[Adopted 9-5-1961 as Ord. No. 68]
The following provisions are hereby adopted
for regulating the use of the public water supply in the Town of Snow
Hill.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
There shall be appointed by the Mayor and Council
on the first regular meeting following the May election of each year
a Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater Department, who shall
serve for one year, from the first of July ensuing, unless sooner
removed by the Mayor and Council. He shall receive such compensation
for his services as the Mayor and Council shall determine. He shall
give such security for the faithful performance of his duties as the
Mayor and Council may require and shall make a monthly report to the
Mayor and Council of all moneys received by him and for what purpose,
of all material purchased or used and for what purposes and of all
work done and necessary to be done and shall make an annual report
to the Mayor and Council on the first regular meeting in the month
of May of all the operations, transactions and business connected
with the waterworks and shall conform to the ordinances and resolutions
of the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 7-3-1967 by Ord. No. 77; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No.
1994-5]
All applications for the introduction of water
into any premises or its supply for any purpose or for the extension
of any private pipe for the conveyance of such water must be made
in writing, addressed to the Mayor and Council and filed with the
Clerk or such other persons as the Mayor and Council shall by ordinance
or resolution designate to receive the same. Each such application
shall be signed by the owner or owners of the premises to be supplied
or their duly authorized agent, shall be accompanied by the permit
fee of $35, shall be in the form then supplied by the Mayor and Council
and shall disclose the following information, namely: the location
of the premises to be supplied, the names and addresses of the owners
thereof, the designation whether the water main or a private pipe
is to be tapped and, if the latter, the names and addresses and written
consent of the owners thereof and its location, the size and type
of the corporation cock to be installed (not less than one inch) and
of the pipe leading therefrom to the premises to be supplied, a complete
and correct list of the fixtures or outlets to be supplied and the
purpose for which the water is to be used. Upon receipt of any such
application and the permit fee and the fee for installing the corporation
cock and flexible joint or private pipe connection hereafter provided
for, the application being in proper form, the Clerk or other person
thereunto authorized by the Mayor and Council shall issue in triplicate
a permit for such water supply, in which permit shall appear the date
of issue, the names of the owners and the location of the premises
to be supplied and to whom issued, the size and type of the corporation
cock, whether the opening is to be in the public water main or private
pipe, the purpose for which the water is to be used and a list of
the fixtures or outlets to be supplied. The original and one copy
of each such permit shall be given to the person applying for the
same, and the second copy shall be kept among the records of the Town.
The Clerk shall enter and keep in a book a list of the owners for
whose premises such permits have been issued and the premises and
fixtures or outlets for which issued and the water rents for the same.
Any person who, having obtained a permit as aforesaid, desires to
tap the water main or a private pipe for the introduction of Town
water into any premises as aforesaid shall notify the Superintendent
of the Water and Wastewater Department at least 24 hours in advance
of the time it is desired that said Superintendent shall make the
necessary connection and shall then furnish said Superintendent with
a copy of said permit and shall have ready at the time of arrival
of said Superintendent at the site an excavation at least three feet
in diameter and centered over the part of the water main or private
pipe it is desired to tap. On receiving such notice, it shall be the
duty of the Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater Department
at the time appointed to make the necessary opening and to install
the corporation cock and a flexible joint of the required size if
the connection is to the water main or to inspect and approve the
connection if to a private pipe. The cost of such opening and installation
shall be paid at the time of obtaining the aforesaid permit by the
person applying for the same. Before the water shall be turned on
for any premises, the water rent to the beginning of the next succeeding
quarter shall be paid in full. When the Superintendent turns the water
on for any premises, he shall notify the Clerk or other person designated
by the Mayor and Council to receive such notice.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
If any person shall without a permit from the
Clerk or other person authorized by the Mayor and Council to issue
such permit introduce a corporation cock into any public or private
pipe or form any connection or communication whatever with said pipe
or break ground for that or any similar purpose in the public streets
or alleys or if any person or persons shall introduce or use a corporation
cock of a larger or smaller diameter or make any attachment or do
anything otherwise than is specified in his or her or their permit,
he, she or they so offending shall forfeit and pay for each and every
such offense a fine of $1,000.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
A.Â
Any person or persons who may hereafter contract for
a supply of water shall cause the pipe conducting the same from the
corporation cock in the main pipe to the curb stopcock to be of a
type of pipe according to the specifications of the Snow Hill Water
and Wastewater Department, not less than one inch in diameter, inside
measurement, and the pipe and fixtures on public or private premises
shall be of such strength as will prevent accidents from leakage and
waste of water; and said Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater
or other authorized person is forbidden to attach a corporation cock
or permit any other person to attach the same to pipe of different
quality from that required by this Article.
