(A) Duly authorized agents of the town shall have access to the premises of the consumer for the purpose of installing or removing town property, inspection, observation, flow measurement, sampling and testing of industrial waste and other pollutants, testing meters or any other maintenance purpose required for the proper operation of the town’s water and/or wastewater system and facilities.
(B) Each user shall grant or convey, or shall cause to be granted or conveyed, to the town a perpetual easement and right-of-way across any property owned or controlled by the user wherever such perpetual easement or right-of-way is necessary for the town water and wastewater facilities and mains so as to be able to furnish service to the user. In the event that it is necessary, in order to furnish service to the user under the provisions of this chapter, for the town’s property or employees to enter upon the owner’s property, then in that event, the owner does grant to the town, its agents and employees, a right- of-way for the purposes of servicing, repairing, installing, removing or for any other purpose necessary for the town to provide the services as set out herein.
(C) The Town Manager and other duly authorized employees are authorized to obtain information concerning industrial processes that have a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the wastewater collection system. The industry may withhold information if the industry can establish that the revelation to the public of the information in question might result in an advantage to competitors.
(D) The property owner shall not permit any object, including, but not limited to, vehicles, piles of soil or construction materials, debris, shrubbery, trees, fences, pampas grass and the like to obstruct the access to water meters for reading or maintenance. If necessary, the town may remove the obstruction at the owner’s expense.
(E) It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct, interrupt or interfere with any public utility water line, sewer line or drainage ditch or tile either owned or under the control or use of the town without having first obtained written permission from the Public Utilities Director or Town Manager.
(F) While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in division (A) above, the Town Manager and duly authorized employees of the town shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the consumer. The consumer shall be held harmless for injury or death to the town employees. The town shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by town employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions.
(G) Utility easements; alleys; and rights-of-way.
(1) The purpose of this division (G) is to provide access for maintenance of utility lines that are located within alleys, rights-of-way and easements over private property.
(2) Utility lines located in easements located on private property, street rights-of-way and alleys shall remain free and clear of all buildings and structures and other improvements to allow for the maintenance of utility lines.
(3) No property owner shall be permitted to leave or store building materials and other miscellaneous items within the prescribed easement, alley or right-of-way that would prohibit access of town equipment.
(4) The town shall have the authority to remove structures, fences, gardens, trees, landscaping and debris located within the easements, street rights-of-way and alleys in order to maintain utility lines. The cost of removal of such items shall be the responsibility of the property owner and the cost of removing such items by the town shall be added to the next water/sewer bill for the property.
(5) Easements, alleys and rights-of-way that do not conform with these regulations prior to the date of the adoption of this section shall be evaluated on an “as necessary” case-by-case basis and corrective action determined by the Town Manager.
(6) From the date of adoption of this chapter, all future easements shall be a minimum width of 25 feet for water mains, 25 feet for sewer mains six feet or less in depth and 35 feet for sewer mains over six feet deep.
(7) This division (G) shall become effective upon adoption and enforcement shall be in accordance with the provisions listed in § 51.015.
(Ord. passed 5-3-2011; Ord. passed 9-11-2014)