(A) Legislative Findings. Certain pollutants are migrating into the Bethany Water Supply Well Field in the area generally described as west of Council Road and near NW 50th Street. The pollutants are moving through the groundwater under the lands owned or controlled by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust and pose an immediate risk of contaminating the Bethany public water supply well field. Numerous wells have been shut down in order to prevent introducing the pollutants into the water processing plant.
(1) The water wells located south of a line 1200 feet North of and parallel to NW 50th Street (known as South Well Field) are in immediate risk of pollution and the scientific data available dictates that these wells not be pumped at capacity in order to lessen the risk of their contamination. The city is currently engaged in a project of pumping two of its contaminated wells and disposing of the contaminated water in an attempt to maintain a hydraulic barrier to stop the westward migration of the contaminants but the results of the use of the hydraulic barrier have not yet been determined. By reason of the loss of use ofthe South Well Field the Bethany well field is incapable of producing water to meet the peak demand of the summer months and the loss of water impairs the ability to provide sufficient reserves for emergency use such as fire protection or unplanned line breaks.
(2) At this point in time the city may be required to supplement its water supply by purchasing water from the City of Oklahoma City in order to insure the capacity of the system provides for an adequate supply of water for human consumption and fire protection. In order to provide adequate water supply to meet the peak demand of the system and to provide for adequate fire protection the City Council has declared an emergency situation and has directed that the city open the existing valves to the connections with the Oklahoma City public water supply as necessary to make up for the production lost in the south well field. The cost of the water obtained from the City of Oklahoma City exceeds the costs of production of water by Bethany and will result in a substantial increase in operating costs for the Bethany Water System which costs will be passed to the consumers of Bethany water with those customers using in excess of 20,000 gallons per month paying the excess cost to maintain capacity of the water system by the imposition of a surcharge of those customers. The reasoning therefor being that the primary cause of peak demand in summer months is outside watering and similar seasonal uses and this surcharge to excess users allows the Bethany consumers to restrict their own water usage and avoid the payment of surcharges and thereby decreasing the demand for excess water from the City of Oklahoma City.
(B) Surcharge Imposed. Effective August 1, 2016, for any month in which the total monthly water usage for Bethany exceeds the production capacity of the Bethany water system a surcharge per 1,000 gallons of water used by all classes of customers above 20,000 gallons per month is imposed for the following monthly billing cycle and will be part of the billed rate for those users. A resolution of the City Council adopting the revised rate schedule and reflecting the surcharge is attached. This surcharge shall remain in effect until rescinded by the City Council.
(Ord. 1903, passed 6-23-15; Am. Ord. 1916, passed 7-5-16)