(A) Customer requested service.
(1) The customer shall notify the utility at least seven working days in advance of the date discontinuance is needed. In the case of termination of a "Fire Protection Service", the customer's notice shall be in a written form, signed by an authorized agent/representative of the customer. The customer shall remain responsible for all the service used and the billings therefore until service is terminated. Thereafter, the customer shall be billed for and shall pay the minimum sewer bill and the garbage bill as established by this section.
(2) Upon request by a customer of the utility to discontinue the service, the utility shall discontinue the service within seven working days of the requested discontinuance date. The customer is responsible for providing access to the premises for actual final reading within the seven working day period. Thereafter, the customer shall be billed for and shall pay the minimum sewer charge and the garbage charge as established by this section.
(3) There will be no abatement of charges in whole or in part by reason of the extended absence of the customer for any cause.
(4) This section will not apply to any case where a customer has entered into a contract with the utility to take service from the utility for a definite period specified or provided for in such contract, and such stipulated time has not expired.
(5) The utility will perform disconnect services only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., prevailing local time, subject to fulfilling the utility's rules and regulations as may apply. The utility will not disconnect or terminate water service for non-payment on any day which the utility's offices are closed to the public, or after 12:00 noon of the day that is immediately preceding any day on which the utility office is not open to the public.
(B) Without customer's request.
(1) The utility may disconnect service without request by the customer:
(a) When an emergency exists;
(b) For any unauthorized use of water;
(c) For maintaining an unprotected "cross-connection" of a water customers’ piping to any other source of water supply or for permitting any condition to exist on or about the customers’ premises that causes or might cause contamination and/or the pollution of the utility public water supply, or any part thereof;
(d) Upon order by any authority having jurisdiction over matters of public water supply;
(e) For failure to repair any leak in the service piping or appurtenances between the service connection and the meter, or in any private fire protection system, or other unmetered facilities;
(f) For tampering or knowingly permitting tampering with any service piping, curb stop, service valve, meter or meter seal, or any other appliance or equipment owned by the water utility;
(g) For the vacating of a premises, or abandonment of premises;
(h) For issuing a bad check or draft to the water utility;
(i) For the failure to comply with the terms of a credit agreement;
(j) For failure to pay a cash security deposit in accordance with the utility's rules and regulations and/or rate structure;
(k) For failure to pay in accordance with the rules, any water billings or other charges in connection with water utility service installations or facilities at the service address, other service address, or otherwise, except as noted hereafter;
(l) For failure to provide free and non- hazardous access to the premises and meter, appliances and/or other utility-owned equipment for the utility to read meters, make inspections, replacements, relocations of meters, appliances/ equipment;
(m) For failure to maintain or cause to be maintained approved meter settings, meter pits and vaults;
(n) For the installation of a new water service pipe and appurtenances or altering or removing existing service pipe and appurtenances, including the meter, without written authority by an authorized agent of the water utility;
(o) For waste or excessive use by a customer on a special purpose unmetered rate, in excess of contract.
(2) In each case, except those arising under divisions (B)(a), (b), (d), (f), (g). (h), (i), (j), (n) and (o) of this section, the utility will issue a notice advising the customer of the reason for discontinuance of service and giving the customer 72 hours to remedy the violation. If the violation is not corrected within 72 hours to the satisfaction of the town, service will be discontinued. Said notice is deemed given if deposited in the U.S. Mail postage pre-paid to the customer of record or personally delivered to the customer.
(3) (a) When water service to the premises has been terminated for any reason, water service will be restored only upon proper application to the utility after conditions of the notice of termination have been properly corrected and inspected by the utility, when all charges due from the customer have been settled, and when arrangements have been made to provide access to the premises during regular working hours of the utility (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.). No payments in lieu of disconnections will be accepted by utility personnel in the field. A $50 service charge will be due and owing at the time the disconnect order is issued, whether disconnection of service has been effectuated or not prior to the correction of the condition or conditions under or contained in the notice of which service was scheduled to be discontinued. If the termination or restoration of service involves any excavating, the cost of such work shall be borne by the customer.
(b) Should the conditions under which service was discontinued not be corrected within 60 days, the utility shall have the right to finalize the customer's account. In the absence of a final meter reading, the utility will render a final bill based on the average of previous consumption; if arrangements are made within seven working days after or following the date of the final billing, adjustments will be made. No adjustments will be made after the expiration of the seven-day period.
(c) Reconnection of the service is included in the initial base service charge of $50; however, if the utility schedules an appointment for reconnection and the customer fails to keep that appointment, an additional service charge will be added for every additional service call, plus any applicable hourly charges for utility personnel.
(C) Prohibited disconnections.
(1) Except as otherwise provided, the utility will postpone or cause to be postponed, the disconnection of water service for 30 days, if prior to the disconnection date specified in the notice of disconnection, the customer provides to the utility a medical statement from a licensed physician or public health official which states that discontinuance of water service would be a serious and immediate threat to the health or safety of a designated person in the household of the customer. The postponement or disconnection will be continued for one additional 30-day period upon the furnishing of an additional medical statement.
(2) The utility will not disconnect service to the customer:
(a) Upon failure to pay for the service rendered at a different meter address, residence or location, if such billing has remained unpaid for less than 45 days; or
(b) Upon failure to pay for services to a previous occupant of premises to be served, unless the utility has good reason to believe the customer/applicant is attempting to defraud the water utility by using another name.
(Ord. 19-01, passed 4-9-19)