11-12-460 Leakage.

   No deduction shall be made or rebate allowed to any consumer of water under meter control by or on account of any leakage or alleged leakage in any water pipe, tank or other apparatus or device. The amount of water registered by any meter controlling the water supply to any building, structure or premises, shall be charged and paid for in full, irrespective of whether such water, after having been registered, was lost by leakage, accident or otherwise, except registration of fire meters occasioned by a fire or by evaporation as hereinbefore provided.

(Prior code § 185-42)

11-12-470 Reserved.

Editor's note – Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3, repealed § 11-12-470, which pertained to cash refunds. Coun. J. 11-16-16, p. 37901, Art. IV, § 4, reaffirmed the repeal of this section. For the original repeal, see Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 5, § 5.

11-12-480 Delinquent payments.

   (a)   Any water charges that remain unpaid after the expiration of 30 days from the date of the bill for such charges shall be subject to termination, and the service shall not be resumed until all water bills in arrears shall have been paid, including accrued penalties, and all applicable fees set out in Section 11-12-120 have been paid for termination and resumption of water supply service. If, however, at any time that the premises are visited for this purpose they shall be found vacant, so that said cutting off would not be liable to serve the purpose of enforcing collection, said cutting off shall not be mandatory if, because of the shutoff rod box or the stopcock being out of repair, such act entails the expenditure of any sum for labor or material disproportionate to the amount of such delinquent rates.

   (b)   In any situation where the shutting off of water service is liable to involve the city in litigation, or where the property involved is in the hands of a court, such shutting off may be postponed pending advice from the corporation counsel; or if such shutting off would be productive of public danger, or would create a pestilent situation, or would entail suffering by a great number of persons who are not liable for the payment of the delinquent bill, or where the premises involved are the property of the United States, or the State of Illinois or of any of its political subdivisions, such shutting off may be withheld if in the judgment of the commissioner the withholding of such shutting off best serves the interests of the City of Chicago. In any such situation where the past due service liability exceeds $10,000.00, the owner of the property may also be subject to an additional penalty, to be imposed in a separate hearing, in an amount not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00 for the delinquency. Each day that a past due service liability exceeds $10,000.00 shall constitute a separate delinquency. In determining whether to impose this additional penalty, the hearing officer may consider all reasons for the failure to make timely payment. The amount of this additional penalty does not include the delinquent amount owed for water service and any applicable late payment penalties, nor does it affect any other remedies of the department pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Code, including the right to a lien on the subject property.

   (c)   Whenever a payment is made for charges on a unified statement of charges and such payment does not cover the full amount of the current charges or any unpaid charges from a prior unified statement of charges, any amount paid shall be allocated pro-rata among the unpaid charges, including any associated penalties, oldest statements first. For purposes of this Section 11-12-480(c), the term “charges” shall include the Chicago Water and Sewer Tax imposed by Chapter 3-80 of this Code.

(Prior code § 185-44; Amend Coun. J. 3-28-01, p. 55444, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 5-2-01, p. 57409, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 10-28-15, p. 12062, Art. IX, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-16-16, p. 19439, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-16, p. 29720, § 2)

 

Notes

3-80

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11-12-485 Unauthorized reconnection of cut off water supply.

   (a)   No person, unless acting under the direction of the commissioner, shall reconnect or turn back on any water supply which has been shut off or withheld by the department. The owner of the building, structure or premises for which the water is supplied, the person in possession, charge or control thereof and any person who reconnects or turns back on the water supply, shall be subject to a $500.00 fee imposed by the department of water management.

   (b)   Any person against whom the department imposes a $500.00 fee pursuant to subsection (a) shall have a right to a hearing to contest the fee, if he or she files a written demand for a hearing within 14 days from the date of notice served by the department assessing the fee. Notice may be served in person or by first class mail. The date of the notice shall be the date notice is delivered, if served in person, or the date notice is deposited in the mail, if served by first class mail. A hearing shall be conducted by the department of administrative hearings within 14 days of receipt of a written demand for a hearing, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties. Failure to request or attend a scheduled hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to a hearing. A hearing held pursuant to this section shall not determine or otherwise adjudicate liability for any unpaid water rates or charges related to the department's order to shut off or withhold the water supply which was reconnected or turned back on improperly.

   (c)   Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting the department from collecting any cost and expenses incurred as a result of the unauthorized use of the water supply reconnected in violation of this section and also any unpaid water rates, as provided by other applicable law.

(Added Coun. J. 3-28-01, p. 55444, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 205)

11-12-486 Report on water shutoffs.

   On or before February 1 of each year, the commissioner and comptroller shall submit a report to the committee on finance and the committee on the budget and government operations concerning water shutoffs for non-payment of delinquent accounts during the prior calendar year. The report shall indicate the number of shutoffs for each of the following types of uses:

   (a)   Single-family dwellings;

   (b)   Two to 12 unit residential structures;

   (c)   More than 12 unit residential structures;

   (d)   Combination of residential and commercial structures;

   (e)   Commercial structures;

   (f)   Industrial structures.

   The report shall also indicate, for each type of use, (1) the number of metered and non-metered accounts that were shutoff, and (2) the total amount of money owed to the city at the time the shutoffs occurred for the type of use.

(Added Coun. J. 6-6-01, p. 59086, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 12-2-09, p. 78837, Art. 5, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 9)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 6-6-01, p. 59086, § 1, provided for inclusion of this new section, to be numbered as § 11-12-485. Because that section already existed, this section has been added as § 11-12-486 at the discretion of the editor.