purposes, any
employee that may be designated, upon exhibiting the proper credentials
of the Department of Public Works, shall have free access to the premises
using its supply of water, and if such access is unavailable, the
water supply may be shut off as hereinafter provided and not turned
on again until the requests of Department of Public Works have been
granted.
B.
When, as a matter of convenience to the owner of the
property or his agent, it is necessary to set, test, repair or remove
a meter or make other repairs on the water service at other than regular
working hours, an additional charge will be made.
A.
Before a water main is turned off, whether for repairs
or alterations, all consumers may be notified. Notice shall be considered
to have been given when and if some person at such address has been
told, either in person or in writing, of such action. The Department
of Public Works will not be responsible for damages which may result
from turning off or turning on of water, whether or not occupant is
notified.
B.
In case of breaks in mains, services, pumping and
auxiliary machinery, reservoirs or other waterworks equipment, the
water may be shut off when necessary without notice. No claim will
be allowed for damages arising from breaks or the turning off or turning
on of the water.
A.
The Department of Public Works shall not discontinue
service to any customer for violation of its rules and regulations
without first having diligently tried to induce the customer to comply
with same. After such effort on the part of the Department, service
may be discontinued after the Department has given the customer at
least five days' written notice of such intention either may mail
or by leaving such notice in a conspicuous place at the customer's
premises. The supply of water through any service may be turned off
by the Department of Public Works for the following causes:
(1)
For use of water on any premises other than that included
in the application, except as herein provided.
(2)
For willful waste of water through improper, imperfect
or worn-out pipes or fixtures, or otherwise.
(3)
For failure to maintain in good order connections,
service pipes or fixtures owned by the applicant.
(4)
For cross-connection or interconnection with any other
supply of water.
(5)
For installation of pipe and fixtures such that a
possibility of back siphonage or backflow exists.
(6)
For molesting any service pipe, meter, curb stop,
corporation stop or seal or any appliance of the Department of Public
Works.
(7)
For nonpayment of water rent or other charges, including
delinquent payment of penalty charges.
(8)
For absence of reasonable access for the purpose of
inspection or for reading, caring for or installation of or removal
of meters.
(9)
For making additions or alterations in or about service
pipe or curb stop without notice thereof being previously given to
and permission in writing obtained from the Department of Public Works.
(10)
For inability to obtain meter readings for two
consecutive quarters (six months) due to lack of access or obstruction
of meter.
(11)
For failure to pay water bill at any other location
for which said owner is delinquent in payment.
B.
Where safety of water supply is endangered or the
safety of the public due to cave-in or ice conditions, caused by a
faulty water service, is endangered, service may be discontinued immediately
without notice.
C.
The supply so turned off will not be turned on again
until the cause of turning off has been removed and all charges, including
a charge for reconnection of service during regular working hours,
and an additional charge for reconnection of service at other than
regular working hours when the customer has requested that the reconnection
be made at other than regular working hours, have been paid. Water
to a premises shall be turned on only by employees of the Department
of Public Works.
A.
The Department of Public Works may refuse to serve
an applicant for services under the following conditions:
(1)
If the applicant fails to comply with the rules of
the Department.
(2)
If the intended use of the service is of such a nature
that it will be detrimental or injurious to the service furnished
to the existing customers.
(3)
If, in the judgment of the Department, the applicant's
installation for utilizing the service is unsafe or hazardous or of
such a nature that satisfactory service cannot be rendered.
(4)
Where service has boon discontinued for fraudulent
use, it shall be the duty of the Department of Public Works, before
making service connections to a new customer, to ascertain that prior
fraudulent use of the facilities will not be attributed to the new
customer. Where service have been discontinued for fraudulent use,
the Department of Public Works shall not be required to serve to applicant
until the Department has determined that all conditions of fraudulent
use or practice have been corrected.
B.
When an applicant is refused service under the provisions
of this rule, the Department of Public Works shall notify him promptly
of the reason for the refusal to serve.
No person shall operate, open or otherwise tamper
with any valve, stop, seal or other device, or unlawfully secure a
supply of water through such valve, corporation stop, curb stop or
other device after same shall have been closed or installed for the
violation of any rules or regulations of the Department of Public
Works, without first having secured the necessary permission from
the Department of Public Works.
A.
Buildings being torn down or demolished will be inspected
and all water services will be shut off at the main prior to demolition,
at the expense of the owner.
B.
Abandoned water services discovered not shut off at
the main will be shut off by the Department of Public Works, and the
cost of shutting off such services, together with such damage as may
be sustained by reason of leaks on the abandoned service, may be charged
to the owner of the premises served.
The Department of Public Works assumes no responsibility
for damages arising from the shutting of a main or from the shutting
off of a supply of water to any premises or for damage due to leaks
or broken or open pipes or fixtures.
All paraphernalia, equipment and miscellaneous
property derived or received from the Department of Public Works is
and shall remain at all times the property of the Department of Public
Works and shall not be damaged or destroyed and shall be surrendered
upon demand.
No person shall trespass upon the grounds, pumping
stations, storage reservoirs, yard or other property of the City of
Hudson Department of Public Works, nor tamper with, damage or destroy
any of the buildings, fixtures or appliances operated or used in connection
with the Department of Public Works, nor deposit any filth or rubbish
or commit any nuisance thereon.
A.
Whoever shall open or attempt to open or draw water
from any fire hydrant without the consent in writing of the Superintendent
of the Department of Public Works or of the Chief of the Fire Department,
or shall in any manner injure, deface or obstruct the use of any fire
hydrant, or shall place or keep any obstruction, article or material
of any kind in front of such hydrant, between the curbline and the
center of the street or within 10 feet of either side of such hydrant,
shall be prosecuted according to local statutes.
B.
Whoever shall destroy, injure, deface, pollute or
disturb any public fountain or watering place shall be prosecuted
according to local statutes.
The Department of Public Works shall sample
and test water supplied by it, in accordance with current public health
drinking water standards, to ensure that the water quality is above
the minimum requirements.
Upon complaint to the Department of Public Works
by a customer either at its office, by letter of by telephone, the
Department shall promptly make a suitable investigation and advise
the complainant of the results thereof. It shall keep a record of
all complaints, which shall show the name and address of the complainant,
the date and nature of the complaint and the adjustment or disposition
thereof, for a period of two years subsequent to the final settlement
of the complaint.
The office of the Department of Public Works
is located at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, and will be open for the
transaction of business between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. The office will be closed on Saturdays, Sundays
and legal holidays.
