[Adopted 5-13-1994 by Ord. No. 594-1]
[Amended 11-17-1995 by Ord. No. 1195-2]
No person desiring to connect any property located
outside the corporate limits of the City with the water system of
the City shall be permitted to connect with the City water system
until such person has entered into a written agreement which shall
provide that:
A.
The City Manager approves the connecting of such property
with the water system of the City.
B.
Such person shall connect the property with the system
at the point designated by the City Manager.
C.
Such person shall bear the initial cost of constructing
a pipeline from such property to the point so designated by the City
Manager and in constructing the pipeline shall comply with all rules
and regulations of the Commissioners with respect to the materials
used and the installing of pipelines within the City, except that
if such pipeline shall front on more than one property and, in the
opinion of the City Manager, such pipeline is likely to provide service
to any other properties fronting on the pipeline not presently being
served by the City, then the City may elect to construct the pipeline
with its own labor force or by contract.
(1)
If the City elects to construct the pipeline, then
the City Manager shall, in his sole discretion, determine which properties
fronting on the pipeline are likely to be serviced by it and then
calculate the front footage of each property. The cost of the construction
of the pipeline shall then be assessed to each party so identified,
with the apportionment among the different properties based on frontage
footage. Such assessment shall be determined by multiplying the linear
front footage of the properties so identified by a per-foot cost determined
by the City Manager. Thereafter, no service shall be rendered to any
of the identified properties without the owner of such property having
made prior payment in full of the front footage assessment for the
construction of the pipeline in front of such identified property,
such front footage assessment being in addition to any other fees
or charges established in this Code.
(2)
The pipeline shall remain the property of the City.
D.
Such person shall convey to the Commissioners, after
it has been constructed, the pipeline together with a full, free,
exclusive and perpetual easement or right-of-way across any property
where the pipeline may be laid, permitting the City or its agents
to go upon the property and repair, replace or remove all or any part
of such pipeline.
E.
After final inspections and approval by the City Manager,
the water service shall be extended to the premises of any such owner,
and such person shall pay to the Commissioners a sum of money equal
to 200% of the rate established by the Commissioners for the furnishing
of water service to those properties located within the corporate
limits of the City, which charge or sum of money shall be due and
payable in the same manner as charges are due and payable to the City
for water services to properties located within the corporate limits
of the City and shall be subject to all rules and regulations with
respect to the payment thereof.
[Amended 6-27-1994 by Ord. No. 694-1; 3-10-1995 by Ord. No.
395-2; 7-14-2000 by Ord. No. 700-1; 3-18-2016 by Ord. No. 0316-01; 4-24-2019 by Ord. No. 0419-02]
A.
The following rates are hereby established for water
service within the City limits:
[Amended 3-20-2006 by Ord. No. 0306-04; 3-19-2010 by Ord. No. 0310-08; 3-18-2016 by Ord. No. 0316-01; 4-24-2019 by Ord. No. 0419-02; 8-16-2019 by Ord. No. 0819-01]
(1)
A Ready to Serve charge, based on water meter size,
for each meter for which a bill is processed, according to the following
schedule. Said rates shall become effective for bills processed on
or after November 1, 2019.
|
Meter Size
(inches)
|
Ready to Serve Charge
|
|---|---|
|
1 and smaller
|
$10.56
|
|
1 1/2
|
$10.24
|
|
2
|
$12.80
|
|
3
|
$25.61
|
|
4
|
$51.21
|
|
6 and larger
|
$102.43
|
(2)
A base volume charge of $6.30 per 1,000 gallons of metered water
consumption. Said rate shall become effective for bills processed
on or after November 1, 2019.
B.
The following rates are hereby established for water
service outside the City:
D.
For all users either within or outside of the City,
it shall be the obligation of the City to maintain and repair any
defective meters. Any meter damaged by the property owner shall be
replaced by the City and paid for by the property owner.
E.
Temporary shutting off of water to structures used seasonally will not excuse the owner from payment of the billing service charge in Subsection A(1) herein.
F.
The City Manager is authorized and directed to add
to any water bill which is unpaid interest at the rate of 1.5% per
month for each month or fraction thereof.
A consuming unit shall be determined to be any one of the following as connected individually to the water system of the City at the water main as described in § 220-11:
A.
Any building or part of any building, together with
buildings or parts of buildings auxiliary thereto, erected on the
same parcel of ground, occupied for dwelling purposes.
B.