B.Â
Each connection with the public water main shall be
supplied with a good and sufficient curb cock, which shall be covered
with a good and sufficient cast-iron curb box leading from the same
to the surface of the sidewalk (or ground where there is no sidewalk),
the cover of the same to have the word "Water" thereon and to be placed
on the sidewalk or ground within one foot of the curb or, where there
is no curb, at the location designated by the Superintendent of the
Water and Wastewater Department; all pipes, stopcocks and other fixtures
used to be subject to the inspection and approval of the Superintendent;
and every separate building or structure which may be supplied with
water from a branch pipe connection with a private pipe shall have
a sufficient curb cock affixed to said branch pipe, covered as aforesaid,
as near as conveniently may be to said branch pipe, when required
and not intercept the supply of water to other persons having a right
to use the private pipe with which such connection may be formed;
and every separate building or structure which may be supplied with
water from a private pipe having branches connected therewith as aforesaid
shall in like manner have a sufficient curb box affixed to such private
pipe for the purpose aforesaid. Said pipes, curb cocks, curb boxes
and other fixtures shall be subject to the inspection and approval
of the Superintendent, and in case of neglect or refusal to have such
curb cocks affixed as aforesaid, every person so offending shall forfeit
and pay a fine of $25. The Mayor and Council shall have power to direct
the Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater Department or other
authorized person to refuse water service to the premises until the
installation complies with this Article.
C.Â
No person, except the Superintendent of the Water
and Wastewater Department or person authorized by the Mayor and Council,
shall be allowed to stop off or turn on the water in the public mains
or to turn on the water at any of the aforesaid curb cocks; and all
plumbers or other persons engaged in making attachments thereto must
leave the curb cocks closed. The corporation cock in the public main
and the pipe and curb cock and curb box attached thereto and all like
fixtures between the public mains and private pipes or fixtures, either
on public or private property, are to be under the charge of and subject
to the direction of the Mayor and Council and are to be kept in good
condition at the expense of the owner or owners of premises supplied.
D.Â
If any person shall violate the provisions of Subsection B of this section, such person, on conviction thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall forfeit and pay a fine of $50 for each offense.[1].
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Paragraph F, Supply,
which immediately followed this section, was deleted 9-13-1994 by
Ord. No. 1994-5.
The Superintendent or other person authorized
by the Mayor and Council shall at all reasonable hours have free access
to all parts of the premises to which water is supplied for the purpose
of inspection, examination of fixtures, etc., and any person or persons
who shall resist or refuse to allow such free access shall forfeit
and pay a fine of $20.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Paragraph H, Rent, and
former Paragraph I, Contract, which both followed this section, were
deleted 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5.
All permits shall be granted upon the express
condition that if, from any cause, the supply of water should fail,
the Town shall not be held liable for any damages which shall arise
in consequence thereof.
