The city shall have the power to:
A.
Construct, operate and maintain a water system and water plant.
B.
Construct, operate and maintain a sanitary sewerage system and a
sewage treatment plant.
C.
Construct, operate and maintain a stormwater drainage system and
stormwater sewers.
D.
Construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve
or dispose of all parts, installations and structures of the above
plants and systems.
E.
Have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates made for any of
the above plants and systems or parts thereof or the extension thereof.
F.
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 of
the city, shall submit plans to the city and obtain written approval
upon such conditions and subject to such limitations as may be imposed
by the city. Any public service corporation, company or individual
violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
If any unauthorized main, conduit, pipe or other structure interferes
with the operation of the water, sewerage or stormwater systems, the
city may order it removed.
All individuals, firms or corporations having mains, pipes, conduits or other structures in, on or over any public way in the city or in the county which impede the establishment, construction or operation of any city sewer or water main shall, upon reasonable notice, remove or adjust the obstructions at their own expense to the satisfaction of the city. If necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, the city may use its condemnation powers provided in § C-1202. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The city may enter upon or do construction in or over any county
public way 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 stormwater sewers provided for in this Charter. Unless required
by the county, the city 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 and must leave the public way in a condition
not inferior to that existing before. The city may repair or remove
the utility pipe lines, or parts thereof, or their connections on
and under the surface of all the public ways within the corporate
limits of Taneytown without the necessity of any other authority or
permission than is hereby given; provided, however, that if any such
public way is a state highway, the work shall be done to the satisfaction
of the State Highway Department, and the entire cost of replacing
the state highway in as good a condition as before shall be paid by
the city.
The city 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 city, all abutting property
owners, after reasonable notice, shall connect all fixtures with the
water or sewer main. The city may require that, if it considers existing
fixtures unsatisfactory, satisfactory ones be installed and shall
require that all cesspools, sinkdrains and privies be abandoned, filled,
removed or left in such a way as not to injure public health. All
wells shall 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 city may make a charge, the amount to be determined by the
Council, for each connection made to the city's water or sewer
mains. 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 city's water system or sewage disposal system, the
city may require such changes in plumbing, fixtures or connections
as it deems necessary to prevent such waste or improper use.
The city may, by ordinance, provide that no water supply, sewerage
or stormwater 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 city. Any violation of an ordinance passed under the
provisions of this section may be made a misdemeanor.
The city shall not further extend its water or sewerage system
beyond the city limits.
Any employee or agent of the city while in the necessary pursuit
of his or her official duties with regard to the water or sewage disposal
system operated by the city 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 city or in the county
served by the city'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, shall be a misdemeanor.
No person shall do anything which will discolor, pollute or
tend to pollute any water used or to be used in the city water supply
system. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a
misdemeanor.
The city, if it deems it advisable, may contract with any party
or parties, inside or outside the city, to sell or obtain water or
to provide for the removal of sewage.
[Amended 7-8-2013 by Charter Res. No. 2013-5]
The city 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 charges shall be a lien on the property, collectible in the same
manner as city taxes or by suit at law.
