The Township Council finds that the adoption
of this article is necessary for the public health, safety and welfare
and is in the public interest because:
A.
Of the long-continued droughts occurring from time
to time in this area of the state which result in a dangerous lowering
of the Township's potable water reserves and which threaten the preservation
of the public health, safety and welfare.
B.
Past experience has demonstrated that appeals for
voluntary aid for water conservation are not and have not been as
effective as necessary.
C.
The Township, pursuant to contract, receives much
of its potable water from the Town of Montclair and is, therefore,
greatly dependent upon said municipality for its water.
D.
The aforesaid droughts lower the surface reservoirs
from which the Town of Montclair obtains its water.
E.
Under the terms of the aforesaid contract, the Township
agrees to cooperate and assist the Town of Montclair in the conservation
of the potable water supply and agrees to enforce restrictive measures
at least equal to those in force in the Town of Montclair.
F.
The Town of Montclair has duly adopted an ordinance
for the purpose of conserving its water supply and to prevent the
waste of water and providing penalties for violations thereof.
G.
Under the terms of that ordinance, the Township of
Cedar Grove is obligated to enforce similar restrictive measures for
the conservation of potable water.
Whenever the average amount of water in the
reservoirs from which the Township either directly or indirectly receives
its water in any one month falls 20% below the average amount of water
in storage for the corresponding months of a five-year period immediately
preceding, and whenever the Township Engineer upon an independent
investigation certifies that an emergency exists in said water supply,
and whenever the Town of Montclair, through its Director of the Department
of Public Works, shall proclaim the existence of an emergency in the
water supply system of the Town of Montclair (should the Township
of Cedar Grove be purchasing all or part of its potable water supply
from the Town of Montclair), the Township Manager may, for the protection
of health, safety and general welfare of the citizens and residents
of the Township, proclaim the existence of a water emergency and prescribe
regulations to:
The proclamation of the emergency shall be conclusive
of the fact of the existence of such emergency and shall be binding
upon all persons and users, upon the filing of the same in the office
of the Township Clerk and the publication thereof, at least once,
in the official newspaper or newspapers 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 office of the Township Clerk, shall be deemed to have the force
and effect of regulations adopted under the authority of this article,
the same as if specifically 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, under any
contract, ordinance or statute, shall, upon the proclamation and promulgation
of the regulations as aforesaid, become bound thereby and by the provisions
of this article 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.
Upon the making of said proclamation of emergency,
the Township Manager shall forthwith give written notice to the appropriate
departments of the Township to refrain from all street and gutter
flushing, hydrant flushing, fire hose testing and other similar practices,
except as said practices are deemed necessary in the interest of public
health or safety and until said emergency is declared no longer to
exist.
A.
Every owner of buildings and premises connected with
the municipal water supply shall:
B.
Every lessee, tenant and occupant of any building
or premises connected with the municipal water supply shall:
(1)
Immediately notify the owner, or his agent, of any
defective water service pipes, fixtures or connections whereby water
is being wasted.
(2)
Immediately notify the Township Water Department or
Police Department of any waste occurring by reason of defective water
service pipes, fixtures or connections.
C.
Every owner and user of water shall, during the period
of a water emergency, be chargeable with notice of any waste of water
due to defective water service pipes, fixtures or connections, and
of the regulations promulgated under the proclamation. It shall be
the duty of the owner to forthwith make or cause to be made repairs
necessary to prevent such waste.
Whenever an owner shall fail or refuse to make
repairs so as to prevent the waste of water, then the Township shall
have the power 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, or to shut off the water
from such premises until such repairs are made by the owner.
