A. The District shall mail water and sewer bills to each
customer as near as possible to the first day of each billing period.
The District shall not be obligated to provide separate water or sewer
service billings for any individual dwelling or other unit within
a multifamily dwelling unless:
(1) The individual unit is served by water and sewer lines
particular to that unit; and
(2) The individual unit's lines are equipped with shut-off
valves and meters available to the District by which service can be
terminated without affecting any other unit.
B. In the event that the District is not obligated to
provide separate water and/or sewer service billings, the District
shall bill any one of the owners of such building. The District is
not required to mail duplicate renter's bills to owners except when
the District seeks payment from the owner.
Before any person shall be allowed to connect
to the District's water system, a connection fee shall be paid in
accordance with this section.
A. Persons wishing to connect a dwelling to the District's
water system shall pay the residential connection fee established
by the District from time to time. A separate connection fee is required
for each dwelling unit, whether or not separate physical connections
are made.
B. Fee for structures other than dwellings.
(1) For structures other than dwellings, the connection
fee shall be based on the size of the line which is to be connected
to the District's system, under the following procedure:
(a)
First, determine the ratio of (1) the capacity
of the line to be connected to (2) the capacity of a three-fourths-inch
line, which represents an equivalent residential connection (ERC).
(For example, a two-inch line has a capacity 7.1111 times greater
than that of a three-fourths-inch line.) This ratio is the number
of ERCs.
(b)
Second, multiply the number of residential equivalents by the residential connection fee referred to in Subsection
A.
(2) Except for accessory buildings, the connection fee
for structures other than dwellings shall not be less than the residential
connection fee.
C. In addition to all other fees, any person wishing
to connect an accessory building to the District's water system may
have to pay an additional connection fee as established by the District.
D. No connection fee shall be accepted until a completed
building permit application has been submitted to the appropriate
authority and any fee concerning such permit has been paid. An actual
connection sufficient to commence water service to a building, along
with the obtaining of all necessary building permits, must be made
within six months of payment of the connection fee. If such connection
is not made within such time period, the party paying the fee may
still connect to the system upon paying the fee then in effect at
the time of actual connection. A credit of 100% will be given for
the previously paid connection fee.
The District shall provide backflow prevention
devices on residential three-fourths-inch lines as needed in the discretion
of the Director of Public Utilities. Backflow prevention devices on
larger lines and commercial properties must be installed and maintained
by the owner of the property, and such devices must be approved by
the District.
Any person connecting to the District's sewer
system shall pay: (1) the District's actual cost of connecting the
building sewer to the public sewer; and (2) the water connection fee
multiplied by the sewer adjustment factor or such other fee as set
by the District from time to time. No connection fee shall be accepted
until a completed building permit application has been submitted to
the appropriate authority and any fee concerning such permit has been
paid. The sewer adjustment factor shall be set by the District from
time to time. A separate connection fee is required for each dwelling
unit, whether or not separate physical connections are made. For sewer-only
customers, a water meter shall be installed at the customer's expense
on the customer's private water system for the purpose of determining
monthly sewer charges based upon water consumption. The meter may
be installed downline from water-only fixtures such as outside fire
hydrants which will not result in sewage flows. An actual connection
sufficient to commence sewer service to a building, along with the
obtaining of all necessary building permits, must be made within six
months of payment of the connection fee. If such connection is not
made within such time period, the party paying the fee may still connect
to the system upon paying the fee then in effect at the time of actual
connection. A credit of 100% will be given for the previously paid
connection fee.
In addition to the fees set forth herein, an
annual tax to be set by the District may be levied upon all real estate
located within the boundaries of the District.
Any person who fails to pay any fee or bill
on time shall be subject to a late charge of 10% of the current amount
due.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-01]
The District may adjust a water and/or sewer bill if excessive
usage is caused by a burst water line, leaking fixture or other inadvertent
or accidental cause. Before an adjustment is made, the customer must
provide a written explanation of the cause of the excessive usage,
remedies taken to correct the problem and a request for adjustment.
Any such written request for adjustment shall be made within 60 days
of the mailing of the bill to which adjustment is requested. Adjustments
will only be granted for excessive usage exceeding 150% of the past
six-month billing history average. The adjustment amount shall be
50% of the excess usage above the past six-month billing history average.
Only one such adjustment per property owner is available every 12
months. At the customer's option, a customer may trade a prior adjustment
for another adjustment once every 60 months. If it can be demonstrated
that the excessive usage did not enter the sewer system, then an additional
adjustment of like amount can be made to the sewer bill at the discretion
of the Director of Public Utilities.
A. Voluntary disconnection of service by customer.
(1) Should a person request service disconnection due
to a planned or anticipated vacancy minimum monthly service fees will
continue for a minimum of six months, at which time service fees will
cease at the owner's request until occupancy resumes.
(2) The owner must request disconnection of service at
the beginning of the six-month vacancy period and water service shall
be valved off during that period.
(3) There shall not be a water disconnection fee provided
when such disconnection is performed during normal business hours.
A service call charge may be imposed for disconnections done outside
the normal business hours of the District.
