TITLE 6.
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
Chapter 1
Water Regulations.
   Section 6.1.10.   General Provisions.
   Section 6.1.20.   Application for New Individual Culinary Water Connection.
   Section 6.1.30.   Billing.
   Section 6.1.40.   Water and Water Line Regulations and Restrictions.
   Section 6.1.50.   Wasting of Water.
   Section 6.1.60.   Sprinklers and Sprinkling Systems.
   Section 6.1.70.   Shutting off Water.
   Section 6.1.80.   Miscellaneous.
   Section 6.1.90.   Judicial Review.
   Section 6.1.100.   Severability.
   Section 6.1.110.   Conflict with Other Land Use Ordinances of the Town.
Section 6.1.10. General Provisions.
   A.    Fairfield, a municipal corporation of the State of Utah (the “Town”), is the owner of a culinary water distribution system for the purpose of furnishing culinary water to the residents of said Town under a system of facilities (the “System”); and whereas it is necessary and advisable to adopt an ordinance for the control of the System, which will supersede the existing ordinance or portions thereof that are inconsistent with this Ordinance which contains, without limitation, provisions for culinary water services and amends, and, where necessary, repeals water ordinances and regulations heretofore adopted in conflict with this document.
   B.   Fairfield Irrigation Company had fiduciary responsibility for forty-six (46) of the total hookups in the Town Culinary Water System at the time of the Town’s purchase of said System; and the Town purchased said System in an “AS IS” condition, with full knowledge of Fairfield’s Irrigation Company’s requirements of perpetual responsibility for those same 46 hookups; and Fairfield will defer to Fairfield Irrigation Company in dealing with the aforementioned forty-six (46) hookups, to include hookup and application fees prior to January 1, 2011, and grandfathered contractual agreements. Fairfield Irrigation Company will defer to Fairfield in dealing with all hookups beyond the aforementioned forty-six (46) hookups to include infrastructure and water rights.
   C.   Culinary Water Utility System. The “Culinary Water Utility” of the Town of Fairfield (water utility) is hereby created. It shall manage, operate and maintain the system to:
      1.   To protect and provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare;
      2.   To provide adequate water service for present residents and future growth and development in Fairfield Town in accordance with the General Plan;
      3.   To protect the Towns water supply in case of fire, flood, and other geologic and natural hazards;
      4.   To provide adequate and efficient water facilities for current and future residents of the Town;
      5.   To establish reasonable standards of design and an orderly water system layout;
      6.   To ensure that water facilities are available with sufficient capacity to serve proposed development; and
      7.   To prevent pollution of streams and ponds, ensure the adequacy of drainage facilities, protect subsurface water, encourage the wise use and management of natural resources throughout the municipality, and preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community and value of the land.
   D.   Title and Penalty. This Title shall be known, cited, and referred to as the Town of Fairfield Water Ordinance/Code. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Title shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished in accordance with Utah State law. Notwithstanding any provision or agreement to the contrary, the Town may terminate drinking water without notice where, in the Towns judgment, a clear emergency or serious health or safety hazard exists, for so long as such conditions exist, or where there is unauthorized use of, or connection to, the Town drinking water. No drinking water connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the Town unless the water supply is protected as required by Town, County, State, and Federal laws, regulations, codes, and this Title. Water service found to be in violation of this Title shall be discontinued after written notification and due process of the violation.
   E.   Director of Water. There is hereby created the position of “Director of Water” (Water Director) of the Culinary Water Utility.
   F.   Duties of the Director of Water. The Director of Water shall manage and supervise the system pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance and pursuant to resolutions, rules, and regulations adopted by the Town Council from time to time describing his/her powers and duties and directing the manner and frequency with which he shall make reports to the Town Mayor or his designated appointee. (see job descriptions) The Director of Water for Fairfield Town is vested with the authority and responsibility for the implementation of an effective cross-connection control program and for the enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance.
   G.   Rate Schedules and Connection Fees. The Town Council shall adopt and establish rate schedules, connection fees, rules, and regulations governing the water system. The Town Council shall, from time to time, affix, by agreement or resolution, such terms, and conditions as they deem proper, for the purpose of establishing special rates and conditions for users using exceptionally large amounts of water or making use of the System under exceptional circumstances. The Town Council is constituted as a Board of Equalization for water system rates to hear complaints and make corrections of any assessments deemed to be illegal, unequal, or unjust.
