The Town shall have the power:
a. To
construct, operate and maintain a water system and water plant.
b. To
construct, operate and maintain a sanitary sewerage system and a sewage
treatment plant.
c. To
construct, operate and maintain a storm water drainage system and
storm water sewers.
d. To
construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve
or dispose of all parts, installations and structures of the above
plants and systems.
e. To
have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates made for any of
the above plants and systems or parts thereof or the extension thereof.
f. To
do all things it deems necessary for the efficient operation and maintenance
of the above plants and systems.
Any public service corporation, company or individual, before
beginning any construction of or placing of or changing the location
of any main, conduit, pipe or other structure in the public ways or
sidewalks of the Town, shall submit plans to the Town and obtain written
approval upon such conditions and subject to such limitations as may
be imposed by the Town. Any public service corporation, company or
individual violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and punishable in accordance with Section 403 of
this Charter. If any unauthorized main, conduit, pipe or other structure
interferes with the operation of the water, sewerage or storm water
systems, the Town may order it removed, at the owner's expense.
All individuals, firms or corporations having mains, pipes,
conduits or other structures, in, on or over any public way or sidewalk
in the Town or in the county which impede the establishment, construction
or operation of any Town sewer or water main shall, upon reasonable
notice, remove or adjust the obstructions at their own expense to
the satisfaction of the Town. If necessary to carry out the provisions
of this section, the Town may use its condemnation powers provided
in Section 1102. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions
of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The Town may enter upon or do construction in, on or over any
county public way or sidewalk for the purpose of installing or repairing
any equipment or doing any other things necessary to establish, operate
and maintain the water system, water plant, sanitary sewerage system,
sewage treatment plant or storm water sewers provided for in this
Charter. Unless required by the county, the Town need not obtain any
permit or pay any charge for these operations, but it must notify
the county of its intent to enter on the public way or sidewalk and
must leave the public way or sidewalk in a condition not inferior
to that existing before.
The Town shall provide a connection with water and sanitary
sewer mains for all property abutting on any public way in which a
sanitary sewer or water main is laid. When any water main or sanitary
sewer is declared ready for operation by the Town, all abutting property
owners after reasonable notice shall connect all fixtures with the
water or sewer main. The Town may require that, if it considers existing
fixtures unsatisfactory, satisfactory ones be installed and may require
that all cesspools, sink drains and privies be abandoned, filled,
removed or left in such a way as not to injure public health. All
wells found to be polluted or a menace to health may be ordered to
be abandoned and closed. Any violation of an ordinance passed under
the provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The Town may make a charge, the amount to be determined by the
Council, for each connection made to the Town's water or sewer
mains. Unless otherwise agreed between the Town and the individual
paying the charge, this charge shall be uniform throughout the Town,
but may be changed from year to year. Arrangements for the payment
of this charge shall be made before the connection is made.
In order to prevent any leakage or waste of water or other improper
use of the Town's water system or sewage disposal system, the
Town may require such changes in plumbing, fixtures or connections
as it deems necessary to prevent such waste or improper use.
The Town may by ordinance provide that no water supply, sewerage
or storm water drainage system, and no water mains, sewers, drains
or connections therewith, shall be constructed or operated by any
person or persons, firm, corporation, institution or community, whether
upon private premises or otherwise, and may provide that cesspools
or other private methods of sewage disposal shall be operated and
maintained in such a manner that they do not and will not be likely
to affect adversely the public comfort and health, and any cesspool
or other private method of sewage disposal affecting or likely to
affect adversely the public comfort and health may be deemed a nuisance
and may be abated by the Town. Any violation of an ordinance passed
under the provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The Town shall have the power to extend its water or sewerage
systems beyond the Town limits and to establish charges to such users
at the rates different from those charged to users located within
Town limits.
Any employee or agent of the Town, while in the necessary pursuit
of official duties with regard to the water or sewage disposal systems
operated by the Town, shall have the right of entry, for access to
water or sewer installations, at all reasonable hours, and after reasonable
advance notice to the owner, tenant or person in possession, upon
any premises and into any building in the Town or in the county served
by the Town's water or sewage disposal system. Any restraint
or hindrance offered to such entry by any owner, tenant or person
in possession, or the agent of any of them, may, by ordinance, be
made a misdemeanor.
No person shall do anything which will discolor, pollute or
tend to pollute any water used or to be used in the Town water supply
system. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a
misdemeanor and punishable in accordance with Section 403 of this
Charter.
The Town, if it deems it advisable, may contract with any party
or parties, inside or outside the Town, to obtain water or to provide
for the removal of sewage.
The Town shall have the power to charge and collect such service
rates, water rents, ready-to-serve charges or other charges as it
deems necessary for water supplied and for the removal of sewage.
These charges are to be billed and collected by the Treasurer, and
if bills are unpaid within 30 days, the service may be discontinued.
All unpaid charges shall be a lien on the property, collectible in
the same manner as Town taxes or by a suit at law.