Any building or part of any building, together with
the buildings or parts of buildings auxiliary thereto, erected on
the same parcel of ground, used for the purpose of carrying on a single
trade, occupation, profession or enterprise or used by any single
or separate person, firm or corporation for the purpose of carrying
on therein one or more trades, occupations, professions or enterprises.
C.
Any building or part of any building, together with
buildings or parts of buildings auxiliary thereto, erected on the
same parcel of ground occupied for dwelling purposes and also used
by the head or heads of the household, in whole or in part, for the
purpose of carrying on a trade, occupation, profession or enterprise
therein.
A.
Water service shall not be furnished to any person
other than the legal owner of the consuming unit, unless such user
shall pay the estimated cost of such service in advance.
B.
Unless the City Manager shall otherwise be notified,
in writing, in advance of initiating of any such service, the legal
owner of the consuming unit shall be deemed to be the person to whom
such service is rendered and upon whose account such service shall
be performed.
No person shall resell or give away water obtained
from the facilities of the City water system.
No new water service connection from any City
water main up to the water meter, or any replacement of any old water
service connection to any given consuming unit, shall be of a diameter
of less than one inch.
All water service lines from the water main
to the property line or property shall have a minimum cover of three
feet.
A.
No rebate or allowance in any charge for metered water
usage shall be made by reason of a consuming unit water system leak.
All errors claimed in or other complaints against
or objections to any statement rendered for any water service shall
be made to the City Manager within two calendar months after the due
date thereof. The statement shall be conclusively deemed to be correct
unless such complaint or objection is made within the two months.
A.
Water service to any consuming unit shall be terminated
and such unit disconnected from the water system of the City by the
City Manager for any one of the following reasons:
(1)
The failure to pay all or any part of any amount due
for water service or any other services contemplated hereby, rendered
hereto, within 30 calendar days after the service charge shall be
due and payable.
(2)
The resale of water furnished to the consuming unit.
(3)
A break or leak in any lateral or communication pipe
from the street line to the consuming unit or in part of the water
system of such consuming unit.
(4)
The
City Manager deems termination of water service to a consuming unit
to be necessary to prevent or limit contamination of the public water
system. In such cases, water service shall be restored as soon as
the City of Rehoboth Beach and, if required, the Delaware Department
of Health and Social Service determine the potential contamination
is eliminated or controlled to the satisfaction of the City of Rehoboth
Beach and/or the Delaware Department of Health and Social Service.
[Amended 8-18-2023 by Ord. No. 0823-03]
B.
There is hereby established a charge of $30 for restoring
water service which has been discontinued pursuant to the provision
of this section.
Each consuming unit or property as defined in § 220-3 shall be separately connected to the water system of the City at the water main along or in front of the lot in which the consuming unit or property is erected or maintained unless approved otherwise by the City Manager.
[Amended 5-8-1998 by Ord. No. 598-3]
A.
No person shall turn water on or off at any curb stop
or any valve installed as part of any water metering system without
first obtaining written permission of the City Manager. Further, no
person shall tamper with any curb box, water meter, or meter pit.
B.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
to the contrary, the owner of any consuming unit connected to the
City's water system or the agent of such owner is authorized to turn
water off at any curb stop or valve installed as part of any water
metering system if such action is taken as a result of a water leak
that threatens to do severe damage to the building served and no other
practical remedy is at hand. Any such person taking such emergency
action shall notify the City of such action as soon as practicably
possible.
All persons accepting water service furnished
from the City water system to any consuming unit, as well as the owner
of such consuming unit to which such water service is furnished, shall
be conclusively deemed to have accepted such service subject to all
the terms and provisions of this article.
After water service shall have been initiated
to any given unit, unless otherwise provided by an express agreement
in writing, the owner of the consuming unit or user of the water,
as the case may be, shall be deemed to have agreed to accept, and
the Commissioners shall be deemed to have agreed to furnish, at reasonable
rates, subject to all the terms and provisions of this article, water
service to such consuming unit and thereafter, unless the owner or
user shall give written notice to the City Manager to terminate such
service.
The Commissioners shall not be liable for interruptions
in or any failure of water service resulting from the making of necessary
repairs or extensions to or replacements in any part of the water
plant and system of the City or from failures in wells or from fire,
flood, inability to obtain labor or material, labor trouble, riot
or any other catastrophe or cause beyond their control.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 15-16, Water rates;
approval of Commissioners; public notice required, which immediately
followed this section, was repealed 6-9-2000 by Ord. No. 600-2.
A.