   H.   Conveyance of Water Rights- Requirements for Development. The following requirements pertain to new development within Fairfield Town. These requirements are intended to be in harmony with the requirements of the Fairfield Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance. An applicant for development approval shall satisfy the following requirements:
      1.   It is the intent of Fairfield Town to assure each future lot owner reasonable access to adequate water to make that lot productive; and, to initiate a program to provide funding and adequate water resources for a more efficient water distribution system; and
      2.   All developers of subdivisions or landowners requesting a building permit within the boundaries of Fairfield Town shall provide adequate water to be distributed through Fairfield Town’s drinking water system with appropriate easements along with a suitable grade by which to convey the water to each lot. Adequate water shall be assessed as follows, except as noted:
         a.   Well or subsurface rights which are capable of being transferred into the name of Fairfield Town.
         b.   Any other water right approved by the Town Council that is capable of being transferred into the name of Fairfield Town or adequately assigned to Fairfield Town through a warranty deed or other legal decree.
         c.   Those approved by the town council for a private culinary well do not need to transfer water rights to Fairfield town. However the still need to have the proper water rights.
   I.   Private Systems and Private Wells. Private water systems and the use of private wells to provide water services are not allowed. See exceptions in Section 6.1.10. (J) and Section 6.1.20. (G).
   J.   Wells for Agricultural Purposes. A State-approved agricultural well permit does not convey or imply any right to a Fairfield culinary water connection. Wells drilled for agricultural purposes are allowed within Fairfield Town boundaries and must meet the following conditions:
      1.   The primary use for the water service will be for agriculture purposes only;
      2.   Lot size shall be ten (10) acres or more;
      3.   Must have adequate water rights for the agricultural purpose; and
      4.   Must comply with all state water regulations and have approval of all government agencies involved.
Section 6.1.20. Application for New Individual Culinary Water Connection.
   A.   Water Service Connection Application Requirements. Any person or entity, who desires or is required to secure a new service connection to the System, shall file with the Water Utility for each such service connection, a written and signed new service connection application. The applicant will be responsible for payment of all associated impact fees and connection fees. Fairfield Town will follow Utah State Code 11-36a-601 and Title 9.9 Impact Fees in the accounting of these fees. The application must be submitted along with proof of the applicant's ownership of, or rights to transfer adequate water rights to serve the dwelling in an amount determined by the Fairfield Town Council, that amount being 1-acre-feet of culinary water rights per residential service on 2 acre lots and under; 1.25 acre feet of culinary water rights per residential service on anything greater than 2 acre lots.
   B.   Transfer of Water. The applicant shall also be responsible to deed the water rights to the Town and obtain approval from the State Water Engineer to transfer the point of diversion for the water right to Fairfield Town's designated point of diversion. The water right is required to be a municipal or culinary water right. 
   C.   Building Permits and Water Applications. Plans for the new service connection must be approved by the Town Council prior to construction and a pre-construction meeting between the developer, contractor, and the Town must be conducted before any water line construction begins.
   D.   Plans shall be submitted and approved prior to the pre-construction meeting and shall comply with the Fairfield design standards.
   E.   Once approved, the owner has the option to hire a contractor or pay the Town to take the requested new service connection from its water main to the property line where the new service meter shall be located. The Town will contract with a certified drinking water system contractor to install the water line from the existing mainline to the owner’s property line. The cost of this installation will be borne by the new connection owner. If Fairfield Town deems the connection is a major extension of the system, the connection owner will secure the contractor to install the new line with Fairfield Town's approval of said contract, materials, and line size used.
   F.   No building permit will be issued without first completing an approved water rights transfer to the Town of Fairfield as follows:
      1.   If the applicant is drilling a well, proof of ownership of the required water rights shall be submitted to the Town and approved by the Town prior to issuing any building permit; and
      2.   There is a one (1) year time limit for completing the approval process of water transfer before the issuance of a building permit. If a water transfer is not completed within the one (1) year time limit then any reservation on said building permit for that property will be lost along with any deposit paid to hold the building permit.
