§ 35-58.1 WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEM FACILITY ACCESS FEES.

   (a)   Definitions. When used in the section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

      BUILDING PERMIT. A permit required by the city for the construction of any new dwelling or building.

      COMMERCIAL. Any customer served by a single meter or meters that is engaged in any type of business, except the processing, fabrication or manufacturing of any goods or products and any type of dwelling unit.

      COMMERCIAL-MULTIPLE UNIT. Any customer that has a single meter or meters serving more than one business per meter and/or three or more dwelling units per meter.

      DIRECTOR. The director of the water department of the City of Fort Worth, or his or her authorized representative.

      GENERAL BENEFIT FACILITY. Wastewater facilities that provide utility services and benefits common to all customers of the utility; this includes wastewater treatment plants, control systems and appurtenances, and all major collectors and interceptors that are 18 inches and greater in diameter.

      INDUSTRIAL. Any customer served by one or more water meters whose sewage contains wastewater from a product fabricated, processed or manufactured by the customer.

      INDUSTRIAL-MONITORED CLASS. Any customer determined by the director to be a producer of any sewage having a suspended solids or B.O.D. content which is significantly in excess of that found in normal sewage, but is otherwise acceptable into the city sanitary sewerage system.

      INITIAL WASTEWATER SERVICE. The first wastewater service to be provided at a specific property location.

      INITIAL WATER SERVICE. The first water service to be provided at a specific property location.

      LIVING AREA. The enclosed area of a dwelling that does not include garages, carports and outside patios or porches.

      METER. A device that measures the quantity of water used. The types of meters used herein are those described in the American Water Works Association C700 through C703 and M6 Standards.

      PUBLIC UTILITY. Any person, firm, corporation, cooperative corporation or any combination of these persons or entities including a municipal corporation, water supply or sewer service corporation or other political subdivision of the state, or their lessees, trustees and receivers, owning or operating for compensation equipment or facilities for the provision of potable water to the public or for the collection and treatment of sewage for the public, but does not include any person or corporation not otherwise a public utility that furnishes the services only to itself or its employees or tenants as an incident of that employee’s service or tenancy when that service is not resold to or used by others.

      RESIDENTIAL. Any customer living in a dwelling having the necessary living facilities for one unit that is served by a single water meter. This class also includes a duplex dwelling where no more than two living units are supplied water through a single meter.

   (b)   System facility access fee.

      (1)   No person, firm, corporation or other entity shall be entitled to initial wastewater service until payment of the appropriate system facility access fee as set forth in subsection (c) hereof. Payment of the system access fee is required as a condition precedent to establishing initial wastewater service. All other conditions for initiating service, such as deposit requirements, tap fees, extension agreements and service charges are covered elsewhere in the city code and are in addition to the system access fee.

      (2)   Prior to the initial connection of any building, structure, premises or lot after the effective date of this section to the city’s wastewater system, the owner of that building, structure, premises or lot shall pay the system facility access fee as established in subsection (c) below, such fee to be paid in cash prior to the issuance of the building permit.

   (c)   Schedule of fees.

      (1)   The system facility access fees for the residential class using a five-eighths-inch by three-fourths-inch water meter shall be those as set out in Table I.

Table I
Living Area (sq. ft.)	Wastewater System Access Fee
Under 1,000	$88
1,001—1,200	$102
1,201—1,400	$116
1,401—1,600	$130
1,601—1,800	$144
1,801—2,000	$158
Over 2,000	$172

 

      (2)   The system facility access fees for all other customer classes and the residential class using a water meter larger than the five-eighths-inch by three-fourths-inch meter shall be those as set out in Table II below.

