[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Alexandria Bay 2-25-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code — See Ch. 78.
Sewers — See Ch. 118.
These regulations supersede all previous rules, regulations and laws for the governing and administration of the water supply system of the Village.
[Amended 12-14-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004; 8-23-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
A. 
The water rates shall be as established by resolution of the Board of Trustees following a public hearing upon at least 10 days' notice.
B. 
Each premises located within the Village of Alexandria Bay corporate limits shall be charged the "inside Village" rate for water.
C. 
Outside Village.
(1) 
The Village may enter into contracts with duly formed municipal water districts outside of the Village of Alexandria Bay to provide water and may provide water to such districts at rates to be agreed upon contractually with those water districts; provided, however, that such rates shall always include some element of profit over and above the cost of the Village to produce and deliver the water.
(2) 
In the event that the Village is supplying water to premises located outside the Village corporation limits that are not in a duly formed municipal water district, shall be charged the "outside Village" rate for water.
D. 
Water usage shall be billed to the exact number of gallons used during the billing period.
E. 
Annual charge/total user cost statement of policy. In order to establish and operate the Water Department and the water treatment plant of the Village as a separate utility and to ensure its proper operation, repair and maintenance, it shall be the policy of the Village to establish and impose a scale of annual charges for the use of the water system or any parts thereof. The annual charge shall consist of:
(1) 
A minimum fee called the fixed user cost, which is defined as the cost of all indebtedness, fixed operational costs and all other costs deemed fixed by the Village, divided by the total number of users; and
(2) 
A fee called the variable user cost, which is defined by the Village as operating and maintenance costs; and
(3) 
Equivalent dwelling unit(s). Appendix "A" to this chapter contains a Table of Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) for each category of property subject to the provisions of this chapter. The Table of Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) may be amended by simple Board resolution following a public hearing upon at least 10 days' notice.
F. 
The Village hereby establishes and imposes the following scale of annual charges for the use of or connection to the Village of Alexandria Bay water system or any part or parts thereof on real property connected to the Village of Alexandria Bay water system.
(1) 
Annual charge/total user cost.
(a) 
The annual charge, hereafter referred to as total user cost, shall be billed in quarterly installments for residential and commercial units. The total user cost is comprised of the following three parts:
[1] 
Fixed user cost [UC/F].
[2] 
Variable user cost [UC/V].
[3] 
Equivalent dwelling unit [EDU].
(b) 
The total user cost [TUC] equals the fixed user cost multiplied by the EDU number plus the variable user cost. [TUC = (UC/F x EDU) + UC/V]
(c) 
The fixed user cost is applied to each parcel in the Village of Alexandria Bay, whether improved or capable of improvement, including vacant parcels deemed able to be developed.
(d) 
The variable user cost is assessed to metered users per each 1,000 gallons or part thereof. In the event of nonmetered users, the Village Board will assess the variable cost each year.
(2) 
Outside Village users will be billed a total user cost as described in § 145-2F(1) except as follows:
(a) 
The fixed user cost shall be at a rate at which a similarly categorized resident within the Village would pay plus 15%; and
(b) 
The variable user cost shall be at a rate at which a similarly categorized resident within the Village would pay plus 15%.
(3) 
The Village Board of Trustees has the authority to modify these charges by simple resolution.
A. 
A property owner must properly fill out an application form (water service connection application) and pay a fee of $250 for a new connection and $100 for a modified connection or the actual cost of labor and maintenance, whichever is higher.
B. 
The property owner is responsible for all costs of the connection to the water system.
C. 
As part of the application, the applicant must submit a scaled drawing showing the proposed point of connection to the water distribution system and the point of connection to the premises. If street or road excavation is required, the applicant must secure a road opening permit from the jurisdictional government (i.e., New York State Highway; New York State Department of Transportation; County Highway; County Superintendent of Highways; Village Street; or Village Department of Public Works) and submit a copy of the road opening permit with the application. The proposed connection drawing must be approved by the Village Superintendent of Public Works as part of the permit.
D. 
All connections to the water distribution lines must be performed by a person qualified to make a connection to a public water supply. The applicant shall submit the name of the qualified person retained to make the connection. All connections to the Village's waterlines are to be performed only under the physical observation of the Village Department of Public Works Superintendent or his designee. Before any backfilling can take place, the Village Department of Public Works Superintendent must inspect and approve the connection, pipe bedding and backfilling.
E. 
A curb stop is required for each connection and must be located off the highway right-of-way.
A. 
Water meters are the responsibility of the property owner. An approved water meter must be installed and sealed prior to water service being turned on.
B. 
Water meters shall be five-eighths by three-fourths (5/8 x 3/4) inches in size and of a type that measures in United States gallons. Approved meters are Badger or an equivalent. Any deviation must be approved by the Village Water Department Supervisor.
C. 
Prior to turning on water service, the Village Water Department Supervisor shall have the water meter double sealed. It is the property owner's responsibility to notify the Village Water Department Supervisor immediately if a seal is broken.
D. 
Meter leakage or damage. It is the property owner's responsibility to repair any leakage or damage to the water meter or connections. If the property owner is notified that there is leakage or damage, he must have it repaired within 30 days of notification. If not repaired within 30 days, a fee of $10 per day will be assessed against the property owner, and the Village has the option of terminating the water service until necessary repairs are completed. The fees for termination and restoration of water service shall be imposed each time termination and/or restoration of service is required.
