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City of Chicopee, MA
Hampden County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (79) Index
All property situated within the City of Chicopee shall be eligible to receive water service from the City upon compliance with this chapter. The timing and methods for extending or providing service shall be at the Superintendent's sole discretion. Eligibility for water service outside of the City shall be conditioned upon the Superintendent's approval and compliance with this chapter.
A. 
As provided in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, (Public Law 93-523), and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations, 310 CMR 22.22, the water purveyor has the primary responsibility for preventing water from unapproved sources or any other substances from entering the public potable water system.
B. 
The Superintendent shall have charge of the construction, alteration and care of all water pipes and water fixtures owned by the City and may make all necessary repairs thereto and extension thereof; shall have general control and care of all buildings and structures used exclusively by the Water Department; and shall keep the same in repair.
C. 
The Superintendent shall have the charge and care of all new construction or extension and of all repairs and management of the works of said Department. He shall have authority to dig up the streets and highways, so far as is necessary for the purpose of paving and repairing lines of water pipe or water mains; but in all such cases, the streets, while so dug up, are to be suitably protected and guarded, and after the work is finished, the streets shall be left in a condition satisfactory to the Superintendent. All defects in highways or streets caused by leaks in water mains or pipes shall be repaired by the Superintendent. Upon receiving notice from the Chief of the Fire Department of any defective hydrant, said Superintendent shall cause the same to be repaired without delay. The Superintendent should issue news releases to the media as applicable notifying residents of any scheduled maintenance that would result in their water being shutoff.
The Superintendent shall act as registrar and shall keep all required records and books and shall make such reports to the Commission as detailed in Chapter 16 of the Ordinances of City of Chicopee. He shall file with the City Collector and City Auditor on the first day of each month a list of water commitments which are payable on those days, and on the first day of each month he shall file with the City Collector and City Auditor a statement of all water commitments and other claims which may have become due to the City during the preceding month in this Department. Whenever any bill is abated or changed by the Commissioner, a certificate of such abatement or change, signed by the Superintendent, shall be delivered to the City Collector and City Auditor and shall become his voucher for the amount therein stated.
The City owns all public water mains, transmission mains, hydrants, valves, and associated appurtenances located within public ways, City-owned easements, whether recorded or by prescription, and private ways open to public travel within the City unless otherwise specified in writing by the Superintendent (with a copy provided to the owner). The City also owns all water service pipes from public water mains located within public ways, all easements, whether recorded or by prescription and private ways open to public travel within the City to an owner's property line, except where a building, foundation wall, retaining wall, stairs, areaways or other subterranean structures are located on the property line, in which case the City owns the water service pipe to a distance of 18 inches outside the property line.
The Superintendent shall control the use of all public water mains in the City, except for certain water mains of adjacent communities that are interconnected with the City water system. No person shall, without prior written authorization from the Superintendent, uncover, make any connections with or opening into, alter, or disturb a public water main. No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is part of the City's water distribution system.
All private water mains in the City that convey water from public water mains owned by the City shall be controlled by the City, but shall be constructed, installed, repaired, operated and maintained by their owners at the owner's expense. The Superintendent may direct the owner to repair or replace a private water main, if in the judgment of the Superintendent such action will reduce the quantity of water lost through leaks from that main or where such leaks may jeopardize the operation of the public water system. Repairs to private water mains shall be made by and at the expense of the owner. The Superintendent shall inspect and approve the connection of the private water main to the City's public water main. Ownership of the curbstop shutoff valve and meter within and connected to a private water main is the property of the City and shall not be tampered with, removed, repaired, replaced, disturbed or manipulated in any way except by the City Water Department.
A. 
The Superintendent shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the water treatment and distribution system lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.
B. 
No length of possession or occupancy of land within the limits of a City easement shall invalidate or negate the City easement rights.. Any fences, trees, pools, shrubs, buildings or any other objects encroaching upon a City easement shall, upon written notice by the Superintendent, be removed within 14 days by the owner, and if not so removed, the Superintendent may remove the same to such adjoining land, or such encroaching objects, other than a building used for residential purposes, may be removed by persons working under the direction of the Superintendent and shall be placed in the nearest maintenance area of the City. Notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, shall be given to the owner, stating where such encroachment object is located and further stating that, if not claimed within three weeks, said object may be destroyed. The City may seek cost recovery for all expenses incurred in the removal and relocating of objects in the easement of the City.
C. 
The City shall have prescriptive rights or privilege over land of another to perform maintenance, repair, and replacement, maintain access, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and repair of any portion of the water treatment and distribution system lying within said land.
A. 
Conservation by users. No user shall knowingly allow water to leak or run to unnecessary waste.
B. 
