(A) The City Council passed the ordinance codified herein in order to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, state drinking water regulations, and to protect the health of the consumers of water supplied by the city. The specific purposes of this section are as follows:
(1) To require the installation of reverse osmosis units to improve the quality of drinking water;
(2) To minimize arsenic and uranium in the drinking water supplied by the city; and
(3) To provide for an operation, maintenance, and monitoring program for reverse osmosis units installed as part of this section.
(B) This section applies to all consumers connected to the public water system of the city and receiving water before it has been treated by the city’s water treatment plant, now and in the future.
(C) The City Council is authorized to adopt this section pursuant to Neb. RS 17-537 and 71-5301 through 71-5327. This section becomes effective immediately upon adoption by the City Council.
(D) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BUILDING. A combination of any materials, whether portable or fixed, having a roof to form a structure for the shelter of persons, animals, or property.
CONSUMER. Any person, corporation, or other entity using or receiving water from the public water system of the city, for any purposes, that has not been treated by the city’s water treatment plant.
OWNER OF THE PREMISES. Includes legal owners, their agents, or authorized representatives.
PERSON. A human being, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, or trustees.
POTABLE WATER. Any water supply intended or used for human consumption or other domestic use.
PREMISES. Any real property to which water is provided that has not been treated by the city’s water treatment plant, including all improvements, buildings, dwelling units, mobile and other structures located on it.
SERVICE CONNECTION. The point of delivery in which the city connects to the private supply line.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a fixed location on the ground or attached to something located on the ground.
TAP. Any faucet, spigot, or fountain that supplies water for consumption by drinking or cooking (including ice).
TREATMENT UNIT. Includes any device installed by the city or its agent to treat water as well as any associated equipment or devices, including separate taps, storage tanks, and bypass valves.
WATER SUPPLIER. The public water system of the city, its employees, agents, and authorized representatives.
(E) The owner of the premises or consumer must allow the water supplier to install a reverse osmosis unit and all ancillary equipment needed for the proper operation of the treatment units. A treatment unit will be installed on the primary tap used for drinking water and cooking water on the premises. Treatment units will be installed during normal business hours by a properly trained and certified person. All units will be installed in accordance with state and local codes, if any, and in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. Title to the treatment units remain with the water supplier. While in effect, this section shall run with the land and shall be enforceable on all parties having or acquiring any right, title, or interest in any premises.
(F) The water supplier will maintain the treatment units. Maintenance may include, but is not limited to:
(1) Any required repair to or replacement of any treatment unit;
(2) Any sampling of a treatment unit or the water a treatment unit is treating; or
(3) Any action deemed necessary by the water supplier for the ongoing proper operation of a treatment unit. All maintenance will be conducted by a properly trained and certified person.
(G) The owner of the premises or consumer will provide the water supplier access to the treatment units on a regular basis so that the water supplier can maintain treatment units. The water supplier will periodically notify the owner of the premises or consumer of the intention to provide maintenance on a treatment unit. Notification will be provided in the monthly water bill. Regular maintenance will be provided during normal business hours. Sampling will occur quarterly for the target contaminants (uranium and arsenic) for two years or until the applicable media/filter has been replaced twice (based on manufacturer’s recommendations), whichever is greater. In the event that the owner of the premises or consumer will not be able to provide access to a treatment unit on the dates and times specified in the notification, the owner of the premises or consumer will schedule an alternative time with the water supplier.
(H) The owner of the premises or consumer must provide access to the treatment units for emergency or unexpected repairs or replacements. Refusal to allow entry may result in termination of service in accordance with division (J) below. Consumers must visually inspect each treatment unit on a weekly basis. In the event that a leak or other defect is detected, the owner of the premises or consumer will notify the water supplier at (308)-423-2540, within 24 hours of noticing the leak or other defect, and follow all directions given by the water supplier. The water supplier shall arrange to repair the leak or other defect within two consecutive calendar days upon receipt of notice.
(I) The owner of the premises and consumer shall not adjust, modify, repair, replace, remove, disconnect, bypass, or otherwise tamper with a treatment unit. The owners of the premises and consumer shall pay the water supplier for any costs incurred due to the owner of the premises or the consumer adjusting, modifying, bypassing, tampering with, or removing a treatment unit or any ancillary equipment.
