(A) Declaration of emergency. Subject to review by the City Council at any regular or special meeting of the City Council, a water emergency may be declared by the City Manager or his or her designee to exist when any condition or situation exists that may threaten the availability and/or safety of either treated or potable water from the water supply, treatment, and distribution system operated and maintained by the City. A water emergency shall be declared by the City Manager or his or her designee to exist when users of the city water system cannot be supplied with treated or potable water without substantially curtailing the water demand placed on the city's water system. Furthermore, a water emergency shall be declared to exist when production, treatment, transmission, and storage facilities are incapable of meeting all daily water demands or when projections of available water show that the available supply of water will not meet the daily water demands.
(B) Level of emergency.
(1) A declaration of the existence of a water emergency by the City Manager or his or her designee shall specify the level of severity of the emergency and be in the form of a signed executive order that, upon its issuance, shall be distributed to the Mayor and members of the City Council in a manner calculated to provide the most expeditious notification possible.
(2) Once the distribution of the declaration of the existence of a water emergency to the Mayor and members of the City Council has been undertaken, the City Manager or his or her designee shall give notice to the general public by means of a public press announcement of the existence of a water emergency and the severity of the emergency. The regulatory provisions authorized by this section will become effective "immediately" after the issuance of the public press announcement specified in the preceding sentence.
(C) Sudden disruption. In the event of a sudden and severe water shortage created by a disrupted waterline or some other malfunction/disruption of the city's water system, the City Manager or his or her designee may immediately place into effect the appropriate restrictive provisions authorized herein. The restrictive provisions implemented by the City Manager or his or her designee may include, but are not limited to, the temporary discontinuance of service without prior notice to any person, entity, or structure receiving water from the city water system. Restrictive provisions implemented as a consequence of a sudden and severe disruption of water service may include, but are not limited to, any combination of the various restrictions found within the different levels of water use restrictions. Any restrictive provisions implemented pursuant to this chapter shall be city-wide in scope and/or limited to the geographic area of the city affected by a localized disruption of the city's water system. The necessity of such restrictive provisions shall be re-evaluated on a daily basis by the City Manager or his or her designee, in consultation with the Director of Public Utilities. The restrictive provisions authorized by §53.03 shall be terminated by the City Manager or his or her designee as soon as is practicable to do so. In the event of the imposition of such temporary restrictive provisions due to a sudden disruption to the water system, notification to those affected shall be implemented as soon as is practicable.
(D) Classification of severity of disruption. The severity of a water emergency shall be classified and expressed by the City Manager or his or her designee in terms of the level of staged water use restrictions imposed on consumers of water from the city water system. For the purpose of this section, the staged water use restrictions are as follows:
(1) Level I (Voluntary). During a declared Level I water emergency, consumers of water from the city water system shall be encouraged to implement the following voluntary water conservation practices:
(a) Watering of lawns, ornamental plants, and gardens should be limited to the hours between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.;
(b) Use of water for wash down of outside areas such as driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks should be curtailed;
(c) Faucets should not be left running while conducting personal hygiene, or washing dishes;
(d) The use of clothes and dishwashers should be limited where possible, and these units should be operated with full loads;
(e) Washing cars and other vehicles should be curtailed to Saturday and Sundays;
(f) The use of flow restriction and other water saving devices is encouraged;
(g) Showers should be used for bathing, and showers should be limited to four minutes or less; and filling of pools should be deferred or limited to hours between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(2) Level II (Mandatory). During a declared Level II water emergency, the following mandatory water use restrictions shall be in effect for consumers of water from the city water system:
(a) The watering of lawns, ornamental plants, and gardens shall not be done except by handheld containers (buckets, jugs, etc.) and limited to the hours between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.;
(b) With the exception of situations where a wash down of outside areas is necessary due to public health and safety concerns, the residential use of water for wash down of outside areas is prohibited; provided however, commercial pressure washers shall be permitted to continue normal operations;
(c) Residential washing of cars and other vehicles is prohibited. Automobile retail establishments and commercial automobile washing facilities including those providing hand held washing nozzles shall be permitted to continue normal operations;
(d) Restaurants and other food serving establishments shall serve water to patrons only at the request of the patron(s);
(e) Commercial, industrial and construction operations shall eliminate all possible waste of water. Large scale commercial and industrial operations and construction activities that utilize 15,000 cubic feet or more of water per month shall submit a water reduction compliance plan to achieve 25%, 50%, or 75% water reduction as specified under the Level II water emergency declaration within 14 days of the effective date of the regulations and restrictions specified in the Level II water emergency declaration; and
(f) Above-ground pools, jacuzzis, and hot tubs having a capacity of 500 gallons or more and all newly constructed or drained in-ground pools shall be filled by permit only. The Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee shall review applications for such fill permits. The issuance of such a permit may be denied on the basis of the assessment by the Director of Public Utilities of the severity of the situation.
(3) Level III (Mandatory). During a declared Level III water emergency, the following mandatory use restrictions shall be in effect for consumers of water from the city water system:
(a) Any form of watering or irrigating lawns, gardens, and/or other plants is prohibited;
(b) With the exception of situations where the wash down of certain outside areas is necessary due to public health and safety concerns, the use of water for wash down of outside areas is prohibited;
(c) With the exception of situations where the washing of certain items is necessary due to public health and safety concerns, the washing of cars, vehicles, and/or other equipment is prohibited;
(d) Restaurants and other food serving establishments shall utilize single serving utensils and plates in addition to serving water to patrons only at the request of the patron(s);
(e) Recreational use of potable water, including filling of pools, is prohibited;
(f) Large scale commercial and industrial water customers and construction activities utilizing 15,000 cubic feet or more of water per month shall achieve mandatory reductions in daily water usage of 25%, 50%, or 75% through whatever means are available. The target reduction percentage shall be determined by the severity of the water emergency and shall be publicly announced as part of the emergency declaration. The Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee shall determine compliance with the daily usage reduction targets. Variances may be granted by the Director of Public Utilities to public health facilities including, but not limited to, hospitals and nursing homes;
(g) Drinking water taps or hydrant permits shall be issued or revoked at the discretion of the Director of Public Utilities; and
(h) Unless a bulk water sale is made pursuant to an existing contract, bulk water sales shall be prohibited.
(4) Level IV (Mandatory). During a declared Level IV water emergency, the following mandatory water use restrictions shall be in effect for consumers of water from the city water system:
(a) All use of water for purposes other than the maintenance of public health and safety is prohibited;
(b) Unless a bulk water sale is made pursuant to an existing contract, bulk water sales shall be prohibited;
(c) Where the city water system is functional, monthly residential water use shall not exceed 50 cubic feet (384 gallons) of water per day or what is required to maintain public health and safety concerns at each metered location;
(d) Where the city water system is not functional City of Albemarle, Mutual Aid Cities/Towns and National Guard vehicles shall be utilized, if available, to distribute water for household use at prearranged locations within the effected area of the city. Usage by individuals shall be limited to those amounts necessary to sustain life through drinking, food preparation, and personal hygiene; and
(e) The compliance plans for industries during Level IV remain the same as Level III or as directed by the North Carolina State Public Health Officials.
(Ord. 07-26, passed 9-4-07)