Town of Fishkill, NY Water

All water meters used in the water districts shall be only those approved and furnished by the districts and remain the property of the districts unless otherwise agreed to by the Town Board. Any special meters supplied by the owner and agreed to by the Town Board shall remain the property of the owner and shall be maintained by the owner.

All meters shall be set at the expense of the property owner whose property is receiving water service in such position as to be readily accessible for reading and repair and shall be fully protected from frost and other damage at the expense of the property owner. A suitable stopcock shall be placed on the service pipe on the inlet side of the meter.

If a meter is damaged by frost or other faulty installation, then the cost of a new meter and installation is the responsibility of the owner. Meters will be tested at the owner's written request. If the meter is found correct, the owner shall bear the expense of the test and such expense shall be according to the latest fee schedule as established by the Town Board. The expense of the test shall become a part of the water bill. If a meter fails to register correctly, the owner will be charged the average daily consumption as shown by the meter when in working order and said meter will be repaired or replaced at the expense of the water district. Damage caused by a faulty meter shall be the responsibility of the owner unless the water district fails to respond to a written notice of said faulty meter within a reasonable time not to exceed three days from receipt of notice.

Where the Town, its contractors, agents, or employees requires that any meter be inspected, changed, modified, upgraded or otherwise altered and the Town or the Town's contractor or other designee provides notice to the property owner that access is required to the property to read, inspect, alter, modify, maintain or replace any water meter, and the property owner fails to provide access within the timeframe set forth in the notice (except in the case of emergency, not less than five calendar days), the Town shall assess a surcharge to the property owner for the failure to provide access. Said surcharge shall be in an amount fixed by resolution of the Town Board from time to time in its Fee Schedule until such time as the water meter is installed or the existing meter is made accessible. Said surcharge may be in an amount up to three times the estimated water usage until such time as access to the water meter is provided. Said assessment may be waived by the Town Board for good cause shown. All property owners shall remain subject to all other remedies and enforcement penalties provided under this article and other applicable laws.

[Added 5-3-2017 by L.L. No. 5-2017]

Whenever a hot-water boiler or steam boiler is on a meter service a suitable check valve shall be placed on the service pipe between the meter and the boiler to prevent the return of hot water through the meter. A suitable relief valve shall be on the house side of the check valve.

The Town Board of the Town of Fishkill and all those delegated by them shall have free access to all parts of any building structure or premises where water from mains of the districts is being used or introduced.

All persons receiving water service shall keep their service mains and water fixtures in good repair and thoroughly protected from frost and other damage and shall prevent any waste of water. In the event that repairs are needed to prevent waste of water, any owner who shall neglect to make such repairs within three days after notice from the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill shall have the water turned off at the superintendent's discretion against property where the waste of water is occurring until such time as necessary repairs are made to prevent such waste of water.

No water district hydrants shall be opened by any person but the Town's contractor servicing the water districts or any other duly authorized person designated by the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill. A hydrant use permit shall be obtained from the Town Clerk's office and the proper fee shall be paid according to the current fee schedule. Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to a member of a municipal fire company. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable for a fine as follows: first offense, $200; second offense, $300; third offense, $500; and/or 10 days in jail.

[Amended 10-19-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992]

The Town Board of the Town of Fishkill reserves the right to suspend the supply of water to any street or streets without notice, when circumstances require it, and also reserves the right to shut off the entire supply from any street or streets when necessary for repairs or extensions. Local notice shall be given for planned shutdowns greater than four hours in duration.

In all cases where the water has been turned off for nonpayment of water rates or for violation of any rule or regulation of this article, it shall not be turned on again until the expense of turning the water off shall have been paid, together with such penalty that may have been imposed and rates that may be due. Fees for turning water on and off shall be according to the latest fee schedule as established by the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill.

No meter shall be opened, adjusted or interfered with in any way except by permission of the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill or the superintendents of the water districts. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable to a fine of up to $100.