(J) The water supplier may, without prior notice, suspend water service to any premises when such suspension is necessary to prevent or stop an actual or threatened imminent and substantial danger to the water supplier’s public water supply. The water supplier may, without prior notice, suspend water service to any premises when such suspension is necessary to prevent or stop an actual or threatened imminent and substantial danger to the environment or to the health or welfare of any person. As soon as practicable after the emergency suspension of service, the water supplier will notify the owner of the premises or consumer of the suspension. Notice will be provided in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The water supplier will not reinstate service until the actual or threatened danger has been eliminated and its cause determined and corrected. The owner of the premises or consumer shall pay the water supplier for any costs incurred for suspending service: responding to, eliminating, determining the cause of, and correcting actual or threatened dangers; and reinstating service, if the actual or threatened danger was caused by persons other than the water supplier.
(K) The water supplier may terminate, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the water service of any consumer who:
(1) Fails or refuses to allow the installation of treatment units as required by this section;
(2) Fails or refuses to allow the water supplier access to the premises to conduct regular or emergency maintenance; or
(3) Adjusts, modifies, repairs, replaces, removes, disconnects, bypasses, or otherwise tampers with a treatment unit without prior written permission from the water supplier.
(L) Except in accordance with division (J) above, the water supplier will notify the owner of the premises or consumer of the proposed termination of water service at least 15 days before the proposed termination. Notice will be provided in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The owner of the premises or consumer may request a hearing on the proposed termination by filing a written request for a hearing with the water supplier, not more than five consecutive calendar days after receipt of notice of the proposed termination.
(M) If water service is terminated, the water supplier will not reinstate water service until the owner of the premises or consumer allows for the installation of treatment units. The consumer or the owner of the premises must enter into a written agreement to allow the water supplier access to the premises to conduct regular or emergency maintenance. The owner of the premises or consumer shall pay all costs incurred by the water supplier to reinstate service.
(N) The owner of the premises or consumer may be charged up to the city’s actual cost for the installation of a treatment unit. The owner of the premises or consumer may be charged in equal increments every month for one year. The owner of the premises or consumer may be charged for all costs incurred by the water supplier to make any required modifications to existing plumbing in order to install the treatment unit. The owner of the premises or consumer may be charged in equal increments every month for one year.
(O) The owner of the premises or consumer may be charged a monthly maintenance charge for as long as the treatment unit remains installed on the premises.
(P) Any installation and maintenance charges collected by the water supplier shall be deposited in the operating budget of the water supplier. Such funds shall be used for the purchase of new treatment units and to help defray the costs associated with purchasing, installing, maintaining, and removing the treatment units. The city reserves the right to increase or decrease the installation and maintenance charges as deemed appropriate through an amendment to this section.
(Q) All owners of the premises or consumers of the water supplier shall abide by the provisions of this section and any such rules, regulations, and ordinances promulgated for the improvement and maintenance of the quality of the water intended for human consumption supplied by the water supplier. Failure to abide by the provision of this section may result in the termination of service as described in divisions (J) or (K) above or in the imposition of service charges.
(R) The water supplier may charge the owner of the premises, user, or consumer $100 for failure to allow access for the installation of the treatment unit. The water supplier may charge the owner of the unit or consumer $100 for failure to allow access for the maintenance of the treatment unit.
(S) In the event that the consumer or owner of the premises, or other user fails to allow access to the premises for the purpose of removing the treatment unit, the water supplier may apply to the County District Court for an order permitting entry onto the premises and for the removal of the treatment unit.
(T) (1) The consumer, owner of the premises, and any other user shall indemnify and hold harmless the water supplier for any injury or damage which may occur as a result of:
(a) The installation, maintenance, operation, sampling, monitoring, or removal of a treatment unit;
(b) The adjusting, modifying, repairing, replacing, removing, disconnecting, bypassing, or otherwise tampering with a treatment unit; or
(c) The failure to inspect, detect, and report, in accordance with this section, any leaks or other defects which could have reasonably been detected by the required weekly inspection.
(2) The consumer or the owner of the premises shall be liable for any damage to a treatment unit resulting from fire, theft, or impact.
(Prior Code, § 3-127) (Ord. 2012-780, passed 5-21-2012)