§ 110-37. Connections for service and meters; service installation fees.
(a)
Service installation fees. Under this article, the county will provide a standard service line capable of serving the size of meter requested for a lot or parcel adjacent to an existing distribution main owned by the county upon advance payment by the customer of a service installation fee and appropriate impact fees. The minimum size of service line between a water main and a meter shall be one inch. If a service line larger than one inch is necessary to serve the customer with an adequate supply of water, the customer shall provide the county with plot plans and plumbing plans for a cost estimate. After the cost has been determined, the county will install such adequate service line upon application of the customer and advance payment by him of the total estimated cost of such larger service line. The county will attempt to install the meter at the location requested by the customer. However, the county reserves the right to install the meter at any location within the perimeter boundaries of the customer's property.
(b)
Service availability from existing systems. Customers shall be notified when sewer or water is available. Sewer service or potable water shall be considered available to an existing or new equivalent residential unit (ERU) when the individual unit or development is within a designated sewer or water service area and the development review committee (DRC) policy guidelines for service availability apply. Sewer or potable water charges shall be in effect within 365 days of notification of the availability of sewer or water service or if connection is made before the expiration of 365 days, upon actual connection.
(c)
Customer's obligations.
(1)
Installation. Each customer's installation shall include that part of the service line to be extended by the customer at his expense to a point designated by the county. The customer's installation shall be extended to the county's meter and curbstop, ordinarily located at the front or rear property line at one side of the lot.
(2)
Type and maintenance. The customer's water pipes, apparatus and equipment shall be selected, installed, used and maintained in accordance with standard practice, conformable to rules and regulations of the county, and in full compliance with all laws and governmental regulations applicable thereto. The customer expressly agrees to abstain from utilizing any apparatus or device which may adversely affect the service, and the county reserves the right to withhold or to discontinue service whenever any such apparatus or device is used.
(3)
Change of installation. No changes or increases in the customer's installation, which will materially affect the proper operation of the pipes, mains or stations of the county, shall be made without the written consent of the county. The customer will be liable for any damage resulting from a violation of this subsection.
(4)
Inspection of installation. All installations for water service or changes therein shall be inspected before covering, upon completion, by a competent authority to ensure that piping, equipment and devices have been installed in accordance with accepted standard practice and in compliance with such local rules and building codes as may be in effect. Where inspection is required by governmental rules or ordinances, the county shall discontinue service if the inspecting authority notifies the county that the installation has not been approved. The county reserves the right to inspect the customer's installation prior to rendering service and from time to time thereafter, but assumes no responsibility whatsoever for any portion thereof.
(5)
Indemnity to county. The customer shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend the county from and against any and all liability, proceedings, suits, costs or expenses for loss, damage or injury to persons or property, in any manner directly or indirectly connected with or growing out of the transmission and use of water by the customer at or on the customer's side of the point of delivery.
(6)
Protection of county's property. The customer shall properly protect the county's property on the customer's premises and shall permit no one to have access thereto except the county's agents or persons authorized by law. When service lines, meters, mains or other equipment are damaged by contractors, construction companies, governmental agencies or others, such damage will be repaired by the county and the cost thereof charged to the party if causing the damage. If any loss or damage occurs to property of the county caused by or arising out of carelessness or neglect or misuse by the customer, the cost of making good such loss or repairing such damage shall be paid by the customer.
(7)
Access to premises. The duly authorized agents of the county shall have access at all reasonable hours to the premises of the customer for the purpose of installing, maintaining and inspecting or removing the county's property, reading meters and other purposes incident to performance under or termination of the county's contract with the customer and in such performance shall not be liable for trespass. If access is not granted for the purposes indicated in this subsection, a notice will be left for the customer stating that county personnel would return within 48 hours. If access is not granted for two consecutive billing periods, service will be subject to termination. All appropriate regulatory agencies will be advised of county action. A service charge of $10.00 will be assessed for each attempt after the initial attempt to gain access. Those charges will be applied on the customer's next bill. In order to have water service restored, all charges must be prepaid.
(8)
Right-of-way. The customer shall grant or cause to be granted to the county and without cost to the county all rights, easements, permits and privileges which in the county's opinion are necessary for the rendering and maintaining of service.
