(A) No person shall knowingly or intentionally allow the use of water from the city for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provision of this plan, or in an amount in excess of that permitted by the drought response stage in effect at the time pursuant to action taken by Mayor, or his or her designee, in accordance with provisions of this plan.
(B) Any person who violates this plan is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction shall be punished by a fine. Each day that one or more of the provisions in this plan is violated shall constitute a separate offense. If a person is convicted of three or more distinct violations of this plan, the Mayor shall, upon due notice to the customer, be authorized to discontinue water service to the premises where such violations occur. Services discontinued under such circumstances shall be restored only upon payment of a re-connection charge, hereby established within the city’s established fee schedule and any other costs incurred by the city in discontinuing service. In addition, suitable assurance must be given to the Mayor that the same action shall not be repeated while the plan is in effect. Compliance with this plan may also be sought through injunctive relief in the district court.
(C) Any person, including a person classified as a water customer of the city, in apparent control of the property where a violation occurs or originates shall be presumed to be the violator, and proof that the violation occurred on the person’s property shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the person in apparent control of the property committed the violation, but any such person shall have the right to show that he or she did not commit the violation. Parents shall be presumed to be responsible for violations of their minor children and proof that a violation, committed by a child, occurred on property within the parents’ control shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the parent committed the violation, but any such parent may be excused if he or she proves that he or she had previously directed the child not to use the water as it was used in violation of this plan and that the parent could not have reasonably known of the violation.
(D) Any employee of the city, police officer, or other employee designated by the Mayor, may issue a citation to a person he or she reasonably believes to be in violation of this chapter. The citation shall be prepared in duplicate and shall contain the name and address of the alleged violator, if known, the offense charged, and shall direct him or her to appear in the municipal court on the date shown on the citation for which the date shall not be less than three days nor more than five days from the date the citation was issued. The alleged violator shall be served a copy of the citation. Service of the citation shall be complete upon delivery of the citation to the alleged violator, to an agent or employee of a violator, or to a person over 14 years of age who is a member of the violator’s immediate family or is a resident of the violator’s residence. The alleged violator shall appear in municipal court to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty for the violation of this plan. If the alleged violator fails to appear in municipal court, a warrant for his or her arrest may be issued. A summons to appear may be issued in lieu of an arrest warrant. These cases shall be expedited and given preferential setting in municipal court before all other cases.
(Ord. 24-103, passed 6-18-24)