Any person who shall, without authorization from the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill, by any means introduce water from the mains of the water districts into premises where the water service has been turned off for nonpayment of the meter-rate bill or violation of the rules and regulations of this article shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable for a fine of up to $500.

Any person who shall obstruct access to any fire hydrant or stopcock connected to any water main in any street by placing thereon rubbish, snow or other hindrance shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable to a fine of up to $100.

The penalty for the violation of any rules or regulations of this article, in addition to penalties specifically enumerated herein, shall be prompt stoppage of water to the premises where the violation has occurred, and the Town Board of the Town of Fishkill is hereby authorized to enforce this penalty at its discretion.

No water main shall be tapped for, nor any service main extended outside the boundaries of, the water district except on special application therefor filed with the Town Board and a special permit therefor granted and issued by the Town Board. The Town Board shall impose such conditions upon the granting of the permit as shall be deemed fitting and proper by them and shall impose and collect such water rents and charges for water service as they deem best.

The Town Board of the Town of Fishkill reserves the right to change, modify, supplement or amend the rules and regulations of this article and the rates and charges for the use of water from time to time. The right is also reserved to make such additional rules and regulations which, to the Town Board, seem best to regulate the water supply and the proper and efficient administration of the water district and to make rates and/or contracts for the use of water in special cases.

The Zoning Administrator, or other such public officer(s) as shall be designated by the Town Board by resolution, shall be empowered to file accusatory instruments and to issue appearance tickets to prosecute offenders identified in this section.

[Added 7-19-2000 by L.L. No. 7-2000]

Article II Cross-Connection Control

[Adopted 9-2-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]

§ 146-4 Legislative intent.

The purpose of this article is to:

Safeguard the public potable water supply served by the Town of Fishkill water districts from potential contamination by preventing backflow or backsiphonage from the water users' system into the public water system and to comply with the requirements of the New York State Sanitary Code, Title 10 of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations, Part 5, § 5-1.31.

To promote the elimination or control of existing cross-connections, actual or potential, between its customers' in-plant potable water system and nonpotable systems.

To provide for the maintenance of a continuing program of cross-connection control which will effectively prevent the contamination or pollution of all potable water systems by cross-connection.

This is to be accomplished by:

Requiring an approved air gap, reduced pressure zone device, double-check valve assembly or an equivalent protective device consistent with the degree of hazard posed by any service connection;

Requiring the users of such connections to submit plans for the installation of protective devices to the water supply operator and town engineer, as designated by the Town Board, and the Dutchess County Department of Health and/or New York State Department of Health for approval; and

Assuring that all protective devices are tested once upon installation and at least annually thereafter, records of which will be submitted by the property owner to, and maintained by, the Town of Fishkill Building Department. Testing shall be performed by a qualified technician certified in accordance with New York State Department of Health requirements.

§ 146-5 Definitions.

As used in this article only, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

AUXILIARY WATER SUPPLY: Any water supply on or available to the premises other than the purveyor's approved public potable water supply.

BACKFLOW: The flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances, under positive or reduced pressure, in the distribution pipes of a potable water supply from any source other than its intended source.

BACKFLOW PREVENTER: A device or means designed to prevent backflow or backsiphonage. Most commonly categorized as air gap, reduced pressure principle device, double-check valve assembly, pressure vacuum breaker, atmospheric vacuum breakers, hose bib vacuum breaker, residential dual check, double-check with intermediate atmospheric vent and a barometric loop.

BACKPRESSURE: A condition in which the owner's system pressure is greater than the supplier's system pressure.

BACKSIPHONAGE: The flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply system from any source other than its intended source caused by the sudden reduction of pressure in the potable water supply system.

BUILDING INSPECTOR: The individual, or his or her designee, responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of the law.

CONTAINMENT: Cross-connection control resulting in the total isolation of a facility with a potential hazard from the public water supply.

