During and following drought conditions which may occur from time to time, the supply of water available to the City may become significantly and seriously depleted so that there will not then be a sufficient supply of water to meet the customary and usual demand indefinitely. Under those conditions, the Council may find and declare, by resolution, a public emergency water shortage, during which time it may require any or all of the water conservation methods set forth in Section 93.02 of this chapter for the purpose of producing an orderly and equitable curtailment of water consumption until, by resolution, the Council finds and declares the water shortage emergency to be ended. The Council may specifically authorize by resolution any of the water conservation measures set forth in Section 93.02 and may authorize the Mayor to designate by proclamation which water conservation measures shall apply.
The Council, by resolution, or the Mayor, by proclamation, if authorized, may select from among the following water conservation measures:
1.
There may be voluntary water usage restrictions on the following activities:
A.
Watering of established residential lawns, gardens, plants, trees or shrubs, including but not limited to a total ban on such watering, alternative day watering or watering limited to, but not more than, a certain amount of watering within a certain specified period of time, or within a particular time frame. In this connection, if circumstances so permit, restrictions may also be varied as between lawns, gardens, plants, trees and shrubs and restrictions may be varied as between established lawns and plantings, as compared to new seeding or sod, or new plantings. The newly planted lawns, gardens, seedings, sod and plantings may be exempt for a period of five (5) weeks.
B.
Residential swimming pool filling.
C.
Residential vehicle washing.
D.
All inside residential water usage which is not absolutely necessary.
E.
All commercial water usage which is not absolutely necessary.
F.
Requested timing adjustments (hours of the day and/or alternative days) for all of the items listed above.
G.
Water served at restaurants.
H.
Washing the streets, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks.
I.
Ornamental fountains.
J.
Hydrant flushing.
K.
Washing the outside of buildings.
L.
Nonessential construction water usage.
M.
Public entity (City, County, School) nonessential water usage.
2. There may be involuntary required water usage restrictions or complete prohibitions against the following activities:
A.
Established residential lawns, gardens, plants, shrubs and trees.
B.
Newly planted (less than 5 weeks) residential lawns, gardens, plants, shrubs and trees.
C.
Residential swimming pool filling, private swimming pools, children’s wading pools or any other indoor or outdoor pool of any kind or description.
D.
Residential vehicle washing.
E.
Commercial vehicle washing establishments.
F.
Public entity (City, County, School) nonessential water usage.
G.
Time restrictions (hours of the day and/or days of the week) for any and all of the items listed above.
H.
Water served at restaurants.
I.
Washing streets, parking lots, driveways or sidewalks.
J.
Ornamental fountains.
K.
Hydrant flushing.
L.
Washing the outside of buildings.
M.
Construction water usage.
N.
Tankload water sales by City.
O.
Temporary water rate surcharge to curb use.
3. Each customer may be required to achieve a particular percentage reduction in water usage as compared to a prior period usage and be subject to the payment of a premium rate over and above the normal rate in the event such percentage reduction is not achieved. The amount of percentage reduction and the base period for comparison purposes shall be established by resolution or proclamation as previously set forth. The premium rate shall be as set forth in Section 93.04 of this chapter.
4. The Council, but not the Mayor, may set a base allocation for every customer of the City’s water system, and if the consumption of a particular customer exceeds the base allocation, that customer shall pay, in addition to the regular rate for water consumption, the premium rate set forth in Section 93.04 for unrestrained consumption.
1. Base Allocation. In the event that the Council establishes a base allocation by resolution, any customer of the City’s water system may file an appeal with the Council to adjust the base allocation amount. The Council may grant an adjustment to the appellant based on the following criteria:
A.
For single family residential use, the base allocation may be increased to 200 cubic feet per person per billing period for all individuals residing at the appellant’s residence for a period of more than 30 days.
B.
For commercial, industrial, institutional or other residential use, the base allocation may be increased based upon facts appropriate to the individual customer as, for example, the average of the water bill during the previous winter (November through April), production, service, or occupancy data provided by the customer.
2. Premium Rate Charges. Any customer may file for adjustment of the premium rate charges for unrestrained water consumption with the Council. The Council may grant an adjustment of the premium rate charges in accordance with the following criteria:
A.
The cause of the high consumption must be mechanical in nature (such as broken or leaky pipes or fixtures) rather than human carelessness or apparent disregard of this chapter.
B.
The customer shall furnish proof that the mechanical failure was repaired promptly. This should be in the form of a licensed plumber’s invoice or statement or a materials receipt.
C.
The adjustment may be granted only for the billing period prior to the correction of the failure.
D.
For those accounts granted an adjustment of the premium rate charges, the minimum adjusted premium rate shall be a surcharge of ten percent (10%) of the normal rate in addition to the normal rate charged to the customer.
The Council is authorized, after giving notice and opportunity for hearing, to reduce the flow of water to any customer determined to be using water in any manner not in accordance with this chapter or a resolution or proclamation issued pursuant to Section 93.02.
Water reclaimed or recycled after some primary use, such as water that has been used for washing or cooling, may be used without restriction. Additionally, water derived from sources other than from the City, such as water condensed from the atmosphere by air conditioners or collected from rain or snow, may be used without restriction.