All persons who may be supplied with water from
any of the Town mains shall keep their own service pipe, stopcocks,
meter and apparatus in good order and repair and protected from frost
at their own risk and expense and shall prevent all unnecessary waste
of water; and it is expressly stipulated that no claim shall be made
against the Town by reason of the breaking of any service pipe or
service cock or other fixture or from damage arising from shutting
off water to repair a main or to make private connection with the
same.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
In all cases where the water has been turned
off for nonpayment of water and/or sewer bills or for the violation
of any of the provisions of this Article or any of the rules or regulations
relating to the use of water, it shall not be turned on again until
all the expenses attending the turning off and on of the water, together
with the past due amounts and fine and penalty that may be due, are
paid. If it is found that the water has been turned on again without
compliance with the above requirements, it shall be lawful for the
Mayor and Council to cause the corporation cock to be drawn, and it
shall not be inserted again until all past due amounts and fines and
penalties are paid and $1,000 for drawing and replacing the corporation
cock.
[Added 7-3-1967 by Ord. No. 77]
Whenever water and/or sewer services shall be
discontinued at any property for reasons other than in this Article
dealt with, the Water Superintendent or Clerk shall be notified in
writing, and the water supply shall be sealed off at the main, and
the sewer connection shall be sealed off at the sewer in the street,
all at the expense of the property owner.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Paragraph M, regarding
excavations, which immediately followed this section, was deleted
9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
No person shall connect or cause to be connected
to any pipe connected to the Town of Snow Hill's Public Water Supply
any pipe leading from a water supply of any other kind, any sewage
pipe or any cross-connection of any kind. As to every person so offending,
the supply of water will be stopped. The person or persons so offending
shall also forfeit and pay a fine of $250.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Paragraph O, Waste,
which immediately followed this section, was deleted 9-13-1994 by
Ord. No. 1994-5.
The Superintendent or other person authorized
by the Mayor and Council shall be authorized to inquire at any dwelling
or other place where any unnecessary waste of water proceeds into
the cause of the same, and if said waste arises from want of repair
in the pipes or other fixtures and if the owner or occupier of said
dwelling or place shall neglect or refuse, upon 24 hours' notice being
given, to have the necessary repairs made forthwith, said Superintendent
or other authorized person shall be and is hereby authorized and empowered
to shut off the water leading to such place or dwelling; and the expense
of any such shutoff shall be borne by the person or persons supplied
by the pipe; and any person who shall let on the water before the
necessary repairs are made shall forfeit and pay a fine of $25.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
In case the Mayor and Council or Superintendent
shall have reason to believe that there is actual or probable evasion
or disregard of the provisions of any ordinance, rule or regulation
relating to the distribution of water in any building, lot of ground
or premises into or through which pipes for conducting a supply of
water may be laid, it shall and may be lawful for the Superintendent
or other person authorized by the Mayor and Council to enter at all
times into such building, lot of ground or premises for the purpose
of examining the pipes or conduit or other fixtures and ascertaining
whether the same are in proper order and repair and for cutting off
the pipes of communications or shutting off the stopcocks or detaching
the corporation cocks where delinquencies occur in the payment of
water and/or sewer bills; and any person who shall turn on the water
or cause the same to be turned on without authority shall forfeit
and pay for each offense a fine of $100.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Paragraph R, concerning
wasting water, and former Paragraph S, Fountain or lawn sprinkler,
which both followed this section, were deleted 9-13-1994 by Ord. No.
1994-5.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
Any person or persons who shall open or use
any fire hydrant for building purposes, street sprinkling, supply
of shipping or any other purpose, except for the extinguishment of
fire in the neighborhood, or who shall permit any person in his employ
to open or use any fire hydrant, except as aforesaid, without a permit
for that purpose shall forfeit and pay for each offense a fine of
$100.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
Any person or persons who shall obstruct the
access to any fire hydrant, stop-valve or other fixture connected
with the supply of water to the Town by placing thereon or causing
to be placed thereon or within 10 feet thereof stone, brick, lumber,
dirt or any other material shall forfeit and pay a fine of $25 for
each offense; and if he, she or they neglect or refuse to remove the
same forthwith, after notice given, the Superintendent, Secretary
of the Mayor and Council or other authorized person may remove the
same, and the expenses attending such removal shall be paid by the
party so offending.