Table II
Wastewater System Facility Access Fees
Meter Size and Type	5/8 × 3/4 in. Simple	1 in. Simple	1-1/2 in. Simple	2 in. Simple	2 in. Turbine	3 in. Simple	3 in Turbine	4 in. Turbine	6 in. Turbine	8 in. Turbine	10 in. Turbine
Equivalent meter factor	1	2.5	5	8	10	15	24	42	92	160	250
Residential	See Tbl. I	$324	$649	$1,038	$1,297	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Commercial	$409	$1,022	$2,044	$3,270	$4,088	$6,131	$9,810	$17,168	$37,606	$65,402	$102,190
Comm. multi-unit	$481	$1,202	$2,403	$3,845	$4,807	$7,210	$11,536	$20,188	$44,222	$76,908	$120,168
Industrial	$194	$485	$969	$1,551	$1,938	$2,907	$4,652	$8,142	$17,832	$31,011	$48,455
Indust.-monitored class	$2,740	$6,849	$13,698	$21,917	$27,396	$41,094	$65,751	$115,064	$252,044	$438,338	$684,902

 

      (3)   The full amount of the fees set out in this section, as amended from time-to-time through cost-of-service based studies, will be phased-in gradually as specified below:

 

	Percentage of System Facility Access Fee in Effect During Fiscal Year to be Charged
For City of Fort Worth Fiscal Year Beginning October 1	Wastewater
1986	20%
1987	40%
1988	60%
1989	80%
1990	100%

 

   (d)   Private and public facilities.

      (1)   If any property within or without the city’s corporate limits utilizes a water well, a septic tank or an individual waste disposal system and the property owner requests to be connected to the city’s wastewater system, the customer shall be assessed the fee established by this section before the property is connected to the city’s wastewater system. Should the property owner request only a wastewater connection while retaining a private water well, the appropriate fee to be assessed will be determined by the director of the water department.

      (2)   A system facility access fee will not be assessed to any property which is receiving service from a wastewater treatment plant owned by a public utility when such public utility is acquired by the city and connected into the city’s wastewater system.

   (e)   Clarifications and determinations. When a question arises as to the classification of a customer’s service class and/or the appropriate meter size, the director shall make the determination in accordance with the existing city code as of the date the question arises. Any customer shall have the right to request in writing from the director an interpretation or clarification of the basis upon which a system facility access fee was assessed.

   (f)   Increasing size of meter.

      (1)   If a customer requests an increase in meter size to an existing service, the customer shall pay the fee difference between the new level of service and the existing level of service as set out in subsection (c) hereof. The additional fee shall be paid prior to the installation of the enlarged meter service.

      (2)   A request for additional sewer connections for improved property shall not result in the assessment of an additional system facility access fee so long as no increase in the size of the water meter is made.

   (g)   Dedicated funds.

      (1)   The system facility access fees together with all interest derived therefrom that are generated by this section shall be deposited into a dedicated fund account to be used solely for the financing of the construction, design, inspection and other related expenses of general benefit wastewater capital improvement projects.

      (2)   A separate dedicated fund shall be established for receipt of proceeds from wholesale sewer customers of the city. This dedicated fund shall not be commingled with fee proceeds from the retail customer class except to the extent funds may be combined for expenditure on general benefit capital facilities. Such funds collected from wholesale customers shall be used solely for the purposes set out in the contracts between Fort Worth and its wholesale customers.

   (h)   Timely utilization of fees. It is intended that the fees collected by this section will be utilized in a timely manner to provide additional capacity of general benefit facilities. For purposes of this section, timely utilization of fees is determined to mean the encumbrance of funds for general benefit contracts within five years from the date of the receipt of a fee. In the event that such proceeds are not encumbered within five years of date of receipt, such fees will be refunded to the present property owner upon written request.

   (i)   Waiver of fee. No system facility access fee shall be assessed an application for initial wastewater service provided:

      (1)   All approach and on-site mains and facilities are in place and final inspection has been conducted and accepted by the water department;

      (2)   Such application for the initial wastewater service is presented to the city on or before May 1, 1987; and

      (3)   The application for a building permit for the same property as the initial wastewater service application is presented to the city on or before September 30, 1987.

(Ord. 9721, §§ 1—10, passed 9-23-1986; Ord. 9805, §§ 1—10, passed 1-27-1987; Ord. 9853, §§ 1—9, passed 3-31-1987)

Cross-reference:

   Water and wastewater impact fees, see §§ 35-66

    et seq.

