[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Ewing 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 19-22. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Whenever there is a shutdown or reduction in capacity at the Trenton Water Works filtration plant, the amount of water in the storage units of the Trenton Water Works water supply falls below 75% of the full capacity of the storage units, or whenever the Chief Engineer or such person as may be in charge of the municipal water supply, certifies that an emergency exists in such water supply, the Director of the Department of Water and Sewer may, for the protection of the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens and residents of the Township, proclaim the existence of a water emergency and prescribe regulations to:
A. 
Prohibit the use of water from the municipal supply for any purpose not necessary to the health, safety and welfare of the public;
B. 
Allocate and prorate the available water supplies;
C. 
Reduce consumption by users;
D. 
Prevent waste for the duration of such emergency.
The proclamation of the emergency shall be effective as to all persons and users upon the filing of the same in the Municipal Clerk's office and the publication thereof at least once in each of the daily newspapers published and circulating in the Township.
The regulations set forth in the proclamation, and any subsequent regulations made and published as aforesaid, upon filing thereof in the Municipal Clerk's Office, shall become a part of this article the same as if expressly incorporated and set forth herein.
Every owner, lessee, tenant and occupant of any building or premises connected with the municipal water supply, and every user thereof, whether by contract, ordinance or statute, shall, upon the proclamation and promulgation of the regulations as aforesaid, become bound thereby and shall conform thereto and comply therewith in the use of water and the maintenance of the water service connections and equipment for the purposes thereof.
It shall be the duty of every person using water from the municipal water supply to be upon notice, during the period of the water emergency, for any waste of water due to defective water service pipes, fixtures or connections.
Every owner of buildings and premises connected with the municipal water supply shall maintain or cause to be maintained the water-service pipes, fixtures and connections, in good order and repair, to ensure that there shall be no waste of water.
Every owner of any building or premises connected with the water supply shall make or cause to be made necessary repairs to prevent the waste of water.
Whenever an owner of any building or premises connected with the municipal water supply shall fail or refuse to make repairs so as to prevent the waste of water, then Trenton Water Works reserves the right to make such repairs and to charge the cost thereof to the owner in the same manner as other water charges are made, as by the statutes and ordinances provided.
A. 
Every lessee, tenant and occupant of any building or premises connected with the municipal water supply shall immediately notify the owner, or his/her agent, of any defective water-service pipes, fixtures or connections, whereby water is being wasted.
B. 
Every such person shall also notify the Division of Billing and Customer Service in the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities of any waste occurring by reason of defective water-service pipes, fixtures or connections.
Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person in charge of any building or premises connected with the municipal water supply shall admit thereto the authorized agents and employees of Trenton Water Works for the purpose of inspecting the water-service pipes, fixtures and connections. Customers shall provide Trenton Water Works reasonable access to their property to accomplish the purposes of installation, maintenance, removal and reading of meters. Trenton Water Works reserves the right to terminate service if the customer fails to provide access.
Any person who violates any provision of this article or any of the regulations provided for herein shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
This article shall be known and cited as the Ewing Water Conservation Ordinance.
The purpose of this article is to reduce the consumption of water in the Township during a declared water emergency and to assure that water resources will remain available for the public benefit with particular regard for public health, fire protection and domestic use.
The provisions of this article shall become operative when a water emergency is declared by the Governor of the State of New Jersey or the Mayor of the Township, and shall remain operative during the pendency of the water emergency until the declared water emergency is rescinded.
A. 
Water supplied to users by Trenton Water Works shall not be used for any purpose declared to be nonessential, and the following uses are strictly prohibited while this article is in effect:
(1) 
Watering of lawns, shrubs, landscaped areas, trees, garden or vegetation of any type.
(2) 
Water or washing of sidewalks, driveways, streets, parking areas, tennis courts or other exterior paved areas. The Department of Public Works shall utilize water from a nonpotable source for street cleaning.
(3) 
Noncommercial washing of privately owned motor vehicles, trailers or boats.
(4) 
Use of water supplied by Trenton Water Works for public or private pools.
(5) 
Serving water in restaurants, clubs or public eating places, unless specifically requested by the customer.
(6) 
Use of water supplied by Trenton Water Works, by any person, for the purpose of dust control or compaction.
(7) 
Use of water supplied by Trenton Water Works utilized in any garbage grinder.
B. 
No person shall permit, allow, or fail to repair, any leak of potable water which exists, or in the future shall exist, in any plumbing system, pipe or fixture maintained on the property of that person.
A. 
Fire hydrants located within the Township shall be utilized as a means of fighting or prevention of fires, and for no other purpose.
B. 
No fire hydrant opening permits shall be issued by Trenton Water Works, for any temporary water service connections.
C. 
No person shall tamper with or willfully damage any part of a hydrant or water distribution system apparatus, or operate the curb cock or valves, or the main cocks, gates, valves, hydrants or other appurtenances of the Trenton Water Works water distribution system.
D. 
No fire hydrant shall be opened or utilized for any recreational activity or purpose within the Trenton Water Works Distribution System.
A. 
New connections to the Trenton Water Works water system, during the period when this article is effective, are prohibited except as provided in this section as follows:
(1) 
Connections which are the subject of agreements prior to the date on which a water emergency is declared; provided, however, no water shall be used for landscaping or any other purpose prohibited by this article during such water emergency.
(2) 
Fire service protection or new fire hydrants.
B. 
Trenton Water Works may continue to process applications for water service, during the period that this article is operative, provided the applicant acknowledges in writing that such processing shall be at the sole risk and expense of the applicant, and any approval shall confer no right upon the applicant or anyone else while the provisions of this article are operative, and provided further that the applicant, in writing, releases Trenton Water Works from any and all claims for damages arising out of, or in any way connected with, the failure of Trenton Water Works to authorize new connections during the period when this article is in operation.
C. 
When a declared water emergency is rescinded, Trenton Water Works shall make connections to its water system in accordance with its regulations and the terms of connection agreements for all applications approved pursuant to Subsection B of this section.
D. 
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit or restrict any modification, relocation or replacement of an existing connection to the Trenton Water Works water supply system, provided that the Director of the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities determines that the demand upon the Trenton Water Works water supply will not thereby be increased.
Application for a variance from the provisions of this article shall be made, in writing, to the Director of the Department of Water and Sewer. The Director may, in his/her discretion, grant a variance to permit a use of water, otherwise prohibited by this article, only if the Director determines that the variance is reasonably necessary to protect the public health and safety.
If any clause, sentence, subparagraph, section or part of this article is held invalid, inoperable, void or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination, order or judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining portion of the chapter, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, subparagraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which the determination, order or judgment shall have been rendered.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article while the same is operative pursuant to § 380-14 above shall be liable for a fine not exceeding $500, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, as provided by N.J.S.A. 40:49-27. An offense under §§ 380-15, 380-16 or 380-18, or any subsection or subpart thereof shall be deemed to have been committed on each day during or on which a separate violation occurs.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with this article shall be suspended while this article is operative.