[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Falmouth as indicated in article
histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted AFTM 11-13-2001, Art. 16, approved 3-15-2002[1]; amended in its entirety AFTM 11-18-2002, Art.
17, approved 3-13-2003]
This article is adopted by the Town of Falmouth under its police powers
to protect public health and welfare and its powers under M.G.L. c. 40, § 21
et seq. and implements the Town's authority to regulate water use pursuant
to M.G.L. c. 41, § 69B. This article also implements the Town's
authority under M.G.L. c. 40, § 41A, conditioned upon a declaration
of water supply emergency issued by the Department of Environmental Protection.
The purpose of this article is to protect, preserve and maintain the
public health, safety and welfare whenever there is in force a state of water
supply conservation or state of water supply emergency by providing for enforcement
of any duly imposed restrictions, requirements, provisions or conditions imposed
by the Town or by the Department of Environmental Protection.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Town's Department of Public Works or other department or
board having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the water
supply, the Board of Health, the Health Agent, Department of Natural Resources,
the Police Department and the Conservation Officer.
Any individual, corporation, trust, partnership or association, or
other entity.
A state of water supply conservation declared by the Town pursuant to § 223-4 of this article.
A state of water supply emergency declared by the Department of Environmental
Protection under M.G.L. c. 21G. § 15-17.
The Town, through its Board of Selectmen, may declare a state of water supply conservation upon a determination by a majority vote of the Board that a shortage of water exists, or may reasonably be determined to be imminent, and conservation measures are appropriate to ensure the safe and adequate supply of water to all water consumers. Restrictions shall be applicable to all public and private users of the Town's public water supply system, regardless of any person's responsibility for paying water bills for water used at any particular facility. However, if the Board of Selectmen makes a specific finding that the shortage of water exists because of a clear and imminent threat to the sole source aquifer underlying Falmouth, such threats to include severe drought, environmental pollution or salt water intrusion, the restrictions adopted pursuant to § 223-5 shall apply to all citizens, water users and consumers regardless of the source of water supply. Public notice of a state of water supply conservation shall be given under § 223-6 of this article before it may be enforced.
A declaration of a state of water supply conservation shall include, but not be limited to, one or more of the following restrictions, conditions, or requirements limiting the use of water as necessary to protect the public supply. The applicable restrictions, conditions or requirements shall be included in the public notice required under § 223-6.
A.
Odd/Even day outdoor watering. Outdoor watering by water
users with odd-numbered addresses is restricted to odd-numbered days. Outdoor
watering by water users with even-numbered addresses is restricted to even-numbered
days.
B.
Outdoor watering hours. Outdoor watering is permitted
only during daily periods of low demand, to be specified in the declaration
of a state of water supply conservation and public notice thereof.
C.
Washing of sidewalks, driveways and patios is prohibited.
D.
The use of automatic sprinkler systems is prohibited.
E.
The filling of swimming pools is prohibited.
F.
Outdoor watering is prohibited.
G.
Restaurants may not serve water unless requested by patrons.
H.
Pistol-grip-type nozzles are required for all hoses used
for outside watering, car washing or boat washing.
I.
Restrictions imposed on commercial car washes.
J.
Mandatory water use reductions by commercial/industrial
users.
K.
Restricting private water supply use.
L.
Termination of water service for failure to comply.
Notification of any provision, restriction, requirement or condition imposed by the Town as part of a state of water supply conservation shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town, or by such other means reasonably calculated to teach and inform all users of water of the state of water supply conservation. Any restriction imposed under § 223-5 shall not be effective until such notification is provided, Notification of the state of water supply conservation shall also be simultaneously provided to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
A state of water supply conservation may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board of Selectmen, upon a determination that the water supply shortage no longer exists. Public notification of the termination of a state of water supply conservation shall be given in the same manner required by § 223-6.
Upon notification to the public that a declaration of a state of water
supply emergency has been issued by the Department of Environmental Protection,
no person shall violate any provision, restriction, requirement or condition
of any order approved or issued by the Department intended to bring about
an end to the state of emergency.
A.
Any person violating this article shall be liable to
the Town in the amount of $50 for the first violation and $100 for each subsequent
violation which shall inure to the Town. Fines shall be recovered by indictment,
or on complaint before the District Court, or by noncriminal disposition in
accordance with § 21D of Chapter 40 of the General Laws. Each day
of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
Termination of water service may be imposed subsequent
to a fifth offense.
C.
Any property granted an exemption must prominently display signs visible to the public that includes the following phrase "OPERATING UNDER A WATER EMERGENCY EXEMPTION ISSUED BY THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN." The Design Review Committee shall determine an acceptable size, shape, description and location of exemption signs. Provided an exemption sign meets the parameters approved by the Design Review Committee, the permit requirements of § 184-13 are waived. All signs must be immediately removed whenever the emergency no longer exists or be subject to the penalties of § 223-9.
D.
Commercial agricultural uses and golf courses shall be
exempt from all provisions of this article with the exception of the use of
the Town public water supply.
The invalidity of any portion or provision of this article shall not
invalidate any other portion or provision thereof.
[Adopted AFTM 11-17-1992, Art. 14, approved 2-3-1993]
The purpose of this article is as follows:
A.
To protect the public potable water supply served by
the Falmouth Water Department (hereinafter referred to as "Department") from
the possibility of contamination or pollution by isolating, within its customers'
internal distribution system, such contaminants or pollutants which could
backflow or back-siphon into the public water system.
B.