Editor’s note:

   Ord. 9721, adopted Sept. 23, 1966, added provisions designated as § 37-26.2 to the 1964 Code. Inclusion of the substantive provisions of said ordinance as § 35-58.1 hereof has been at the editor’s discretion. The effective date of § 35-58.1 is May 1, 1987. Also it should be noted that Ord. 10601, § 1(3.06), adopted June 5, 1990, as codified at § 35-80.1, provides for the replacement of access fees for new development, etc. See § 35-80.1.

§ 35-59 RATES FOR PUBLIC QUARTERS ON MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.

   (a)   The term PUBLIC QUARTERS LOCATED ON MILITARY INSTALLATIONS ADJACENT TO THE CORPORATE BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY shall mean all housing units or projects located upon land owned by the United States of America and operated by the United States Air Force as places of residence for personnel stationed at Carswell Air Force Base, a portion of such base being within or adjacent to the corporate boundaries of the city.

   (b)   Charges for water and sewerage services rendered to public quarters located on military installations adjacent to the corporate boundaries of the city, whether such public quarters are within or without the corporate limits of the city, shall be the same as the rates established or hereafter established for consumers located within the corporate limits of the city, and the minimum charge for such service shall be that applicable to the size of the meter through which water is furnished without regard to the number of living or other units served through such meters.

(1964 Code, §§ 37-27, 37-28)

§ 35-60 USES OUTSIDE CITY.

   (a)   The rates charged by the city for water furnished for use on premises located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city shall be one and one-quarter times the rates charged for water furnished to premises within the corporate limits.

   (b)   The rates charged by the city for rendering wastewater service to or use of wastewater facilities by premises located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city shall be one and one-quarter times the charge for comparable service inside the corporate limits. Such charges for service shall be applicable to wastewater ultimately received through the wastewater system of the city.

   (c)   The charge for treating industrial waste originating from premises located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city shall be one and one-quarter times the charge for treating comparable industrial waste originating from premises within the corporate limits.

   (d)   Impact fees and tap or service connection fees for water and wastewater service provided within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be the same as if the services were provided within the corporate limits. No service shall be rendered through any water or wastewater connection unless the charges are paid.

   (e)   The city may enter into a written agreement with any of its wholesale municipal water or wastewater customers to provide retail water and/or wastewater service to residents of the wholesale municipal customer at the same rate and for the same service fees applicable to such service within the city.

   (f)   Nothing in this section or any other ordinance shall be construed to compel the city to furnish water, wastewater or industrial waster service or the services of its water, wastewater or industrial waste treatment plants to any person, as defined in this chapter, located beyond the corporate limits and within the extraterritorial jurisdiction, or to continue such service once initiated; and the city reserves the right to furnish such service to such persons as it deems advisable and to at any time wholly or partially discontinue the service upon violation of any of the terms of this chapter. No water or wastewater service shall be furnished consumers beyond the corporate limits and within the extraterritorial jurisdiction unless and until such consumers shall furnish the city with satisfactory evidence that all plumbing, including fixtures and appliances through which water or wastewater is to pass have been approved by the city plumbing inspector. If additional plumbing is to be installed on such premises after water or wastewater service has commenced, such consumer shall secure a city plumbing permit for such additional installations, and no water from the city waterworks or wastewater service shall be provided such premises unless and until such additional plumbing installations have been approved by the city plumbing inspector.

(1964 Code, § 37-29) (Ord. 16804, § 1, passed 1-31-2006)

§ 35-61 DEPOSIT REQUIRED.

   (a)   Form of security. Unless exempted herein, all customers shall be required to make a deposit in one of the following forms:

      (1)   Cash;

      (2)   Guarantee bond in a form and from a surety company acceptable to the director of the water department;

      (3)   Letter of credit drawn on a state or federally chartered lending institution located in Tarrant County, Texas; provided however, that in the event the letter of credit is not renewed at least 15 days prior to the date of expiration, the letter of credit may be drawn upon and the funds so received shall become a cash deposit; and

      (4)   Assignment to the City of Fort Worth of certificate of deposit in a state or federally chartered lending institution located in Tarrant County, Texas.

   (b)   Amount. The director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative shall establish the amount of a security deposit which will be sufficient to insure the city against loss due to nonpayment of final bill.