   G.   Private Systems and Private Wells. Private water systems and the use of private wells to provide municipal water services are not allowed except at the discretion of the Town Council, in the following instances:
      1.   The applicant is constructing a home or place of business on a legal lot that lies farther than one thousand (1,000) feet from the current water system regardless of the actual building location on the property;
      2.   Allowance of the private system or private well is more compatible with the land use development goals of the Town Council (i.e. environmental preservation, construction of a necessary public facility significantly removed from the current water system, limitation of the number of dwelling units in a given area where connection to the municipal water system could result in more dwelling units than are desired by the Town Council). The Town Council is under no obligation to approve the use of a private system or private well and no precedent will be established by a previous Town Council decision;
      3.   The cost is prohibitive to expand the current municipal water system, connect to the current municipal water system, or create facilities capable of linking to the Fairfield Town water system; or
      4.   Property lies within a zone greater than one (1) acre. An existing culinary well exists on the property prior to 2010
      5.   If a well is used for a culinary water supply it must reside on the same parcel of land as the structure
   H.   Water Main Line Extensions and Connections.   Waterline extensions and connections must adhere to the following:
      1.   It shall be unlawful for any person to make any extension of any pipe or water fixture attached to the waterworks system without first obtaining a permit from the Water Department;
      2.   It shall be unlawful for any person other than duly authorized employees of the department to open or close any water gate valve in connection with the water system;
      3.   When an applicant desires or is required to install water connections and extensions for a subdivision or development, the applicant may voluntarily extend the water main line beyond the distance required for connection. The applicant for a project which requires the extension of a water main line shall pay the cost of the extension.
      4.   No person shall construct a water main line extension without first having plans for the mainline extension approved by the Town Engineer:
         a.   The applicant shall be bound by the rules, regulations, resolutions, or ordinances enacted now or hereafter by the Town applicable to the Town's System;
         b.   If an applicant installs a water mainline extension to serve a parcel of property, the mainline extension shall originate at the nearest adequate, existing water main and extend completely across the parcel of property being developed along all public street frontages;
         c.   Boring of pipelines under roadway is required unless the town Council deems it otherwise due to extenuating circumstances;
         d.   The applicable cost of an extension shall include replacement of all road surface damaged or removed for installation of new extensions in accordance with the Design Guidelines and Standard Specifications of Fairfield Town;
      5.   The main purpose for which the new water service connection will be used must be for culinary use. The location of the service connection will be decided solely by the Town. The Town must also approve the length of the addition to the System, pipe size, and the number of fire hydrants, isolation valves, and other appurtenances as necessary installed along the line before construction of said line begins. All work shall be performed by a licensed, bonded and insured Contractor, bonded with the Town. All work shall be performed and inspected according to Fairfield construction specifications. A utility easement extending the length of the property must be recorded with Utah County;
      6.   Any subdivider or developer who desires or is required to install water connections and extensions for a subdivision or development must enter into a Master Development Agreement with the Town. Said agreement shall constitute an application for permission to make the extensions and connections and shall specify the terms and conditions under which the water extensions and connections shall be made. Said agreement shall also include any and all payments that shall be required. No precedent will be established by a previous Town Council agreement. Whenever an extension of a water line benefits property which is adjacent to the extension or extended from the end of an existing extension, other than that which is owned by the applicant, a Master Development Agreement may be entered into;
      7.   A Master Development Agreement shall include the excess capacity (if any), formula, and terms for any reimbursement. A Master Development Agreement will be identified prior to the beginning of construction. The Town will then enter a deferred credit on its books and records in the amount of the actual prorated cost of extension across the front of said benefited property and shall reimburse the applicant, his assignee or successor, upon collection by the Town of charges assessed against such benefited property as service connections are made; and
      8.   All such reimbursements shall extend for a period determined by the Town Council from the date of the completion of the extension and acceptance by the Town or until the initial prorated cost of the extension along the frontage not owned by the applicant shall have been refunded. The amount of an “Extension Charge '' to benefited property shall be determined by the Town Council.
Loading...