Section 1. User Information.
(a) Applications for Service. Application for a water service installation and water service shall be made to the City Clerk on forms prepared by the City Clerk and furnished by the City. Every person applying for water service from the municipal water system and every owner of property for which such application is made shall be deemed by such application to consent to all ordinances, rules, and regulations of the City that may be established by the City as conditions for the use of water.
The hook-up fee for each new water connection to the City water mains shall be the sum of $1,000.00 per service connection and shall be paid in full to the City Clerk before water is furnished by the City to the new connection.
(b) Accounts in Name of Owner. All accounts shall be carried in the name of the owner who personally, or by his or her authorized agent, shall apply for such service. The owner shall be liable for water supplied to the property, whether he or she is occupying the property or not, and any charges unpaid shall be a lien upon the property.
(c) Deposit. At the time of filing an application for water services, any applicant who has not, during his last previous period of water service form the City, had a record of payment of all of his water bills for the most recent 12- month period before they have become delinquent, or established a satisfactory credit history with the City Clerk for payment of other utility bills in other cities, shall deposit the sum of $100.00. The deposit shall be refunded after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment or upon prior termination of service with all bills paid. If the customer is delinquent in his water account, his deposit shall be applied on the delinquent account, and an additional deposit shall be required to bring the deposit up to the amount originally required.
(d) Payment. Statements for total water charges for the preceding quarterly period shall be mailed to each customer on or before January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 of each year. The amount listed on the statement shall be due on or before 30 days after mailing.
Section 2. Collection with Taxes.
Delinquent water accounts may be certified by the Council to the City Clerk, who shall prepare an assessment roll providing for assessment of the delinquent amounts against the respective properties served. The assessment roll shall be delivered to the Council for adoption on or before October 1 of each year. Upon such adoption, the City Clerk shall certify the assessment roll to the County Auditor for collection along with taxes.
Section 3. Assessment and Collection.
After such installation and connection is completed by order of the Council, the City Clerk shall serve a written notice of the assessment upon the owner or his representative directing him to pay to the City Treasurer said assessment within 10 days after the service of said notice. If such assessment is not paid within 10 days, the City Clerk shall certify the amount thereof to the County Auditor for collection in the same manner as other special assessments, and the same shall become a lien upon said property until paid; provided the City Council may, by resolution, provide that the assessment be spread over a term of up to 5 years upon request of the owner of the property or his representative.
Section 4. Public Works Department; Repairs.
The City of Mazeppa shall employ a Public Works Department with a Public Works Director. The Public Works Director, or such other person as by him may be directed, is authorized to enter and have free access into all premises within the City of Mazeppa at all reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining the condition of hydrants, pipes, or other fixtures connected with the water system of the City of Mazeppa; and in case he determines that said appliances are imperfect or out of repair, he may require in writing that the same be repaired or renewed. If such repairs or renewals are not made within 30 days after said notice, the water supply may be cut off, and in such case, the supply of water to said premises shall not be turned on until the defect is remedied and by the sum of $25.00 being paid to the City Treasurer.
Section 5. Turning Water into Service Pipes Prohibited.
Except for the purpose of testing the pipes, all persons are prohibited from turning the water into any service pipe without an order or permit from the Public Works Director of the City of Mazeppa.
Section 6. Connections.
(a) Public drinking fountains may be erected on public streets, public grounds, and in school district parks in the City of Mazeppa, which drinking fountains shall be kept and maintained exclusively for public use and shall be so constructed that water cannot be taken therefrom to be used as a source of domestic supply.
(b) Every service pipe connection with the water mains of the City of Mazeppa shall have a service cock placed at or near the line of the street or alley where said service pipe enters the abutting property; and said service cock shall be provided with a box and cover of the pattern determined upon by the City of Mazeppa or its proper officers.
(c) It shall be the duty of every person within the City of Mazeppa whose property is connected with the water supply of said City to keep the service pipe connecting his property with said water supply and all fixtures connected therewith in good repair and protected from frost. Property owners shall bear the costs of repairs and maintenance of the water pipes and lines form the point at which the owner’s pipes and lines are connected with the City water main to the owner’s dwelling. It shall, also, be the homeowner’s responsibility to pay for the costs of repairs to his or her property, including, but not limited to, sidewalks, lawns, and City streets, necessitated as a result of the repair or maintenance of the water lines running from his or her property to the City’s water main.
(d) No persons shall be permitted to connect hydrants, sprinklers, or private fireplugs without stopcocks. The Public Works Director shall supervise the installation of all service pipes, corporation cocks, and stopcocks, and the expense shall be borne and paid for by the consumer; also, all expenses for making excavations in connection with the water attachments shall be paid for by the consumer; no one making such attachments or connections shall be permitted to fill up the excavation therefor made prior to inspection by the Public Works Director or his assistants.
(e) All water shall be measured by meters furnished by the City for that purpose unless the Council shall otherwise determine. The Public Works Director, or such other person as by him may be directed, is authorized to enter and have free access into all premises within the City of Mazeppa at all reasonable times for the purpose of ascertaining the condition of water meters connected with the water system of the City of Mazeppa and to check the meter reading on said meters for the purpose of gauging the amount of water used by each consumer.