   (c)   Failure to provide security. The director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative may refuse or discontinue service to any person, firm or corporation who fails to make a required security deposit or fails to increase the amount of the security deposit after having been notified that an increase is required.

   (d)   Hardship cases. In cases of extreme hardship the director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative may allow single-family residential service customers to make cash deposits in installments.

   (e)   Exemptions from security deposit requirement. A person is not required to post a security deposit provided he or she has a satisfactory credit history with the water department as determined by the director or his or her duly authorized representative.

   (f)   Withdrawal of exemption. If a customer establishes an account without a security deposit, but subsequently loses his or her satisfactory credit history with the department, a security deposit may be required as a condition for continued service.

   (g)   Exceptions to section. This section does not apply to governmental entities or to wholesale service contracts.

(1964 Code, § 37-30) (Ord. 9937, § 1, passed 8-25-1987; Ord. 11922, § 2, passed 4-18-1995; Ord. 23990-12-2019, § 3, passed 12-17-2019, eff. 4-1-2020)

Cross-reference:

   Security deposit refunds, see § 35-65

§ 35-62 ESTIMATION WHEN METER DEFECTIVE.

   Should any meter fail to register correctly the amount of water used by a consumer since the previous reading, the right shall exist on the part of the city water department to charge for water and sewer service on the basis of three month’s average.

(1964 Code, § 37-31)

§ 35-63 PAYABLE AND DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS.

   (a)   Bills for water and service charges shall become due and payable to the city, in person, over the phone, by mail, online or as otherwise indicated on the customer's bill within 21 days from the date of the bill. If a customer has not paid the bill in full within 24 days of the date of the bill, a late charge shall be assessed against all unpaid current charges on the bill according to the specified in § 35-56(1).

   (b)   The owner, occupant or tenant of any premises receiving services shall be responsible for the payment of the fees incurred for such premises for services under this article.

   (c)   When an account becomes delinquent, the director may send the customer a second bill. If the account is not brought current within ten days of the date of the second billing, the city may suspend all city-provided utility services until payment is made in full.

   (d)   After the city has terminated a customer's service for nonpayment or if the account becomes delinquent, the director may file a lien against the property that received the services in the amount of the delinquent fee. A lien may not be filed against any property that is protected as a homestead by the Texas Constitution.

   (e)   A notice of lien authorized by this section shall be filed in the real property records in the county in which such property is located. The lien shall contain a legal description of the property and the service account number.

   (f)   The director may add the amount of delinquent charges, including penalties, filing fees, interest and collection costs, if any, incurred upon the property as of the date of execution of the lien. Should additional delinquent charges be incurred subsequent to the date of the original lien's execution, a correction lien may be executed and filed fixing the additional delinquent charges. The correction lien, when filed of record, shall relate back to the date of recording of the original lien and shall become a part of the original lien.

   (g)   A lien filed pursuant to this section is inferior to a bona fide mortgage lien that is recorded before the recording of the city's lien. The city's lien is superior to all other liens including previously recorded judgment liens and any liens recorded after the city's lien.

   (h)   The authority of the director to impose liens on real property for nonpayment of service fees does not apply to property which has been properly declared rental property pursuant to this subsection.

      (1)   The owner of any property which is rented to another person may declare such property to be rental property not subject to lien if the service account is in the name of the tenant.

      (2)   The declaration shall be in writing, specifically naming the service address, declaring such to be rental property, and declaring that the owner does not wish such property to be used as security for services provided by the city.

      (3)   The declaration of rental property shall be valid only so long as the person making the declaration owns the property, and rents the property to another, and the tenant has services provided in his or her name. An owner may revoke a declaration at any time by notifying the city in writing.

   (i)   A lien shall not apply to the services provided to the tenant prior to the effective date of this section, nor shall it apply to services provided a tenant in the tenant's name after a declaration is filed by the property owner.

   (j)   A lien may be appealed, modified and released as follows.

      (1)   Within 30 days after filing a lien pursuant to this section, the director shall give notice to the property owner and the account holder that such a lien has been filed on the property. Notice shall be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested.