CONTAMINANT: A substance that will impair the quality of the water to a degree that it creates a serious health hazard to the public leading to poisoning or the spread of disease.

CROSS-CONNECTION: Any actual or potential connection between the public water supply and a source of contamination or pollution.

DEPARTMENT: The Town of Fishkill Building Department.

OWNER: Any person who has legal title to, or license to operate or habitate in, a property upon which a cross-connection inspection is to be made or upon which a cross-connection is present.

PERSON: Any individual, partnership, company, public or private corporation, political subdivision or agency of the State Department, agency or instrumentality or the United States or any other legal entity.

POLLUTANT: A foreign substance which, if permitted to get into the public water system, will degrade its quality so as to constitute a moderate hazard or impair the usefulness or quality of the water to a degree which does not create an actual hazard to the public health but which does adversely and unreasonably affect such water for domestic use.

WATER SERVICE ENTRANCE: That point in the owner's water system beyond the sanitary control of the Town; generally considered being the outlet end of the water meter and always before any unprotected branch.

WATER SUPPLY OPERATOR: The water supply operator vested with the authority and responsibility for the implementation of a cross-connection control program.

§ 146-6 Responsibilities.

Town.

On new installations, water supply operator, as designated by the Town Board, with the assistance of an engineer as designated by the Town Board, will provide on-site evaluation and/or inspection of plans in order to determine what type of backflow preventer, if any, will be required. In any case, a minimum of a dual-check valve will be required in any new commercial construction.

Any preexisting system that does not contain a backflow prevention device shall be upgraded so as to comply with the current requirements of this article and of the New York State Department of Health and the Dutchess County Department of Health within 120 days following the service of notice by certified mail to install said device. This time period may be shortened by the water supply operator upon his determination that the degree of hazard involved requires prompter action. Failure or refusal or inability on the part of the customer to install said device or devices shall constitute a ground for discontinuing water service to the premises until such device or devices have been property installed.

The Building Department shall inform the owner, by letter, of any failure to comply, by the time of the first reinspection. In the event that the owner fails to comply with the necessary correction by the time of the second reinspection, the Building Department will inform the owner, by letter, that the water service to the owner's premises will be terminated within a period not to exceed five days. In the event that the owner informs the water supply operator of extenuating circumstances as to why the correction has not been made, a time extension may be granted by the Building Department, but in no case will it exceed an additional 30 days.

If the water supply operator determines at any time that a serious threat to the public health exists, the water service will be terminated immediately.

Owner.

The owner shall be responsible for the elimination of or protection from all cross-connections on his premises.

For all new buildings requiring a backflow preventer, and for existing buildings identified by the water supply operator as requiring a backflow preventer, the owner shall submit an application for approval on the form prescribed by the Dutchess County Department of Health from time to time. The application shall be accompanied by a report prepared and stamped by a New-York-State-licensed engineer or licensed architect.

The owner, after having been informed by a letter the Building Department, shall, at his expense, install, maintain and test, or have tested, where applicable, any and all DCVA and RPZA devices on his premises.

The owner shall correct any malfunction of the backflow preventer which is revealed by periodic testing.

(5)

The owner shall inform the water supply operator of any proposed or modified cross-connections and also any existing cross-connections of which the owner is aware but have not been found by the water supply operator.

(6)

The owner shall not install a bypass around any backflow preventer unless there is a backflow preventer of the same type on the bypass. Owners who cannot shut down operation for testing of the device(s) must supply additional devices necessary to allow testing to take place.

(7)

The owner shall install backflow preventers in a manner approved by the water supply operator.

(8)

The owner shall install only backflow preventers approved by the water supply operator and/or the New York State Department of Health.

(9)

Any owner having a private well or other private water source may be required to install a backflow preventer at the service entrance if a private water source is maintained, even if it is not cross-connected to the Town water system.

(10)

The owner shall not install plumbing to provide potable water for domestic purposes which is on the Town's side of the backflow preventer.