Where it is desired to supply steam pumps or
boilers, the owner or occupant of the property shall provide a tank
into which the water shall be discharged before going to the pump,
said tank to be of sufficient size to maintain an adequate emergency
supply of water, and no direct communication with the street mains
will be allowed.
The Mayor and Council of Snow Hill reserve the
right to limit the use of the Town water supply whenever and in such
instances and for such purposes as the Council, by resolution passed
at any regular or special meeting, may determine. Any person using
the Town water in violation of such resolution shall forfeit and pay
a fine of $25 for each offense.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
If any person or persons shall break, injure
or do any damage whatever to any boiler, pump, motor or machinery
or to the pumping station or other structure or to any pipe, valve,
stopcock, fire hydrant or other fixtures or appurtenances appertaining
to or connected with the waterworks or shall throw or put any stones,
earth, filth or any foreign matter or substance whatever into the
standpipe, wells or waterways or courses or shall dig or break the
earth in any of the roads, streets, lanes, alleys or grounds for the
purpose of disturbing, moving or injuring the pipes or other fixtures
or appurtenances or of obstructing the passage of water through the
same, every person so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such
offense a fine of $100 and be imprisoned for a term not exceeding
10 days, and the expenses attending repair of such damage shall be
paid by the party so offending.
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
The Mayor and Council reserves the right to
change, by duly enacted resolution, the rules and regulations and
the rates for the use of water from time to time; to make special
rates or contracts in all proper cases; to shut off the water for
alterations, extensions and repairs and to stop and restrict the supply
of water whenever it may be found necessary; and the Town shall not
be liable under any circumstances for a deficiency or failure in the
supply of water, whether occasioned by shutting off water to make
repairs or connection or any other cause whatsoever; and to attach
meters at any time they may deem it expedient and thereafter to charge
for the quantity of water measured or used and to make reasonable
charges for the use of such meters.
[Amended 7-3-1967 by Ord. No. 77; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No.
1994-5]
All water and sewer bills shall be payable to
the Secretary of the Mayor and Council or other person authorized
by the Mayor and Council upon receipt of the bill, but no later than
30 days from receipt. After 10 days' written notice of all water and
sewer bills unpaid as above required, said Mayor and Council shall
cause the water to be stopped off at the curb stop of all such delinquent
water tenants, and after such water is stopped off, the water shall
not again be supplied or furnished said premises, except upon payment
of all arrears of water and sewer bills and all expenses incurred.
[Amended 7-3-1967 by Ord. No. 77; 6-6-1972 by Ord. No.
84; 6-3-1975 by Ord. No. 88; 9-2-1975 by Ord. No. 89; 7-13-1976 by Ord. No. 94; 6-14-1983 by Ord. No. 129; 5-8-1984 by Ord. No.
134; 4-9-1984 by Ord. No. 136; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5]
A.Â
All water meters shall be supplied by and at the expense of property
owners and shall be purchased from the Mayor and Council of Snow Hill,
which will determine the type, size, and make of meter in each case
and sell the same to the property owner at cost to the Town. All water
meters shall be located, installed, connected, repaired, and read
under the supervision of the Water Superintendent.
[Amended 5-8-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-02]
B.Â
All commercial and industrial water use and all use of water in public
buildings in said Town shall be metered hereafter unless otherwise
determined by recorded action of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor
and Council reserve the right to require the installation and use
of water meters in other instances whenever said Mayor and Council
may deem the same necessary or desirable.
C.Â
For water not being returned to the Town's sanitary sewer system,
property owners will have the option of a secondary water meter. The
Town offers two types of secondary water meters: a permanent radio
read meter or an outside water meter.
[Added 5-8-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-02]
(1)Â
Permanent radio read meter.