      (2)   Within 30 days after receiving notice, the property owner may appeal the filing of the lien to the director in writing. The director may hold a hearing on the matter or may make a decision based upon the property owners written appeal.

      (3)   The director shall authorize the release of the lien if the property owner shows by a preponderance of the evidence that no bill for services to the property is owing or that at the time the lien was filed the property was protected as a homestead under the Texas Constitution.

      (4)   The director may modify or release the lien to reflect the true amount of delinquency in payment for services to the property if the owner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that a lesser bill is owing than that alleged by the lien.

      (5)   The person last listed on the county tax rolls as being the owner of the subject property shall be presumed to be the owner for purposes of this subsection (j), and the address listed for the owner on the county tax records shall be presumed to be the address of the owner.

      (6)   Whenever a person pays all interest, principal, and filing fees of a lien validly filed pursuant to this section, the director shall execute a release of that lien and surrender it to the paying party. The city shall not be responsible for filing the release.

   (k)   The city attorney, at the request of the director, may file suit to judicially foreclose the lien in a state court of competent jurisdiction.

(1964 Code, § 37-32) (Ord. 18835-09-2009, § 4, passed 9-22-2009, eff. 1-1-2010; Ord. 23990-12-2019, § 4, passed 12-17-2019, eff. 4-1-2020; Ord. 25423-03-2022, § 2, passed 3-29-2022)

§ 35-64 USE OF SECURITY DEPOSITS.

   (a)   Accounting requirements. The director shall keep:

      (1)   Accurate records of all security deposits, including, but not limited to, the depositor’s name, amounts deposited and deposits refunded; and

      (2)   Separate accounts of all security deposits.

   (b)   Administration of deposits. The director shall administer cash security deposits in accordance with the following rules:

      (1)   A deposit will be applied toward payment of the final bill amount due the city when a service account is closed or becomes inactive due to delinquency, transfer of ownership or other reasons;

      (2)   A deposit made to secure service to premises may be transferred or applied toward payment of a final bill; and

      (3)   A deposit, less amounts due for service, will be returned to the customer when service is discontinued, unless the deposit is transferred to another address.

(Ord. 9937, § 2, passed 8-25-1987)

§ 35-65 SECURITY DEPOSIT REFUNDS.

   (a)   Definition. As used in this section only, the term CUSTOMER means a single-family residence or duplex and shall include a yard meter serving such residence or duplex.

   (b)   Refund requirements. The director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative may refund a security deposit to the customer when the customer meets all of the following conditions:

      (1)   The customer has been receiving service for 12 continuous months;

      (2)   The customer has acquired a satisfactory credit history with the water department;

      (3)   The customer has not made payment during the past 12 months with a check returned due to insufficient funds; and

      (4)   The customer has no delinquent bills outstanding.

   (c)   Refusal to refund. Notwithstanding subsection (a) above, the director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative may refuse to refund a security deposit where due to the circumstances of a customer’s account there is a substantial risk of financial loss to the department.

   (d)   Review for eligibility. The director of the water department or his or her duly authorized representative shall review all customer payment histories at least once each year to determine eligibility for refund. Refunds will be made in the following manner.

      (1)   A refund will normally be credited to a customer’s bill.

      (2)   If a refund is greater than the outstanding bill, the remaining portion of the refund will be applied to the subsequent bills.

      (3)   If a customer no longer has an account for service or, in special circumstances approved by the director of the water department, such refund may be made by a check made payable to the customer.

(Ord. 9937, § 3, passed 8-25-1987)

DIVISION 2: WATER AND WASTEWATER IMPACT FEES

Cross-reference:

   Water and wastewater system facility access fees, see § 35-58.1

Editor’s note:

   Ord. 10601, § 1, adopted June 5, 1990, amended the code by adding provisions designated as § 35-58.2. For purposes of classification, said provisions have been included herein as Div. 2, §§ 35-66 through 35-80.1 at the discretion of the editor. Sections 35-56 through 35-65 have been designated as Div. 1. See the Code Comparative Table for a detailed analysis of inclusion. See also the editor’s note at § 35-58.1.