(A) The provisions of this section shall apply only to those industrial, commercial and institutional water users who have facilities connected to the sanitary sewers of the town and who make application to the General Manager under the provisions hereof.
(B) Any industrial, institutional and commercial water user owning or having control of property discharging waste into the sanitary sewers of the town, and on whose property there is located one or more facilities requiring water from the source of supply that also furnishes water to the sanitary sewer system, and all or part of such water provided to any such facility is not discharged into the sanitary sewers of the town, may make application to the General Manager and the WPCA, on forms furnished by the WPCA, requesting that an engineering study of the applicant's property and facilities be made for the hereinafter stated purpose, and paying the fee established by the WPCA.
(C) Applications made under the provisions of this section shall be upon forms promulgated and furnished by the General Manager with the approval of the WPCA, and the applicant shall furnish all the information and other matters requested therein to the WPCA. The fee for making the first application under the provisions hereof shall be as established and revised from time to time by the WPCA upon approval of the Legislative Council. No fee shall be required for studies initiated by the General Manager subsequent to the first application. The fee is to reimburse the WPCA for the expense of making the engineering study and report. Each applicant shall agree, as a condition precedent to the WPCA conducting the study and tests provided for herein, to indemnify and hold harmless the WPCA of and from any and all such liability for any acts or omissions by the WPCA, its agents and employees, committed while conducting the engineering studies and tests provided for herein, causing or resulting in damages to the property or person of the applicant, his or her agents, employees and invitees.
(D) Upon receipt of an application and the fee required herein, the WPCA will, as soon as possible, make an engineering study of the applicant's property and facilities.
In those instances where, in the opinion of the WPCA Manager based upon an engineering study of the property and facilities of the applicant, it is impractical or infeasible for the applicant to install one or more meters to measure the amount of water passing through the water meter serving such property and not being discharged into the sanitary sewers of the town, the WPCA is authorized to make an engineering study to determine the percentage of the amount of water passing through such meter that is being discharged into the sanitary sewer of the town. A report of such determination, showing the basis thereof, shall be certified by the WPCA, and one copy shall be retained by the WPCA and one copy shall be filed with the General Manager and one copy shall be filed with the Town Clerk. Such report, when so filed, shall constitute the basis upon which the sewer service charge established by this chapter shall be computed.
(E) The General Manager is authorized by the majority vote of the WPCA to make such additional engineering studies from time to time of any such property and facilities, to check the current accuracy of the filed report on any such property, and if it is then determined that the filed reports annual estimated sewage volume is now estimated to differ by more than 5%, a new report based upon the latest studies shall be filed with the WPCA to replace the prior one. A complete copy of each such report shall be retained by the WPCA, with a copy sent to the General Manager. No change in the basis of computing the sewer service charge for any property will be made until the first billing date after the filing by the WPCA of the first or any subsequent report.
(F) In the event the General Manager, with the approval of the WPCA, determines it is necessary that certain testing instruments be installed, or the existing equipment of facilities located on the applicants property be altered, adjusted, disconnected or temporarily moved in order to facilitate the making of an engineering study or test under the provisions of this section, all of the foregoing shall be done by and at the expense of the applicant.
(G) When the General Manager has, as a result of an engineering study made under the provisions of this section, determined the percentage of metered water passing through the water meters serving a property that is being discharged into the sanitary sewers of the town, or when the amount of metered water passing through the water meter serving such property and which is not being discharged into the town's sanitary sewers is determined from a water meter installed to measure the amount of such water, billings by the WPCA for sanitary sewer service to such property made prior to such determination shall be reviewed for the purpose of making whatever adjustment is necessary in order to charge such customer only for the amount of metered water that is or has been discharged into the town's sanitary sewers. No adjustment shall be made in excess of that determined to be proper from such engineering study or from the metering of water that is not discharged into the sanitary sewers of the town. Once the proper percentage of adjustment has been determined and certified to the WPCA under the provisions of this section, all subsequent adjustment of water usage for sanitary sewer service charge purposes shall be computed only on the certified basis of adjustment currently on file with the WPCA.
(H) The WPCA may deny an application to conduct a study authorized by this section, for reasons including a finding by other methods adopted by the General Manager to reflect differences in the amounts of metered potable water and estimated wastewater discharges for the purpose of assessing user charges.
(Ord. 397, passed 10-25-99)