A. Purpose: It is the purpose of this section to protect and preserve the rights, privileges and property of the city of Moorhead and its residents and to preserve and improve the peace, safety, health and welfare of its residents by restricting or prohibiting actions which are dangerous to health, safety or property in times of flooding.
B. Definitions:
AUTHORIZED PERSON: A city employee, law enforcement officer, national guard member, or city retained contractor authorized by city engineering personnel.
EASEMENT: An interest in land owned by another that entitles its holder to a specific limited use.
FLOOD: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflow of streams or rivers or from the unusual and rapid runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD CONTROL: Refers to all methods, temporary and permanent, used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of floodwaters.
FLOODGATE: A gate and its associated structure used for controlling the flow of water in a sewer or drainage works.
FLOODWALL: A primarily vertical artificial barrier designed to temporarily contain the waters of a river or other waterway which may rise to unusual levels during seasonal or extreme weather events.
LEVEE: An embankment raised to prevent a river from overflowing.
PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY: The area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway, street, bicycle lane or public sidewalk in which the city has an interest, including other dedicated rights of way for travel purposes and utility easements of the city.
PUMP: A device that raises, transfers, delivers, or compresses fluids or that attenuates gases especially by suction or pressure or both.
SANDBAG: A bag filled with sand and used as ballast in the formation of protective walls.
SANITARY SEWER: A sewer intended to carry only sanitary wastewater and industrial wastewaters from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions.
SEWER: Pipe or conduit for carrying stormwater or wastewater.
SEWER PLUG: A temporary device used to block the flow of water in a sewer.
STORM SEWER: A sewer intended to carry only stormwaters, surface runoff, street wash waters and drainage.
C. Prohibited Acts:
1. It shall be unlawful for any person(s) to interfere with the construction of permanent or temporary earthen, clay or sandbag levees constructed within public right of way or permanent or temporary easement.
2. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person(s) to trespass upon any permanent or temporary earthen, clay or sandbag levee, floodwall, or other temporary flood control measure during a period of emergency declaration.
3. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person(s) to operate a motor vehicle, recreational vehicle or construction equipment upon or across any permanent or temporary earthen, clay or sandbag levee.
4. No person(s) shall maliciously, wilfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, dismantle, uncover, deface or tamper with any flood control measure including earthen, clay or sandbag levees, floodwalls or floodwall enclosures.
5. No person(s) shall maliciously, wilfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the storm or sanitary sewer.
6. No unauthorized person(s) shall be permitted to open or close floodgates or sewer plugs.
7. No unauthorized person(s) shall be permitted to operate city owned or rented pumps, including PTO driven pumps.
8. It shall be unlawful for any person(s) to make any unauthorized discharge into the sanitary or storm sewer system.
9. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person(s) to drive around any cones or barricades designating a road closure.
10. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person(s) to make admittance into an evacuation area, unless they are a resident of that area.
11. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person(s) to redirect city flood control resources including, but not limited to, filled sandbags, empty sandbags, sand, sandbag making equipment, construction equipment or human resources. (Ord. 2011-03, 3-21-2011)