No new air-cooling or air-conditioning system installations
shall discharge water so used into any of the sewers of the City's
sanitary system, unless such systems reuse the water with a cooling
tower or other device, the water needed to maintain the necessary
supply and water discharged to prevent the accumulation of objectionable
matter will be furnished by the City at the usual rate, and the discharge
may be wasted in the sanitary sewers.
B.
Before any water-cooled air-conditioning system is
installed, plans should be submitted to the City Manager's office,
and his approval must be secured before such installations are made.
A.
Personal or individual wells may be installed for
those property owners within City limits who wish to install water
source heat pumps at the discretion of the City Manager.
B.
Such wells must be installed within the individual's
property lines and shall meet all state and federal permit requirements.
A copy of said permits must be submitted to the City Manager for review
and approval prior to the drilling of any well.
C.
The discharge from any water source heat pump shall
not be allowed to drain into the City's sanitary or storm sewer systems.
A.
Property owners may, at their cost, request that the
City install a secondary meter for the sole purpose of metering water
consumption by an in-ground irrigation system.
B.
The installed cost of said meter shall be as described in § 220-19, Water connection charges. The capitalization fee shall be waived if the water service used for said meter is tapped off of the existing property owner's water service piping.
C.
It shall be the City's discretion to install both
the existing water meter and the secondary meter within a single or
separate meter pits.
D.
All secondary water meters shall be one inch in size
unless approved otherwise by the City Manager.
F.
No connection other than an in-ground irrigation system
shall be made to the secondary meter for any reason at any time.
A.
Water connection charges include all materials, equipment
and labor supplied by the City to install a new or to replace a water
service.
B.
Water services installed by the City are from the
water main to the water meter located on the owner's property at or
near the property line.
C.
Property owners shall be responsible for the installation
and connection of their new or replaced water service from the City-installed
water meter.
D.
A plumbing permit must be obtained for all water service
work done by any property owner, and all work must be done by a City-approved
and -licensed plumber.
E.
Water connection and installation charges for new
or replacement water services, provided by and installed by the City,
shall be based on the following rates:
[Amended 3-20-2006 by Ord. No. 0306-04]
|
1-Inch Water Service
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1-inch service
|
$580
| ||
|
1-inch meter, pit and lid
|
$1,500
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$3,080
| ||
|
New 1-inch water service capitalization fee
|
$2,000
|
|
1-Inch Water Service w/2 1-Inch Meters per Section 220-18
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1-inch service
|
$830
| ||
|
2 1-inch meters, pit and lid
|
$2,568
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$4,398
| ||
|
New 1-inch water service capitalization fee
|
$2,000
|
|
1 1/2-Inch Water Service
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 1/2-inch service
|
$831
| ||
|
1 1/2-inch meter, pit and lid
|
$2,598
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$ 4,429
| ||
|
New 1 1/2-inch water service capitalization
fee
|
$4,500
|
|
2-Inch Water Service
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
2-inch water service
|
$1,250
| ||
|
2-inch meter, pit and lid
|
$3,350
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$5,600
| ||
|
New 2-inch water service capitalization fee
|
$ 8,000
|
|
1 1/2-Inch Water Service w/1-Inch
Meter for House using Type "R" or "D" Sprinkler System
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 1/2-inch service
|
$831
| ||
|
1-inch meter, pit and lid
|
$2,136
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$3,967
| ||
|
New 1-inch water service capitalization fee
|
$2,000
|
|
2-Inch Water Service w/1-Inch Meter for
House using Type "R" or "D" Sprinkler System
|
Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
2-inch service
|
$1,250
| ||
|
1-inch meter, pit and lid
|
$2,392
| ||
|
Street excavation and replacement fee
|
$1,000
| ||
|
TOTAL
|
$4,642
| ||
|
New 1-inch water service capitalization fee
|
$2,000
|
F.
Water services required larger than two inches in
size shall be quoted and contracted by the City on an individual basis.
Their associated new water service capitalization fees shall be based
on the following:
[Amended 3-20-2006 by Ord. No. 0306-04]
|
Water Service
|
Capitalization Fee
| |
|---|---|---|
|
3-inch
|
$18,000
| |
|
4-inch
|
$32,000
| |
|
6-inch
|
$72,000
|
G.
The following additional installation services are
not included in the cost of new water services and shall be billed
on a time-and-material basis based on the following described rates:
|
Service
|
Charge
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Concrete removal and replacement
|
$5.00 per square foot
| |
|
Dewatering pumping
|
$15.00 per hour
| |
|
Well points (minimum charge)
|
$250.00
|
H.
Additional installation services, equipment and material
required for water service installations not indicated in this section
shall be billed to the requesting property owner based on a time-and-material
basis.
