(A) All connections to the city’s water system must be metered. Water used for construction purposes, prior to the plumbing of an accessible water source, must also be metered and paid for. A metering assembly can be borrowed from the city which will allow a builder to temporarily withdraw metered water from the water meter vault. The builder will be billed for the cost of the water as measured by the meter according to the current water usage rate ordinance.
(B) All water meters belong to the city and consumers obtain no property rights in the same by making the service deposit required. All residential meters are to be installed and removed by employees of the city.
(C) Single-family residential buildings must be metered individually. Each building of multi-family, commercial, educational or industrial property must be metered independently.
(D) All premises within the annexed limits of the city which have wastewater discharges must connect to the city’s sewer system wherever sewers are available (Ord. 188) and must abide by the city’s Sewer Use Ordinance (Ord. 481-99, Ch. 52 of this code of ordinances).
(E) Tap fees will be assessed for all new water and sewer connections. Any upgrades to property which is already served by water or sewer will be assessed a tap fee for the difference between the existing service and the upgraded service based on the fee structure included herein. No credit will be granted for any services that are degraded or abandoned.
(F) The tap fees shall be assessed upon each individual unit (duplex, apartment, condo and the like) and to any remodeling or addition requiring a building permit, which creates one or more new residential or non-residential units.
(G) The tap fee is only for the privilege of tapping into the city water and/or sewer system. The tap fees do not cover any materials or installation costs.
(H) All additional work must be done by the city or a contractor approved by the city who will abide by the city’s Standard Specifications for Water and Sewer Construction Projects.
(I) The applicant shall pay for any water meter and for any labor or materials which are provided by the city immediately upon presentation of a bill for same by the city. Water service will not be provided, or will be discontinued, for non-payment.
(J) The water and sewer tap-on fee must be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit.
(K) (1) All materials will be invoiced at the city’s or city’s subcontractor’s cost, without any markup. Labor and equipment provided by the city will be invoiced at rates set by the city. These tap fees shall apply to any tap-ons requested from this date forward and shall continue in full force and effect until repealed or modified as required by law. In the case of a residential installation when the primary metered service line could be upsized to accommodate the additional demand for the fire protection capacity, the customer is expected to pay the entire cost of the tap fee required for the domestic service and the tap fee noted above. For example, if a three-fourths-inch water line and meter service is required for the domestic needs, but upsizing to a one-half-inch water line and meter service would accommodate the domestic needs, plus the fire protection needs, then the customer is required to pay the standard tap fee for a three-fourths-inch water service and the tap fee noted above for the larger size line. In addition, the customer is required to pay for the entire expense for the upsized installation, which would include all the time and materials necessary for the improvement. To qualify for the tap fee for an upsized water line installation for fire protection, which utilizes a common water line to the home, the customer must submit an engineered drawing to the city indicating that the home is being designed with an interior fire sprinkler system.
(2) In addition, the customer must submit to an inspection of the sprinkler system and plumbing by city personnel prior to turning on the water service. The intent will be to verify that 100% of the upsized capacity of the water service is only being utilized by the fire protection system.
(L) No charge shall be made for water used in extinguishing accidental fires or for underwriter’s tests, and water shall not be drawn from a private fire service connection for any other purpose.
(Ord. 537-04, passed 10-4-2004; Ord. 663-14, passed 6-16-2014)