To promote the elimination or control of existing cross-connections,
actual or potential, between its' customers in-plant potable water system
and non-potable systems.
C.
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.
The authority for this article is as follows:
A.
The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and the statutes
of the State of Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations 310 CMR 22.00. 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.
Falmouth Water Department, Rules and Regulations, adopted.
The Utilities Manager shall be responsible for the protection of the
public potable water distribution system from contamination or pollution due
to the backflow or back-siphonage of contaminants or pollutants through the
water service connection. If, in the judgment of the Utilities Manager, an
approved backflow device is required at the Town's water service connection
to any customer's premises, the Utilities Manager or his delegated agent
shall give notice, in writing, to said customer to install an approved backflow
prevention device at each service connection to his premises. The customer
shall, within 90 days, install such approved device or devices at his own
expense, and failure or refusal or inability on the part of the customer to
install said device or devices, within 90 days, shall constitute a ground
for discontinuing water service to the premises until such device or devices
have been properly installed.
A.
The Department will operate a cross-connection control
program, to include the keeping of necessary records, which fulfills the requirements
of the Department of Environmental Protection (hereinafter referred to as
"DEP") and is approved by DEP.
B.
The owner shall allow his property to be inspected for
possible cross-connections and shall follow the provisions of the Department's
program and the DEP regulations if a cross-connection is permitted.
C.
If the Department requires that the public supply be
protected by containment, the owner shall be responsible for water quality
beyond the outlet end of the containment device and should utilize fixture
outlet protection for that purpose.
D.
The Utilities Manager may utilize public health officials
or personnel from the Department, or their delegated representatives, to assist
him in the survey of his facilities and to assist him in the selection of
proper fixture outlet devices and the proper installation of these devices.
A.
Department.
(1)
For premises existing prior to the start of this program,
the Department will perform evaluations and inspections of plans and/or premises
and inform the owner by letter of any corrective action deemed necessary,
the method of achieving the correction and the time allowed for the correction
to be made. Ordinarily, 90 days will be allowed. However, this time period
may be shortened depending upon the degree of hazard involved and the history
of the device(s) in question.
(2)
The Department will not allow any cross-connection to
remain unless it is protected by an approved backflow preventer for which
a permit has been issued and which will be regularly tested to ensure satisfactory
operation.
(3)
The Department shall inform the owner by letter of any
failure to comply by the time of the first reinspection. The Department will
allow an additional 15 days for the correction. In the event that the owner
fails to comply with the necessary correction by the time of the second reinspection,
the 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 Department of extenuating circumstances
as to why the correction has not been made, a time extension may be granted
by the Department but in no case will exceed an additional 30 days.
(4)
If the Department determines at any time that a serious
threat to the public health exists, the water service will be terminated immediately.
(5)
The Department shall have on file a list of private contractors
who are certified backflow device testers. All charges for these tests will
be paid by the owner of the building or property.
(6)
The Department will begin initial premises inspections
to determine the nature of existing or potential hazards following the approval
of this program by the DEP during the calendar year 1993. Initial focus will
be on high-hazard industries and commercial premises.
B.
Owner.
(1)
The owner shall be responsible for the elimination or
protection of all cross-connections on his premises.
(2)
The owner, after having been informed by a letter from
the Department, shall at his expense install, maintain and test or have tested
any and all backflow preventers on his premises.
(3)
The owner shall correct any malfunction of the backflow
preventer which is revealed by periodic testing.
(4)
The owner shall inform the Department 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 Department.
(5)
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.
(6)
The owner shall install backflow preventers in a manner
approved by the Department.
(7)
The owner shall install only backflow preventers approved
by the DEP.
(8)
Any owner having a private well or other private water
source must have a permit if the well or source is cross-connected to the
Department's system. Permission to cross-connect may be denied by the
Department. The owner 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 Department's system.
(9)
The owner shall be responsible for the payment of all
fees for permits, annual or semiannual device testing, retesting in the case
that the device fails to operate correctly and second reinspections for noncompliance
with Department or DEP requirements.
The Department 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 or double check valves.
Any existing backflow preventer shall be allowed by the Department 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, as in
the case of a residential installation converting to a business establishment,
any existing backflow preventer must be upgraded to a reduced pressure principle
device or a reduced pressure principle device must be installed in the event
that no backflow device was present.
A.
Reduced pressure principle backflow devices shall be
tested and inspected at least semiannually.
B.
Periodic testing shall be performed by the Department's
certified tester or his delegated representative. This testing will be done
at the owner's expense.
C.
The testing shall be conducted during the Department's
regular business hours. Exceptions to this policy, when at the request of
the owner, may require additional charges to cover the increased costs to
the Department.
D.
Any backflow preventer which fails during a periodic
test will be repaired or replaced. When repairs are necessary, upon completion
of the repair, the device will be retested at the owner's expense to
ensure correct operation. High-hazard situations will not be allowed to continue
unprotected if the backflow preventer fails the test and cannot be repaired
immediately. In other situations, a compliance date of not more than 30 days
after the test date will be established. The owner is responsible for spare
parts, repair tools or a replacement device. Parallel installation of two
devices is an effective means of the owner ensuring uninterrupted water service
during testing or repair of devices and is strongly recommended when the owner
desires such continuity.
E.
Backflow prevention devices will be tested more frequently than specified in Subsection A above in cases where there is a history of test failures and the Department feels that, due to the degree of hazard involved, additional testing is warranted. Cost of the additional tests will be borne by the owner.
