§ 110-36. Construction of water main; connections.

(a)

Duties of developer. Water mains to be constructed by a developer or his contractor under this article shall be constructed in accordance with the following:

(1)

Plat approval. For subdivisions, the application shall be accompanied by two copies of a recorded plat or, for a new subdivision, an approved preliminary plan or preferably a master preliminary plan or a large-scale development plan plus a plan showing location of proposed water main extensions.

(2)

Other governmental approval. Prior to final acceptance, all such water main extensions shall be approved by the appropriate state and county agencies.

(3)

Materials and construction standards. All materials and labor shall meet the specifications required by the county. All construction shall be performed under the inspection of the county and in strict compliance with the standards of the county design standards.

(4)

Connection to existing system. The developer's contractor may connect a main line extension of the county's existing system. When a tapping sleeve is required for the connection to an existing main, the following procedure is required:

a.

The contractor must perform the following:

1.

Excavation and dewatering.

2.

Provide lifting equipment on site for tapping machine.

3.

Furnish and install tapping sleeve and valve, under inspection of county inspector.

4.

Pressure test tapping sleeve and valve, under inspection of county inspector.

5.

Provide support blocking under tapping sleeve and valve.

b.

County personnel shall perform the actual tapping operations and installation of the construction meter.

c.

The developer must pay to the county prior to the meter installation and tapping operation all required connection charges, construction connection charges and impact fees.

(5)

Costs. The developer will pay all impact fees, connection charges and construction costs prior to connecting to the county's system unless otherwise specified in an agreement between the developer and the county. Construction cost will be the cost of water mains of sufficient capacity to supply water to the proposed development from the nearest adequately sized county water mains.

(6)

Oversizing. The county reserves the right to oversize any extension and will pay for such oversizing on the basis of additional costs beyond that necessary to serve only the subject development, including fire flow requirements. The county will pay an established unit amount based upon the pipe size of a facility multiplied by the length of that facility. The established unit amount will be determined by the county based on the flow requirements of the developer and the county's study of current construction costs. The county will credit the developer for the cost of the county's share of oversized water mains, and this credit will be in the form of a reduction of the impact fee or a cash payment. The county also reserves the right to limit the amount of its participation in the cost of oversizing, depending on economic conditions or other factors. The rates of credit relate to the difference in diameter between the pipe required for the developer's project and the pipe required by the county to be installed.

(7)

Construction permit. A permit for construction must be obtained by the developer from the appropriate governmental agency.

(b)

Public easement required. No water main facility will be installed under this section and accepted by the county for operation and maintenance unless it is in a public right-of-way or easement with a minimum width of 15 feet. Conveyance of all easements shall be by a separate document in recordable form to be approved by the county and shall be accompanied by a written certification by an attorney licensed to practice law in the state that the developer is the owner in fee simple of the property to be conveyed by the easements and that, upon its execution by the developer, a valid and enforceable easement in the developer's property will be vested in the county. No water main facilities to be owned and operated by the county shall be installed under any building or appurtenances thereto.

(c)

Conveyance and ownership. All water main facilities and appurtenances to be owned by the county shall be conveyed to the county by proper bill of sale immediately after the county's acceptance, in writing, of the construction of the facilities. The developer shall also provide copies of paid bills or lien waivers, releases or satisfactions, together with a breakdown of the actual cost of the facilities. Concurrently with the documents required in this subsection, the developer shall furnish the county with one set of as-built drawings showing specific locations, depths, etc., of all water main facilities and appurtenances. In addition, the developer shall furnish the county with a maintenance bond or alternate security deposit acceptable to the county, for a period of one year from the county's final acceptance of the facilities, in the amount of 15 percent of the total actual cost of construction of the facilities, to protect the county against losses resulting from any and all defects in materials or improper installation of the facilities. When accepted and properly conveyed to the county for ownership, maintenance and operation, the facilities shall become and remain the property of the county, and no person shall, by the payment of any changes provided for in this subsection, or by causing any construction of facilities accepted by the county, acquire any interest or right in any of these facilities or any portion thereof other than the privilege to have his property connected thereto for water service in accordance with this article. No permanent meters for any type of service may be installed on facilities which have not been properly conveyed to the county.

(d)

Approvals. No water main extension will be accepted by the county without the approvals of the county and the appropriate state agency.

(e)

Unauthorized work on water system. No person shall tamper with, work on, uncover, open or close valves, make connection with or in any way alter or damage any county water main or appurtenance thereto without written permission of the county. The offending person shall pay a violation fee of $500.00 in addition to paying the total cost of all charges attributable to such tampering and shall be subject to all other penalties as may be prescribed by law.

(Code 1970, § 26-78; Ord. No. 87-09, § 8, 3-24-87)