B. Involuntary disconnection of service to customer.
(1) If at any time the District determines that a water
line or facility which is to be maintained by the customer has ruptured
or has allowed undue and undesirable loss of water from the system,
the District may temporarily cease to provide water until the condition
is corrected.
(2) The District may deny or discontinue the water service
to a consumer if a backflow prevention device is not installed. If
it is found that any such device has been removed or bypassed or if
cross-connection exists on the premises, or if the pressure in the
waterworks is lowered below 10 psi gauge, the District may take action
to ensure that the waterworks are adequately protected at all times.
Water service to such premises shall not be restored until the deficiencies
have been corrected or eliminated in accordance with Commonwealth
of Virginia Waterworks Regulations and to the satisfaction of the
District.
(3) In the case of a disaster (fire, flood, etc.) which
was not caused by the negligence of the customer and whereby the unit
is not inhabitable, service will be disconnected with no minimum service
fee. Service fees will resume when the unit becomes inhabitable.
C. Nonpayment.
(1) Service may be disconnected if any of the rates, fees
or charges, including late fees and interest, levied by the District
shall not be paid within 30 days of the due date.
(2) The water supply shall not be shut off under this
section if the State Health Commissioner, upon application of the
local board of health or health officer of Shenandoah County, shall
find and shall certify to the District that ceasing to supply such
water shall endanger the health of such person or the health of others
in Shenandoah County.
(3) There will be a disconnection fee charged if a service
is disconnected due to nonpayment. The amount of the fee shall be
fixed by the District. Such fee shall be charged upon the dispatch
of service personnel to the service location scheduled for disconnection
and shall be paid even if the customer agrees to immediately make
payment and service is not actually valved off or otherwise physically
disconnected.
(4) With respect to sewer-only customers, the District
shall charge a sewer disconnection fee if sewer-only service is disconnected
due to nonpayment. The amount of the fee shall be fixed by the District.
Such fee shall be charged upon the arrival of service personnel to
the service location scheduled for disconnection and shall be paid
even if the customer agrees to immediately make payment and service
is not actually blocked off or otherwise physically disconnected.
In the event that the cost to the District in physically blocking
off sewer service, which may include the excavation of a sewer line
and other work, exceeds the sewer disconnection fee, the customer
shall pay the greater of the sewer disconnection fee or the District's
actual costs in disconnecting sewer-only service.
(5) Reconnection will occur upon satisfactory payment
of any rates, fees or any other amounts due. Reconnection will take
place during normal business hours. With respect to sewer-only service
that is disconnected, the customer shall pay the District's actual
costs in reconnecting sewer-only service.
Service calls that are done when the District
offices are closed (including but not limited to after business hours,
weekends and holidays) shall be charged a fee to be set by the District
from time to time.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-02]
The District may require any prospective customer not holding
title to the property in which water and/or sewer are to be used to
pay a deposit fixed by the District to secure the payment of water
and sewer bills. The deposit is refundable without accrued interest
upon termination of the service and payment of all water and sewer
charges.
The District shall decide the rates to be charged
for service, including any minimum charge.
Nonmetered sewer-only customers shall be charged
a flat fee determined from time to time by the District. In its discretion
the District may allow multiple-dwelling units such as townhouses,
condominiums, apartments and mobile homes to be served by only one
meter (sometimes called a "master meter"). When this meter is used
the volume of water used shall be divided by the number of units served.
Each division shall be charged for services on the same rate schedule
and in the same manner as though each unit was metered. By way of
example, assume a meter serves 12 apartments and shows a use of 72,000
gallons for the period to be charged. The District shall divide the
72,000 by 12 and bill the customer as though there were 12 individual
users each using 6,000 gallons. Each of the 12 calculations will be
subject to the rate schedule of the District, including minimum fees
if applicable.
The District shall charge any person or entity
the maximum fee allowable by law for the return of any check along
with any actual costs incurred by the District because of such return
and which are allowed by law.
[Amended 6-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-02]
Any unpaid charge shall become a lien superior to the interest
of any owner, lessee or tenant, and next in succession to County taxes,
on the real property. Where the use of any water or sewer systems
owned by the District is contracted for by an occupant who is not
the owner of the premises and where the occupant's premises are separately
metered for service, the owner of any such premises shall be liable
only for the payment of delinquent rates or charges applicable to
three delinquent billing periods, not to exceed a period of 90 days
for such delinquency. Such liens shall not bind or affect a subsequent
bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable consideration
without actual notice of such lien, except and until from the time
that such charge is entered in the judgment lien docket in the Clerk's
Office of the Circuit Court of Shenandoah County. The District shall
charge an administrative fee for recording and releasing a lien.
The District shall charge a transfer of accounts
fee as fixed by the District from time to time. However, no fee shall
be charged if the account is reverting back to the owner from a renter
or for transfers between family members.
The District may establish charges for one-time
or periodic bulk water sales.
The District may enact a rate schedule for one-time
sewage disposal for camping trailers, portable toilets and other one-time
sewage dumping activities.