90.09 PLUMBER REQUIRED.

All installations of water service pipes and connections to the water system shall be made by a State-licensed plumber.

90.10 EXCAVATIONS.

All trench work, excavation, and backfilling required in making a connection shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of the International Plumbing Code and the provisions of Chapter 135 of this Code of Ordinances.

90.11 TAPPING MAINS.

All taps into water mains shall be made by or under the direct supervision of the Superintendent and in accord with the following:

(Code of Iowa, Sec. 372.13[4])

1.   All taps in the water main must be at least 12 inches apart and on the side and near the top and not in any case within 18 inches of the hub.

2.   Service connections shall be three-fourths inch type K copper (ASTM B88) or schedule 40 PVC (polyvinyl chloride) (ASTM D1784 and D1785). Where good engineering design requires, larger service lines may be required.

3.   Service lines shall be installed at least five and one-half feet below finished ground level. Pipe must be laid sufficiently waving, and to such depth, as to prevent rupture from settlement or freezing.

4.   In any instance in which a service line for requested water service exceeds 110 feet in length, the property owner shall, before water service is extended to such owner, agree to pay the cost of installation of a meter pit in a location to be designated by the City, and said property owner shall pay the cost of installation of said pit prior to the furnishing of water to said property. The meter pit shall thereafter be the property of the City.

90.12 LIABILITY FOR CONNECTION COSTS AND REPAIRS.

All original connections to the municipal water system shall be made at the expense of the owner of the property to be served. Thereafter, and during the time that this provision is in effect, the City will make necessary repairs to the service line from its system to the main shutoff valve provided for in Section 90.15 of this chapter, provided that notice of the necessity of such repair be given the Superintendent prior to excavation. Property owners requesting a tap of a water main by the City employees shall pay to the City an amount set by resolution of the Council, plus costs of materials, except for the original connections to the municipal water system, which shall be made at the expense of the owner of the property to be served.

90.13 SHARING OF MAIN COSTS.

Where there are properties being developed that are separated by public access or streets and the properties can be served by one water main, the Council shall determine the side of the street on which the main will be located. The costs of installation of the main shall be borne by the developer who first develops the adjacent public access. Any person who wishes to connect to the existing main to furnish water to the property on the opposite side of the public access shall be required to pay the developer who originally installed said main one-half of the per-foot cost of installation times the number of frontage feet owned by the person desiring to make said connection, subject to the following terms and conditions:

1.   All agreements entered into pursuant to this policy shall provide the cost to the original developer and to the maximum amount of permissible reimbursement prior to actual installation, which agreement may not thereafter be modified.

2.   Any person that becomes insolvent or ceases to do business after the signing of an agreement contemplated by this policy shall not be entitled to reimbursement, and any agreement with such person shall become null and void.

3.   The Council’s decision on any disputed matter concerning this policy shall be final.

90.14 FAILURE TO MAINTAIN.

When any portion of the water service pipe which is the responsibility of the property owner becomes defective or creates a nuisance and the owner fails to correct such nuisance, the City may do so and assess the costs thereof to the property.

(Code of Iowa, Sec. 364.12[3a and h])

90.15 CURB VALVE.

There shall be installed within the public right-of-way a main shut-off valve on the water service pipe of a pattern approved by the Superintendent. The shut-off valve shall be constructed to be visible and even with the pavement or ground.