(a) A water emergency shall exist which threatens the public health and safety when there is either inadequate water supply or insufficient pressure in the City to either provide water or to assure the maintenance of sufficient pressure in the water system of the City to provide for fighting fires in the Municipality or insufficient pressure or inadequate water supply in the water system of the City to provide for normal household or commercial use.
(b) The determination of the possibility of such inadequate water supply or pressure in the water system shall be made by the City Manager with the advice of the Director of Public Works.
(c) Whenever the City Manager, in accordance with subsection (b) hereof, has determined that a water emergency exists, the City Manager shall proclaim the existence of such emergency and shall give publicity to such proclamation by newspaper, radio, television and any or all of such means as are available to most rapidly acquaint the citizens of the Municipality with the proclamation.
(d) The proclamation authorized in subsection (c) hereof shall become effective at the time of issuance by the City Manager and shall prescribe uses of water to be limited or forbidden and shall fix times for such limitation or prohibition of use with particularity. The maximum period of duration of such emergency by proclamation shall be thirty days unless, before the expiration of such time, the Manager shall request and obtain the consent of Council to extend such emergency; in which case the emergency shall be extended for either a time certain or an indefinite period, depending on the action taken by Council.
(e) The use of water contrary to the limitation or prohibition of the proclamation thereafter and during the existence of the water emergency shall constitute a violation of this section.
(f) When the City Manager, with the advice of the Director of Public Works determines that the water emergency no longer exists, the City Manager shall so inform the citizens as set forth in subsection (c) hereof.
(g) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for the first offense, and a misdemeanor of the fourth degree for any subsequent offenses.
(Ord. 17-1988. Passed 7-18-88.)