All charges for water and or sewer service shall be to the owner of the premises. The owner of the premises and the occupant thereof and the user of such water and/or sewer service shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for the service on the premises, and the service is furnished to the premises by the City only upon the condition that the owner of the premises, occupant and user of the service are jointly and severally liable therefor to the City. Charges for water and/or sewer service shall be a lien upon the premises to be foreclosed by suit in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
Every building or premises which is supplied with City water shall be provided with a meter of standard make to be approved by the Water Department, for the measurement of such water, which meter shall be so installed as to correctly measure the water delivered to the building or premises.
[Amended 2000 by Ord. No. 747; 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
All water meters shall be installed under the supervision of the Director of Public Service, and thereafter no person other than the Director of Public Service or such other employee of the City as the Water Department may authorize so to do shall remove, repair or in any way interfere with such meter. The Director of Public Service or any other person authorized by the Water Department shall have free and ready access to any water meter at any reasonable hour of the day for the purpose of reading, inspecting or repairing the same.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
The owner of each building or premises on which a water meter is installed shall protect such meter from theft, freezing, breakage or other damage. It shall be the duty of such owner to promptly notify the Water Department if such meter is stolen or is out of repair or for any other reason fails to operate properly, whereupon the Water Department shall cause the meter to be replaced or repaired and the actual cost of such replacement or repair shall be paid by such owner.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
Each meter shall be effectually sealed with a seal adopted by the Water Department for that purpose, all sealing to be done by the Director of Public Service or under his direction, and no person except the Director of Public Service or some other duly authorized employee of the City shall break or in any way disturb the seal.
[Amended 1986 by Ord. No. 596; 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
All meters shall be read by such officer or employee of the City as the Council, Sewer and Water Committee or Director of Public Service shall direct.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
If any user of the combined waterworks and sewerage system shall neglect or refuse to pay water or sewer bills after they become due, the Director of Public Service may cause the water to be immediately turned off, and it shall not be turned on again until all back bills and any service resumption fee provided by ordinance are paid in full.
[Added 1986 by Ord. No. 596]
If a user of the combined waterworks and sewerage system has any complaints about his bill or the amount thereof, he shall file his complaint within 10 days after receipt of the bill to the principal clerk. If the principal clerk is unable to satisfactorily explain or resolve the bill to the satisfaction of the user, then the matter shall be referred to the City Administrator, who shall make a decision concerning the complaint and shall decide whether any adjustments needs to be made. If the user is not satisfied with the final decision of the City Administrator, the user can appeal the decision of the City Administrator to the Sewer and Water Committee, which shall give the user an opportunity for a hearing. Following the hearing on the bill, the Sewer and Water Committee shall notify the complaining user of its decision in writing. The decision of the Sewer and Water Committee shall be final and the amount as determined by the Sewer and Water Committee shall be immediately due and payable.
[Amended 1986 by Ord. No. 596]
A. 
It is unlawful for any person to in any manner tamper with or interfere with any water meter, main or public hydrant without prior permission in writing from the Director of Public Service.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
B. 
It is unlawful for any water user to use a private hose during the time any fire is in progress except for fire protection of his own or nearby premises.
C. 
It is unlawful for any person to take, draw or use City water from the mains of the City except as supplied through public or private accommodations, provided for this purpose by the City for water users, unless such person shall obtain permission to do so in the manner provided by this code or under the rules and regulations of the Director of Public Service, Sewer and Water Committee or Council.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994]
D. 
It is unlawful for any water user to supply others with City water from his premises or to permit others to supply themselves therefrom unless by special permission of the Sewer and Water Committee, except that such person may temporarily supply any other bona fide user of the City.