Conservation restrictions. The Superintendent may adopt conservation restrictions in accordance with the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 21G, upon its determination that conditions exist which limit the water supply and may endanger the public health, safety and welfare. Conservation restrictions shall remain in full force and effect until the Superintendent determines that the condition requiring their imposition no longer exists.
C. 
Emergency shutoff. The Superintendent may shut off water service to any premises during a drought, hurricane, conflagration or other disaster upon notification to the owner in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, § 41A.
An applicant may propose an extension, replacement or relocation of public water mains to serve new or rehabilitated buildings. All proposed extensions, replacements or relocations, including any tests, studies, investigations and inspections required for design, shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the City's Design Criteria, and subject to the approval of the Superintendent. All expenses, including all engineering, legal, permitting, construction, and inspection expenses, involved in applying for and constructing an extension, replacement or relocation shall be borne by the applicant.
A. 
Bonding and approval of contractors. Contractors must post a bond in a form satisfactory to the City and in an amount and for a period of time that the Superintendent deems sufficient to guarantee construction quality and operating performance. Bonding is required before work commences on any public water main extension, replacement or relocation by contractors working for the City or an owner on City-owned property or easements.
B. 
Release agreement. After approval of a proposed extension, replacement or relocation of a water main and after the attendant construction has been approved by the Superintendent, the applicant shall transfer ownership of the extended, replaced or relocated water main to the City through a release agreement in a form prescribed by the Superintendent. The release agreement shall be accompanied by as-built plans for the extended, replaced or relocated water main and any other information required by the Superintendent. Until such time as the release agreement is signed by the Superintendent, the extended, replaced or relocated water main shall be considered to be privately owned by the applicant and shall be subject to the requirements pertaining to private water mains contained in this chapter.
C. 
Denial or modification of proposal. The Superintendent may deny the request of an applicant to extend, replace or relocate a public water main if the Superintendent determines that the proposed work does not conform to the City's Design Criteria or the Superintendent determines that the work will adversely affect its system or that of existing users. The Superintendent may condition approval of a request to extend, replace or relocate. Among other things, the Superintendent may require that an applicant who proposes to extend, replace or relocate a public water main make certain improvements or modifications to the existing system.
D. 
Water main replacement. If an applicant requests new water service pipe or fire pipe which, in the judgment of the Superintendent, will impose a demand in excess of the capacity of the existing main, it may be necessary to replace the existing main with one of appropriate size. The applicant shall pay the full cost thereof, including any tests, studies, investigations and inspections required for design and construction.
E. 
Major development project reviews. When the Superintendent must utilize outside professional engineering and legal reviews for major development projects, the applicant shall pay for such reviews.
A. 
Ownership. All hydrants located in public ways, City-owned easements, whether recorded or by prescription, or private ways open to public travel shall be owned and maintained by the City unless the Superintendent expressly determines otherwise with respect to specific locations.
B. 
Location. Hydrants shall be placed at locations designated by the Superintendent to facilitate public fire protection or for City maintenance enhancement. As a condition of an approved new or extended water service, the Superintendent may require an owner to pay for the cost of hydrant installation if the Superintendent determines that such new extended water service creates fire protection requirements or enhanced City maintenance.
C. 
Relocation. An owner may request approval to relocate water facilities. The request shall include a plan of the relocation designed in accordance with the Design Criteria of the City. If the relocation is approved, the owner shall have the work performed at its expense by a contractor bonded and approved in accordance with § 269-3.9 above.
D. 
Permits for use of a hydrant. Any use of water from an unmetered hydrant for purposes other than extinguishing fires shall only occur pursuant to a hydrant permit obtained from the Superintendent. After issuance of the permit, a hydrant meter and a wrench for the proper operation of the hydrant shall be provided upon payment of a deposit in an amount established by the Commission. The permit must be attached to the meter or be readably available at all times during use. The failure to comply with the terms as set forth on the hydrant permit or the unauthorized use of water from a hydrant are violations of this chapter which can result in the imposition of a fine in accordance with Article 8.0 of this chapter.
E. 
Private hydrants. The owner of a private hydrant must obtain a hydrant permit and meter from the Superintendent unless the hydrant is master metered. All private hydrants must be equipped with a Superintendent-approved hydrant security device unless the hydrant is master metered.
F. 
Fire flow tests. Only the City shall perform fire flow tests. If so requested, the City will conduct a fire flow test at the requesting person's expense.
A. 
Decorative fountains shall be equipped with a meter, a shut-off mechanism and an approved backflow prevention device.
B. 
Irrigation systems. All irrigation systems shall be metered and equipped with an approved backflow prevention device. The City shall have the right of entry to any premises to inspect irrigation systems for cross-connection conditions, backflow prevention, and any other condition that may affect the public water supply.