(11)

The owner shall be responsible for the payment of all fees for annual testing, retesting in the case that the device fails to operate correctly, and second reinspections for noncompliance with Town requirements.

Use of existing backflow devices. Any existing backflow preventer shall be allowed by water supply operator or building inspector to continue in service unless the degree of hazard is such as to supersede the effectiveness of the present backflow preventer or result in an unreasonable risk to the public health. Where the degree of hazard has increased, the backflow prevention device shall be upgraded as required by water supply operator or building inspector to provide a suitable safeguard for the degree of hazard associated with the current or proposed use.

§ 146-7 Determination of type of backflow protection device.

Categories; rating system; regulation.

An acceptable backflow prevention device must be installed in every service connection to a facility. Three categories shall be considered when determining the degree of hazard posed by a facility and making the subsequent determination of the type of protection device required. The Town of Fishkill recognizes the threat to the public water system arising from cross-connections. All threats will be classified by degree of hazard and will require the installation of approved reduced pressure principle backflow prevention devices, "reduce pressure zone assembly," (RPZA) or "double-check valve assembly" (DCVA). The considerations are:

Use, toxicity and availability of contaminants within the premises.

Availability of a supplementary supply of water.

Firefighting system evaluation.

Based on these considerations the water supply operator and/or the Town Engineer as designated by the Town Board shall rate a facility as "hazardous," "aesthetically objectionable" or "nonhazardous."

A hazardous facility must be contained through the use of an RPZA or properly designed air gap.

An aesthetically objectionable facility must be contained through the use of a DCVA, RPZA or air gap.

Nonhazardous facilities should be protected through an internal plumbing control program to ensure that plumbing cross-connections are adequately protected or eliminated; or through the use of a DCVA, RPZA or air gap.

The water supply operator and/or the Town Engineer as designated by the Town Board shall determine the type of device required for each property and facility. In making this determination, the water supply operator may utilize the Sample List of Facilities Requiring Backflow Prevention, prepared by the Department of Health and, if necessary, shall consult with the Dutchess County Department of Health.

Cross-connection control by facility type.

Hazardous types of facilities which shall require installation of an approved reduce pressure zone assembly (RPZA) or air gap in the service connection to the public water distribution system include but are not limited to:

Sewage and industrial wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations and sewer flushers.

Paper manufacturing or processing, dye plants, petroleum processing, printing plant, chemical manufacturing or processing, industrial fluid systems, steam generation, rubber processing and tanneries.

Canneries, breweries, food processing, milk processing, ice manufacturing, meat packers, poultry processing and rendering companies.

(d)

Hospitals, clinics, laboratories, veterinary hospitals, mortuaries and embalmers.

(e)

Metal plating, photo processing, laundries, commercial car washes, commercial refrigeration systems and dry-cleaning establishments.

(f)

Commercial greenhouses, spraying and irrigation systems using weedicides, herbicides and exterminators.

(g)

Boiler systems, cooling towers or internal firefighter systems using conditioners, inhibitors and corrosion control chemicals.

(h)

Residential units with lawn and irrigation systems with chemical injection.

(i)

Residential units or facilities with service provided by both the village water distribution system and private well or water supply.

Aesthetically objectionable types of facilities which shall require installation of an approved double-check valve, RPZA or air gap in the service connection of the public water distribution system are those which include but are not limited to:

Customer fire-protection loops and fire-storage tanks with no chemical additives.

High-temperature potable water.

Utilization for food-grade dyes.

(d)

Complex plumbing systems in commercial buildings, such as but not limited to beauty salons, churches, apartment buildings, gas stations, supermarkets, nursing homes, construction sites and carnivals.

(e)

Residential units with lawn and irrigation systems.

The above lists are not all-inclusive. The type of backflow prevention device required for each facility shall be determined by the water supply operator and/or the Town Engineer as designated by the Town Board as set forth above.