(d)
Location of water meters. The customer shall provide meter space for use of the county at a suitable and readily accessible location, preferably adjacent to the customer's property line. When the county considers it advisable, adequate and proper space for the installation of meters and other similar devices shall be provided by the customer within the premises to be served and at no cost to the county. Whenever two or more meters are utilized to supply the customer's premises, such meters will be grouped and the customer's installation brought out by the customer to a meter location designated by the county. Customers and their agents, such as an employee, contractor, etc., are prohibited from placing any obstacles, such as trees, bushes, etc., on or about meters, valves and other equipment which in any way obstruct free access to such equipment. If after notification by the county any such obstructions are not removed within 24 hours of such notification, a service charge of $10.00 will be applied to the customer's next bill. If obstructions still remain after two consecutive bills, service will be subject to termination.
(e)
Installation of meters. The county will install and properly maintain all meters and metering equipment as may be necessary to measure the water delivered to the customer. Separate meters to measure water not entering a sewer system may be requested by the customer, upon written application and payment of the necessary fees. Title to meters and metering equipment shall be and remain property of the county.
(f)
Standard of accuracy and certified test of meters.
(1)
No meter will be installed by the county unless first tested and determined to be legally accurate. The county will use all practicable means to maintain the accuracy of its meters.
(2)
A legally accurate meter means a meter that has been tested according to the county's established procedures and within a tolerance of 1.5 percent error displacement, two percent error turbine propelled and three percent compound and fire service.
(3)
Upon request from a customer, the county will remove a meter from service and conduct a test which shall be certified by the county.
(4)
The minimum charge for a certified test will be $25.00.
(5)
If a meter which is tested at the request of a customer is determined by certified test to be legally accurate, the customer shall pay the test charge of $25.00. If a meter is determined not to be legally accurate, the customer will not be required to pay the test charge.
(6)
If a meter is determined not to be legally accurate, the customer's billing for one period prior to removal of the meter will be adjusted by an amount based on the percentage of registration error on the meter as tested.
(7)
For a meter determined not to be registering at the time of the meter test, the county will estimate the bill for the billing periods in question by basing the estimate on registration of a 30-day period as recorded on a legally accurate meter installed to serve the customer's premises.
(g)
Connections for service; unauthorized connections or installations. Connections to the county's system for any purpose whatsoever are to be made only by its employees or contractors with the full approval of the county. No connection of any description, temporary or otherwise, is permitted on the customer's installation between that portion of the customer's installation for domestic water service and that portion of the customer's installation for fire protection purposes. That portion of the customer's installation for domestic water service shall be so arranged that all domestic water service shall pass through the meter. No temporary pipes, nipples or spacers are permitted except for temporary testing purposes by a plumber authorized by the county, and under no circumstances are connections allowed which may permit water to bypass the meter or metering equipment. Any and all physical connections or arrangements of pipes are prohibited between two separate piping systems on the customer's property, one of which contains potable water from the county's water mains and another containing a liquid from any other source such as a private well supply. If the county determines that such an interconnection exists, it shall terminate service and remove the water meter immediately. Service will not be restored until any such interconnection has been severed and proof of severance has been provided to the county. No booster pumps may be installed in the plumbing system of any residential customer. Booster pumps installed in the plumbing systems of multifamily, commercial or industrial customers are permitted, but only with the approval of the construction manager and only with the inclusion of proper backflow preventer devices.
(h)
Backflow prevention for commercial or industrial establishments. All potable water connections to any commercial or industrial establishment will require the installation of a reduced pressure zone backflow preventer as a component of the customer's installation, unless this is specifically waived in writing by the utilities manager.
(i)
Backflow prevention devices. All backflow prevention devices installed for the purpose of protecting the distribution system shall meet or exceed the department's backflow prevention device specifications. The department shall be sole judge of product quality and conformity to applicable standards and shall maintain a current list of approved devices which shall be available to the public. All backflow prevention devices shall be fully acceptable to the state division of health, bureau of sanitary engineering. Only the following will be considered acceptable backflow prevention devices: air gap; reduced pressure zone backflow preventer; double checkvalve assembly backflow preventer; pressure vacuum breaker backflow preventer; and atmospheric vacuum breaker backflow preventer.
(j)
Unauthorized connections. Any unauthorized connections or installations shall be subject to the immediate discontinuance of service without notice, and service will not be restored until such unauthorized connections or installations have been removed and unless settlement is made in full for all water service estimated by the county to have been used because of such unauthorized connections or installations.
(Code 1970, § 26-79; Ord. No. 87-09, § 9, 3-24-87; Ord. No. 93-19, § 2, 9-8-93)