A.
Sprinkler and fire-fighting services used solely for
fire-fighting purposes and not used by the property owner as potable
water shall not be metered by the City nor be subject to water capitalization
fees.
B.
All new commercial sprinkler and fire-fighting services
shall be a minimum of six inches in size and shall be quoted and contracted
by the City on an individual basis.
C.
A City building and/or plumbing permit must be obtained
by any property owner for all sprinkler and fire-fighting water service
work. All work is to be done by a City-approved and -licensed contractor.
D.
Sprinkler and fire-fighting services installed by
the City are from the water main to the curb stop at the related property
line nearest the water main.
E.
Property owners shall be responsible for the installation
and connection of their sprinkler and/or fire-fighting service to
the City-installed curb stop.
F.
Sprinkler and fire-fighting services shall be reviewed
and approved by the State Fire Marshal prior to installation.
G.
Any sprinkler system installed in a single-family
detached dwelling in accordance with NFPA 13-d shall be exempt from
this section.
A.
All water services from the water main up to the water
meter shall be maintained by the City at the cost of the property
owner.
B.
All water services from the water meter to the consuming
unit served shall be maintained by and at the cost of the property
owner and at no cost or expense to the City.
C.
Associated maintenance and repair costs shall be billed
to the property owner based on a time-and-material basis.
D.
In the event that there shall be any break or leak
in any water service pipe between the street and any consuming unit
to which water service is furnished by the City, such break or leak
shall be deemed to be a public nuisance. The City shall forward to
the owners of the premises a notice to abate and repair the break
or leak. In the event that such person neglects or refuses to so repair
such pipe, the City shall terminate the water service until repairs
are made.
A.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter
to the contrary, all requests for water turn-on or turnoff of a nonemergency
nature during normal working hours shall be requested at least 24
hours in advance and shall be charged at $50. Any emergency water
turnoff before or after normal working hours shall be charged at $100.
Any nonemergency water turn-on or turnoff request before or after
normal working hours, if agreed to by the City, shall be charged at
a rate determined by the City Manager, but not less than $150.
[Amended 3-19-2010 by Ord. No. 0310-08]
B.
The owner or his plumber must be present on site before
water can be turned on or off. The owner will be charged a no-show
fee equal to the water turn-on/turnoff fee if he or his plumber is
not on site when the City arrives to turn the water on or off.
C.
The charges for nonemergency water turnoffs shall
be paid in advance. The charges for emergency water turnoff shall
be billed accordingly.
D.
In the case of an emergency when City personnel are
unavailable, a licensed plumber may turn the water off at any curb
stop as approved by the City Manager.
It shall be unlawful for any person not authorized
by the City Manager or not engaged in the fighting of a fire to take
water from a City fire hydrant. Those persons authorized by the City
Manager shall apply for a permit and shall pay a fee of $50, plus
a charge for the water used, calculated on the prevailing in-town
City water rate per 1,000 gallons. The permit shall contain such conditions,
including the time period and maximum usage of water, as shall be
determined by the City Manager.
A.
All water services provided by the City shall be metered.
B.
The size of the water meter required shall be equal
to the water service pipe up to and including two-inch water services.
Water meter sizes installed on water services larger than two inches
shall be as approved by the City Manager.
C.
All water meters shall be set in a meter pit at a
convenient location on the property at or near the property line of
a consuming unit as approved by the City Manager so as to control
the entire supply of water to the consuming unit and so as to be accessible
at all times for reading and repair.
D.
All water meters and water meter pits shall be installed
by the City according to specifications set by the City Manager by
using City employees or by contract with private contractors.
E.
Water service may be disconnected to any consuming
unit whose owner does not comply with the provisions of this section.
A.
The City shall be responsible for maintaining and
servicing all water meters and related accessories within the City's
franchise areas.
B.
Consuming unit owners may request to have their water
meter tested by the City for accuracy. The City's charge for this
service shall be $30, which shall be paid in advance by the requesting
property owner. The thirty-dollar charge will be refunded to the owner
if the water meter tested proves to be inaccurate as defined by the
American Water Works Association, which stipulates an accuracy level
of plus or minus 5%.
C.
Metered water usage invoices may be adjusted at the
discretion of the City Manager if a meter is tested inaccurate.
D.
Owners may be present when their water meter is tested,
if requested in advance.
E.
All water meter testing shall be done by trained City
Water Department personnel as scheduled by the Water Department Superintendent.
Testing shall be done on a City-owned, approved and certifiable water
meter flow test device.