(f) Meters to Be City Owned. Every water meter shall be owned and maintained by the City. The cost of the meters shall be the City’s responsibility. Installation costs of the water meter shall be the responsibility of the owner of the premises. In the event that the owner installs his own water meter, the owner shall allow the Public Works Director or his designee free access to inspect and improve the installation.
(g) Unless special permission is granted by the Council, each property shall have a separate and distinct service connection, and where permission is granted for branch service systems, each must have its own separate meter and separate switch or curb cock, as the case may be.
(h) If at any time a consumer desires to have a water meter tested for accuracy, the City shall test such meter upon a fee to be paid to the Public Works Department, said fee to be set from time to time by the City Council by resolution. If the meter registers 97% or less accurate on a full flow test, or 89% or less on a slow flow test, which slow flow test shall be one-fourth gallon per minute flow, no fee shall be charged, and the meter shall be replaced or repaired by the City at no cost to the consumer.
(i) No person shall damage or knowingly or negligently permit damage to be done to a water meter on his premises or elsewhere. Any person damaging any such meter or knowingly or negligently permitting the same to be damaged shall pay all costs of making the required repairs to said meter upon demand by the City Council. Damage from freezing shall be presumed to be due to the negligence of the consumer.
Section 7. Sprinkling.
Water may be used for the purpose of sprinkling lawns, gardens, or the like. However, in case of fires, fire alarms, drought, or other water shortage which causes an emergency situation, the Public Works Director or the Council of the City of Mazeppa may declare a water emergency, and during said water emergency, the Public Works Director may limit the use of water for sprinkling purposes or ban the use of water for sprinkling purposes for any period of time during the declared emergency. No person shall be allowed to use City water for sprinkling during the time when it is not permitted under the regulations set by the Public Works Director during a water emergency. Violation of this ordinance shall constitute a misdemeanor.
Section 8. Injury to Hydrants.
No person shall in any manner interfere with any hydrant, pipe, water cock, and fire apparatus, or any property belonging to or forming a part of the water system of the City of Mazeppa, in such a manner as to injure the same or cause delay in the operation of the same for domestic purposes or for fire protection.
Section 9. Fountains to be Clean.
It shall be unlawful for any person to put, place, or allow to run or be placed into any source of drinking water or into any hydrant, well, fountain, or water pipe used for the conveyance of the same, within the City of Mazeppa, any dirty, poisonous, or noxious substance, or any animal or vegetable matter; it shall be unlawful within said City for any person to knowingly permit to be done any act or thing which impairs or imperils the purity or wholesomeness of the water supply of said City or any part thereof.
Section 10. Duties of Public Works Director Pertaining to Water System.
The Public Works Director of the City of Mazeppa shall have general supervision over all matters pertaining to the water system of said City and to the plumbing within said City. He may employ such assistants as the Council of said City may deem necessary for the purpose of caring for the work incident to his office. The books and records of said Public Works Director shall be filed in he office of the City Clerk at such times as the City Council deems advisable, and in any case, there shall be full and complete yearly reports filed with said City Clerk and presented to said Council concerning the status of the Public Works Department of said City. If the City Council at any time deems it necessary, it may require the said Public Works Director or his assistants to enter into bonds in the form and amount to be determined, the premium of which bonds shall be paid by the City; and the salary of said Public Works Director and his assistants shall be paid monthly in an amount to be determined by the City Council.
Section 11. Disconnection.
(a) The City shall endeavor to collect delinquent bills promptly. In any case, where satisfactory arrangements for payment have not been made, the City may, after the procedural requirements of Subd. 2 have been complied with, discontinue with service to the delinquent customer by shutting off the water. When water service to any premises has been discontinued, service shall not be restored except upon the payment of all delinquent amounts due, plus a fee for reconnection in the amount of $25.00.
(b) Water shall not be shut off under Subd. 1 until notice and an opportunity for hearing have first been given the occupant and the owner of the premises involved. The notice shall be personally served and shall state that if payment is not made before a date stated in the notice, but not less than 15 days after the date on which the notice is given, the water supply to the premises will be shut off. The notice shall clearly inform the customer of the available opportunities to present to the City his objections to the bill and shall identify the telephone number, address, and officer or employee who will handle the customer’s complaint, and who has the authority to review the facts and files, to correct any errors in the billing, and to arrange for credit terms. The notice shall also state that the occupant may, before such date, demand a hearing on the matter, in which case the supply will not be cut off until after the hearing is held. If the customer requests a hearing before the date specified, a hearing shall be held on he matter by a panel of 3 impartial residents of the City to be appointed by the City Council, who shall hold a hearing on the matter at least one week after the date of the appointment of the last of the 3 members of the panel. If, as a result of the hearing, the panel finds that the amount claimed to be owing is actually due and unpaid and that there is no legal reason why the water supply of the delinquent customer may not be shut off in accordance with this ordinance, the City may shut off the supply.
Section 12. Water Rates.
Water rates for the City of Mazeppa shall be set by the Council from time to time by resolution.
Section 13. Storm Sewer Fund.
Every lot or parcel of property in the City of Mazeppa is hereby assessed a storm water fee to be used for repair and construction of storm sewers in the City. The fee shall be billed monthly, quarterly, or annually at the Council’s discretion and may be billed in coordination with water-sewer bills provided to homeowners. The exact amount of the storm water fee shall be set by the Council from
time to time by resolution.