(a)Â
The Town of Snow Hill shall offer property owners the option
to have a permanent radio read meter with a back-flow preventer installed
on their property. This meter will be paid for by the property owner
and will be read separately from the main radio read water and sewer
meter.
(2)Â
Outside water meter.
(a)Â
The Town of Snow Hill shall offer property owners the option
to purchase a water meter that shall be attached to their garden hose.
Once purchased, the Town shall charge a service fee for reading this
separate water meter. No water meters other than those purchased by
the Town can be used for this service.
(b)Â
The property owner shall pay the current rate for water consumed
through this separate meter but shall not be billed for the sewer
usage.
(c)Â
The property owner shall sign a written agreement for this meter.
(d)Â
The outside watering meter shall be installed on an outside
faucet and will be inspected by the Town of Snow Hill.
(e)Â
If at any time it is brought to the attention of the Town that
the outside water meter is being used to provide water for use in
the residence or such outside water enters the sanitary water system,
the outside water meter shall be removed, and the property owner shall
no longer be eligible for outside water service.
(3)Â
If at any time there are signs of meter tampering, as determined
by the Town of Snow Hill's Public Works Director, it will result in
the immediate termination of the outside meter service, and such property
owner will not be eligible for the sewer charge discount.
[Amended 7-3-1967 by Ord. No. 77; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No.
1994-5]
Any person who may desire to tap any sewer belonging
to the Town of Snow Hill shall first obtain a permit from the Mayor
and Council of Snow Hill and shall pay the sum as established from
time to time by the Mayor and Council of Snow Hill[1] for each dwelling house or other establishment for permission
so to do before tapping the same. All such tappings shall be done
under the supervision of the Superintendent of Water and Wastewater
and shall comply with all regulations governing the same.[2]
[Amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-5; 5-10-2011 by Ord. No.
2011-02]
The Superintendent of the Water and Wastewater
Department of the Town is hereby authorized and directed by means
of equipment to be provided by the Town and under rules and regulations
of the Maryland State Board of Health to cause to be added to the
water supply of Snow Hill no more than 0.7 parts of fluoride to every
million parts of water being distributed in the water supply system
of said Town of Snow Hill.
[Adopted 9-13-1988 as Res. No. 112[1]]
A.Â
Private water wells are prohibited within the Town
of Snow Hill where Town water service is available; Provided, however,
a private water well may be installed in connection with a stormwater
management pond, with a recycling pump, for the purpose of maintaining
water levels for aesthetic and environmental purposes.
[Amended 11-9-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-4]
B.Â
Emergency water wells now in existence for public
and commercial purposes shall be allowed only for such uses as may
be justifiable emergencies.
Capital reserve accounts shall be established
to cover the replacement costs of the production, distribution and
storage facilities of the Town water system, and such costs shall
be included in the customer rates and charges that are levied on Town
water users.
A.Â
All Town water users shall pay a fair share of the
costs of production and distribution of Town water. No Town resident
shall receive a subsidy of any kind for payment for water use without
a specific finding of justification by the Mayor and Council.
B.Â
Any subsidies, discounts or tax abatements relating
to water rates or billings given to nonresidents or businesses as
an incentive to economic development or annexation shall be made only
pursuant to separate findings as to the justification for such price
relief.
Churches and related religious facilities shall
be exempt from the payment of water fees. This exception shall not
extend to residential or business properties associated with churches.
A.Â
Water rates shall be reviewed on an annual basis to
determine whether prevailing rates are adequate to cover full costs.
The Town Manager shall annually recommend the rates required to cover
full costs of production, distribution and storage of Town water.
B.Â
The Mayor and Council shall consider and adopt the
Town Manager's recommended rates unless such recommended rates are
found to be in error or otherwise are not reasonable or fully justified.
In the event that the recommended rates are not adopted, the Mayor
and Council shall adopt specific findings as to why another rate structure
is justified or better suited to the Town's need, but in no event
shall rates be established that will not meet operating, capital and
contingency costs.
