a. The only connections that may be made to the Town Waterworks System are those that are specifically authorized and approved, by valid permit, after compliance with the then-current and applicable procedures and requirements of the Town. All other connections are deemed to be illegal, improper, unauthorized and violative of the right to access and/or use of water supply from the Town Waterworks System.
b. Any person or entity who improperly, illegally, or without duly approved, processed and issued permit authority connects to, misuses permitted connections and/or tampers with the Town's Waterworks System, without legal and proper notice or approval, shall, upon such finding, be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), plus court costs, if any, for a first violation of this ordinance, nor more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500.00), plus court costs, if any, for a second or subsequent violation hereof. Each such violation shall constitute a separate offense. Any and all fines issued and paid pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance, as amended from time to time, shall be ordered and required to be made payable to the Town Waterworks District General Fund, or other Waterworks Fund as deemed appropriate by the Town Clerk-Treasurer, for deposit into the designated fund. Notices of violation for illegal, improper, unauthorized connection to, and/or tampering with the Town of Schererville Waterworks System may be issued by the Town Code Enforcement Officer, the Director of Public Works or his or her duly authorized Public Works personnel, the Town Building Commissioner, any Town Law Enforcement Officer, the Fire Chief or his or her duly authorized Fire Department personnel.
c. The un-metered use of the Town Waterworks System for construction purposes shall be deemed an authorized and permitted use provided all required permits for construction and water tapping have been issued by the Planning and Building Department, or a valid water tapping permit has been issued for areas outside of the Town's Municipal Corporate boundaries but within areas inclusive of the Waterworks District, and the volume of water taken from the Waterworks System is used for activities directly related to the construction of a permitted structure or structures. The unmetered use of the Town Waterworks System for landscaping, vehicle washing and/or other such activities not directly related to the construction of a structure shall be deemed a misuse of the Town Waterworks System violative of the provisions of this ordinance and shall subject any violator to the penalties and fines described in subsection (b) above.
d. At the discretion of the Director of Public Works, or his or her duly authorized delegee, the facilities located at the Public Works/Town Garage Compound may be made available for the filling of bulk storage tanks and equipment such as, but not necessarily limited to, tank trucks, underground boring machines, hydro-mulching rigs, paving machinery, and other such equipment, provided:
1. The petitioner has a valid water account with the Town of Schererville, on record in the Clerk-Treasurer's Office;
2. The water account is not in arrears;
3. The Public Works Department has personnel available to supervise and monitor the filling activities of aforementioned equipment;
4. The equipment presented for filling has provisions for the prevention of the backflow of contaminants into the Town's Waterworks System in compliance with the Backflow/Cross Connection Ordinance, as amended from time to time;
5. The petitioner, his representative, employee or duly authorized agent provides Public Works personnel with the account number, valid identification, license plate and expiration date of the equipment to be filled or the vehicle hauling the equipment to be filled;
6. The petitioner, his representative, employee or duly authorized agent places his legal signature on an invoice provided by the Public Works Department;
7. Each and every time the equipment or machinery is presented for filling at the Public Works facility or other temporary filling station provided and operated by the Public Works Department shall be considered a separate occurrence for billing purposes;
8. The billing structure for the aforementioned services shall be as follows:
A. A minimum service charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be billed per occurrence provided the volume of water delivered does not exceed three thousand (3,000) gallons;
B. A service charge of thirty dollars ($30.00) shall be billed per occurrence for volumes of water delivered over three thousand (3,000) gallons but less than ten thousand (10,000) gallons;
C. A service charge of thirty dollars ($30.00) plus two dollars ($2.00) for each additional one thousand (1,000) gallons delivered over and above ten thousand (10,000) gallons.
9. A temporary filling station may be furnished at a remote jobsite location for the convenience of a petitioner, as determined appropriate in the sole discretion of the Public Works Director, or his or her authorized delegee. In such cases, the service charge and billing structure described in subsection (d)(8) above, shall apply, in addition to the hourly rate of the employee providing set up and monitoring services, which rates and charges shall be added to the billing invoice required to be paid by a petitioner for such services and water supply.
e. The invoices generated by the Public Works Department for the purposes of documenting and billing services described in subsection (d), above, shall be delivered to the Offices of the Town of Schererville, Clerk-Treasurer for billing on the following schedule:
Invoice Date Submittal Date Billing Date
January 1 through March 31 April 10 May
April 1 through June 30 July 10 August
July 1 through September 30 October 10 November
October 1 through December 31 January 10 February
f. The removal or altering of any device designed and installed on a water measuring device such as a seal wire assembly shall constitute tampering with said device. The unauthorized operation of a service shut off valve (b-box), system isolation valve, fire hydrant auxiliary valve or any other such Waterworks System control valve or device shall constitute tampering with the Waterworks System. All tampering with the Waterworks System of the Town shall result in termination of the services and provision of water supply contemplated herein, removal of Town equipment, billing of all amounts owed, issuance of citation for violations of this ordinance as set forth above, and report to the Town Police Department for investigation of such tampering and misuse events identified.
(Ord. No. 1691, §§ 1-6, 4-11-07)