E. 
Seal replacement. A fee of $5 shall be charged for the replacement of a seal.
A. 
Meter readings. Meters will be read on or about the 15th day of January, April, July and October. Water bills will be mailed on or before the first day of February, May, August and November. Large-volume water consumers may be billed monthly.
[Amended 6-2-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992]
B. 
Payment of bills. All water bills are due and payable when prepared. All bills are paid without penalty up to and including the 30th day after the date of the bill. Payment must be received by the Village Clerk's Office. Any payment received after the 30th day from the date of the bill is assessed a penalty of 5%. An additional 5% shall be assessed on the unpaid balance of the bill after 60 days and an additional 5% shall be assessed on the unpaid balance after 90 days. Thereafter, additional penalties of 5% per month will be assessed until paid. The date of a check or envelope postmark will not enter into the criteria of determination of penalty and position. If the 30th day after the bill is issued falls on a weekend or legal holiday (when the Village Clerk's Office is closed), payment without penalty shall be extended until the next business day. Failure to pay the water bill within 90 days of the rendering of the bill shall be cause for termination of water service. Partial payment shall be allowed, provided that the bill must be paid in full within 90 days of when issued. The failure to pay the full bill within 90 days of the issuance of the bill shall be cause for termination.
[Amended 4-11-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017; 4-9-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
C. 
Estimated bills. An estimated bill will be prepared based on the average usage of the past four similar billing cycles for commercial accounts. Residential accounts will be estimated based on the average usage over the past four billing cycles.
[Amended 6-2-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992; 7-12-1994 by L.L. No. 4-1994]
D. 
Additional meter readings and billing. Any request for or requirement for additional readings separate from the regular scheduled readings will be performed with a charge of $10 imposed.
A. 
Water service will be terminated for nonpayment of water bills or violation of these regulations. A service charge of $15 will be imposed for termination of service.
B. 
Property owners may request that service be shut off. The fee of $25 applies to each request.
A. 
When service has been terminated per § 145-6A, service will not be restored until all bills and penalties and service charges are paid in full. This includes an additional fee of $50 for service restoration. If the water bill remains unpaid for a period of five months after the date of the bill and the water has been turned off by the Village either at the request of the owner or at the direction of the Village after 60 days unpaid, there will be a mandatory service charge of $250 to restore service on each occasion this shall occur. In addition, a deposit equal to the highest bill of the past three years is required.
[Amended 5-9-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
B. 
When service has been terminated per § 145-6B, the property owner may request that service be restored. A service charge of $25 for this service applies.
A. 
It is the responsibility of the current property owner to notify the Village Clerk's office of the impending date of transfer and request a meter reading for final billing.
B. 
The Village Clerk's office shall, upon notice of the impending transfer of property, make arrangements for reading the meter. Upon meter reading, a final bill will be prepared and mailed to the owner. Final bills are due at the Village Clerk's office within five days. Upon receipt of payment, water records will be changed to reflect the new owner. Should the final reading be less than the minimum charge, the final bill will be prorated at $0.50 per day since the last reading.
C. 
This constitutes a special reading and the fee of $10 applies.
A. 
The Village has the responsibility of maintenance of all facilities in the highway right-of-way.
B. 
The property owner has the responsibility of maintenance within the boundaries of his property. The Village may notify a property owner to make certain repairs on the owner's property if the failure to repair would affect the water system. The failure to timely make such repairs shall be grounds for termination of service.
Hydrants are solely for the purpose of fire protection. Hydrants shall not be turned on except by authorized Fire Departments for the sole purpose of fighting fires or by Village maintenance personnel for maintenance, flushing, repair or testing.
[Added 3-13-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
Curb stops may only be operated by authorized Village personnel. Only authorized Village personnel may turn on or turn off a water supply to a user. Anyone else operating a curb stop other than authorized Village personnel shall be considered to be in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to its sanction under § 145-14C of the Village of Alexandria Bay Code.
All requests for water service to multidwelling units shall be brought to the Village Board for consideration. The Village Board shall determine whether a single meter per building or a separate meter for each dwelling unit will be required. In no event may the owner of a multidwelling unit buy water from the Village and make a profit on the resale of water.
Should lower than normal pressure or other emergency-type situations occur in the water distribution system or a serious fire hazard exist, a restriction may be placed on water usage above basic health and sanitation requirements. If water restrictions are imposed, compliance is mandatory.
All payments for water usage and charges are payable at the Village Clerk's office only. Payments may be made in person or by mail.
A. 
The opening of a water hydrant by an unauthorized person or evidence that attempts have been made to bypass a meter or in any manner obtain water from the district without proper payment will result in prosecution under the Penal Law of New York State.
B. 
Any violation of these regulations could result in the termination of water service to the violator. All violations of these regulations shall be brought to the attention of the Village Board for disposition of the penalties outlined this section.
C. 
A person found to be in violation of these regulations shall be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine not to exceed $250 per offense. Each weekly continued violation shall constitute a separate offense.
D. 
Where appropriate, the Village may seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of any provision of these regulations.
[Added 8-23-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
If a court determines that any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance is invalid or unconstitutional, the court's order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part thereof or in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered.