Village of Cooperstown, NY Water

The Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners shall consist of five members with three-year terms. Their successors shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Village Law. The Village Board shall designate the Chairman from among the Board's membership.

Alternate members. The Village Board may appoint not more than two alternate members of the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners with three-year terms. Each such alternate member shall attend meetings of the Water and Sewer Commissioners and participate in its deliberations but shall vote only in the event that a member of the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners is absent, otherwise unable to act with respect to a particular matter or is unable to participate because of a conflict of interest.

OWNER or CONSUMER

The owner of the premises upon which the water is used.

VILLAGE

The Board of Trustees or its agent.

§ 282-2 General provisions.

All contracts for the supply of water, installations and maintenance shall be with the owner, and the owner shall be liable therefor.

These rules and regulations shall be considered a part of any contract by the Village for the supply of water, installations and maintenance.

Application for a new tap for water service must be in writing and signed by the owner or his duly authorized agent and submitted to the Board and then to the Village Board of Trustees for approval. It must be in substantially the following form:

[Amended 8-22-2016 by L.L. No. 6-2016]

Application for water service to the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown, New York: Application is hereby made for water service to my premises situated at ______________________, Cooperstown, New York. If such service is supplied to me, I agree to abide by all the rules and regulations of your Board, now and hereafter made, and to pay all water rents for such service.

Owners desiring to use water for building purposes must make application to the Board therefor in writing. A reasonable charge will be made.

Any application for extension of water mains or taps for service to businesses/residences located outside the Village limits will be considered by the Village only as a documented resolution following a public hearing.

§ 282-3 Service lines.

All connections up to and including two inches in diameter to the main will be made by the Village. For this work, a standard tapping fee will be charged for the labor and will also be charged for the valve installed at the main. The tapping fee will be set by the Board. The service connection from the main to the residence shall be installed and maintained by the owner. Connections of two inches or over shall be done by the owner at his expense, subject to the approval of the Board.

All service connections to the main shall be no smaller than three-fourths-inch type K copper tubing, the flared joints or other materials approved by the Village. The minimum depth of all service connections from the main to the premises shall be five feet below the surface of the ground, unless otherwise approved by the Board.

All curb stops and curb boxes, including valves and valve boxes on connections, will be subject to the control of the Village and will be kept accessible to the Village and its authorized employees at all times.

Contractors and/or individuals desiring to work on the service lines either to install a new service or to repair an existing service must obtain proper permit and give a minimum of three days' advanced notice of the work to the Village. This advance notice may be waived by the Village in emergencies.

§ 282-4 Metered service.

The Board will furnish and install all meters and furnish couplings up to and including 3/4 inch. Larger sizes will be provided and installed by the owner and shall be of a size, type and make approved by the Board.

The Board will maintain, repair and test when necessary all meters installed by the Village. On meters larger than 3/4 inch, all maintenance, repairs and testing will be done by, or at the expense of, the owner. In the event that the meter is damaged by freezing, by hot water or by external causes, the owner will be liable for the cost of repairs. The Board recommends the installation of suitable equipment, properly located and installed, to prevent backflow or admission of hot water, which may cause damage to the meter or cause damage to the owner's plumbing.

The owner will install a shutoff valve on both sides of the meter and will leave at least 13 inches of space in a horizontal position for a three-fourths-inch and at least 16 inches of space for a one-inch meter. Meter connections must be provided so that the meter can be attached without further plumbing.

Meters shall be accessible for inspection and reading by the Board's authorized representative at any reasonable hour. In the event that it becomes necessary to break the seal on a meter, the owner or his authorized representative shall immediately notify the Village.

The Village reserves the right to remove and test a meter and to substitute another in its place.

The Village will test meters on an owner's request and will submit a report of the test to the owner. A charge will be made for such a test. In the event that the meter is found to over-register in excess of 2% at any flow within the normal test flow limits, no charge will be made.

§ 282-5 Discontinuation and nonoccupancy.

If and when the water service is discontinued by the owner of record, he shall notify the Board as to the reason and date of the discontinuance. The Village will prorate the use of service in accordance with its rate schedule.

In the event of the transfer of property to a new owner, the new owner shall make an application to the Village as defined in § 282-2C.

§ 282-6 Payment for water service.

The billing for water service shall be at such intervals and at such rates as the Board of Trustees shall decide.

Each metered service shall receive a separate bill based upon the metered water consumption. If for any reason the exact amount of water used cannot be determined, the Board shall determine the amount from the best available information.

Each bill shall be submitted to the property owner of record, and payment therefor shall be his responsibility.

§ 282-7 Service charges.

Service charges shall be as established by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

§ 282-8 General rules.

Failure in supply. The Board undertakes to use reasonable care and diligence to provide a constant supply of water at a reasonable pressure, but reserves the right at any time after due notice, unless an emergency occurs, to shut off the water in its mains for the purpose of making repairs and extensions.

In addition to any other remedy herein provided or otherwise provided by law, the Board may cut off the supply of water without any notice or demand:

(1)

For the use of water other than as represented in the application or through branch connections on the street side of the meter or place reserved therefor;

(2)

For the willful waste or use of water through improper and imperfect pipes or by any other means;

(3)

For failure on the part of the owner to repair any leak in his service after sufficient notice (five working days) to do so has been served on him by the Board;

(4)

For molesting any service pipe, seal, meter or any appliance owned by the Board;

(5)

For cross-connecting pipes carrying water supplied by the Board with any other source of supply or with any apparatus which may endanger the quality of the water supply;

(6)

For the refusal of reasonable access to the property for the purpose of inspection or for reading, repairing, testing or removing a meter;

(7)

In case of vacancy of premises;

(8)

For the violation of these rules and regulations.

In the event of the termination of water service for any of the reasons listed in Subsection B above, the supply of water will not be restored until the service charge for restoring service and all arrears are paid.

No person shall open or interfere with or draw water from any public fire hydrant without permission from the Village.

The Board reserves the right at all times to restrict the use of water or to prohibit it entirely as the public exigencies or emergency may require. In this event, public notice shall be made for the information of customers.

Neither the Board nor any member or representatives of the Board, nor the Village of Cooperstown, will be responsible to any one for any loss or damage from any excess or deficiency in pressure, volume of supply of water, or impotableness of water due to any cause whatsoever. Neither the Board nor any member or representative of the Board, nor the Village of Cooperstown, shall be liable in any event for any break, leak or defect in its mains or service lines.

§ 282-9 Bulk water sales.

[Added 10-25-2010 by L.L. No. 11-2010]

Bulk sale(s) of less than 50,000 gallons of water at any one time, and no more often than once every 30 days, may be made to anyone who has an existing established water supply account with the Village of Cooperstown. Bulk sales of water in excess of 50,000 gallons are prohibited.