(A) Utility established. A municipal water system shall be operated as a public utility pursuant to M.S. § 444.075.
(B) Operation and enforcement. The city shall determine the operation and enforcement of the municipal water system as established herein.
(C) Water connection and availability charges.
(1) No connection to city water facilities shall be permitted until the water connection and availability charges are fully paid. The water connection and availability charges shall consist of the lateral charge, lateral benefit from trunk charge, trunk charge, supply and storage charge, water meter charge, service connection inspection charge, water permit charge, plumbing permit charge, and all state surcharges. The water connection and availability charges shall be set at rates duly adopted by City Council resolution. No lateral charge shall be required to be paid as a part of the water connection and availability charges for any property against which a special assessment for the construction of the lateral was previously levied thereon, unless an agreement between the city and the property owner to defer the collection of the lateral charge has been made prior to the effective date of this provision.
(2) All water connection and availability charges paid as required herein shall be credited to the Water and Sewer Fund.
(D) Required meter.
(1) Before any water conveyed through the municipal water system may be used or utilized on the premises of any person, there shall be installed a water meter that will accurately measure the water consumed on the premises.
(2) All water meters shall be furnished by the city and installed in accordance with all city and state regulations.
(‘81 Code, § 21-14)
(E) Regulations.
(1) All applications for installation, maintenance and repair of water meters shall be made to the Utilities Division.
(2) No person other than a city employee or city authorized agent or its designee, shall maintain or repair any water meter used within the city limits. Every water meter connected to the water system shall be sealed, and no person shall break or remove the seal; provided a plumber licensed to do business in the state may break the seal to remove the meter for necessary repairs. In all cases where a seal is broken or a meter is removed by a licensed plumber, the plumber shall notify the Utilities Division of the fact within 24 hours after the seal is broken or the meter is removed. Whenever any seal attached to a water meter by or under the direction of the Utilities Supervisor is found broken, the broken condition of the seal shall be prima facie evidence that the seal was broken contrary to the terms and provisions of and in violation of this code.
(3) All water meters connected to the municipal water system shall be accessible to the Utilities Superintendent or designee at any reasonable hour of any business day, and the refusal of admission by any owner or occupant of any premises wherein a water meter is installed after the owner or occupant has been notified that admission is desired for the purpose of inspecting a water meter installed in the premises shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(4) Meters shall be repaired from time to time as is necessary to insure accurate measuring of the flow of water, except that whenever a meter has been damaged due to negligence on the part of persons other than the employees of the city, the owner, occupant or user of the premises or other persons desiring the use of the water shall reimburse the city for the expense of repairing any meter.
(‘81 Code, § 21-15)
(F) Unlawful tampering. It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with, alter, by-pass or in any manner whatsoever interfere with the proper use and functioning of any water meter within the city. (‘81 Code, § 21-16)
(G) Water use restrictions. Pursuant to the authority of the Minnesota Statutes governing water demand reduction measures, and in order to conserve water, every water user is required to comply with the following restrictions:
(1) Hours/limitations. It shall be unlawful to water for irrigation purposes between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. between May 1 and September 30 each calendar year. Irrigation means any in-ground irrigation system, mechanical sprinkler attached to a hose or an unattended hose.
(2) Expanded restrictions. In the event of a system failure or water demand that exceeds the average annual daily demand by a ratio of 2.6, expanded water restrictions may be implemented.
(3) Private wells. Private well owners are subject to the same water use restrictions as users of the municipal water supply.
(4) Ponds and lakes. Property owners withdrawing water from ponds and lakes for irrigation purposes are subject to the same water use restrictions as users of the municipal water supply.
(5) Exceptions. Water use restrictions shall not apply to the following:
(a) The immediate area of a yard that contains new sod laid or trees planted during the current calendar year;
(b) Agricultural or horticultural operations which are defined as any commercial operation which grows or sells plants for commercial purposes and the water use is limited to the irrigation of the commercial plants; and
(c) Golf course and city park critical maintenance operations which are defined as the use of water immediately following the application of fertilizer to turf and the use of water to syringe a golf course, but excluding routine turf irrigation.
(Ord. 152, passed 11-13-74; Am. Ord. 835, passed 2-28-08) Penalty, see § 10.99