Village of East Aurora, NY Water

All water accounts shall only be established in the name of the owner of the premises.

Application for connection to Village water service shall be made to the Village Clerk-Treasurer. No service or connection shall be provided until the applicant has shown compliance with this chapter and paid all required fees.

On approval of the application by the Village, the owner shall be responsible for payment of all applicable rates and charges and shall comply with the rules and regulations relating to such service.

§ 263-3 Restriction of use.

The Village Board of Trustees reserves to itself and its agents the right to control or restrict the use of water or benefit of service in any and all instances where the occasion warrants such restrictions.

§ 263-4 Rates.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The Village Board of Trustees shall, by resolution adopted at such times as the Village Board of Trustees shall determine, establish rates as water rents for water consumption to be charged to and collected from all property owners for Village water, provided that such rates shall not be charged without public notice and hearing.

§ 263-5 Service fees and charges.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The Village Board of Trustees shall, by resolution, adopt, amend or establish service fees and charges, which, upon adoption, shall be set forth on the Village Fee Schedule and are to be charged to and collected, as applicable, from all property owners for services provided and as identified in the Village Fee Schedule.

§ 263-6 Collection of water rents and other charges.

All charges billed in accordance with resolutions adopted pursuant to § 263-4 and § 263-5 of this chapter and fines imposed for the violation of any rule of the Board of Trustees shall be regarded as an obligation of the property owner of the premises upon which said water was supplied or such other expense incurred and shall be a lien upon the real property so benefited or supplied with such water until paid. If said sums are not paid within 25 days after the amount thereof became due and payable, the water shall be turned off on account of such nonpayment, at the discretion of the Village and to the extent practicable.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

No application for water service for such premises shall be granted by any officer or employee of the Village until and only when such sums, including the extra delinquent payment service charge provided by § 263-5 of this chapter, have been paid in full to the Village. The fact that said premises has changed occupants or that the title of said premises has been transferred to a new property owner shall have no effect.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

Regardless of the provisions set forth above, all outstanding water charges as of May 1 in any year shall be added to and collected with the real property taxes assessed against the real property to which the water services were provided and due and payable on and after June 1 of that year.

§ 263-7 Records.

Records shall be kept in the Village office, which records shall contain the street number and location of all premises and which shall show the sum or sums remaining unpaid for the use of water or other charges upon each of said premises and the location of premises where the water has been turned off for nonpayment of water rents or other charges. Such records shall be for the information and protection of persons intending to purchase property within the Village, and such persons may ascertain at the Village office whether or not any charges for such unpaid water rents or other charges appear on such records. Any person with an interest in a parcel of real property may receive a certificate from the Village regarding any outstanding unpaid water charges.

§ 263-8 Water rents due.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

All water rents shall be due and payable at the Village office quarterly on the date set forth on the bill rendered to each property owner.

Bills shall be due and payable within 25 days. The due date shall be set forth on each bill rendered to a property owner. There shall be added to bills unpaid after the due date so set forth on the bill an amount equal to 10% of the amount of such bill.

Upon the request of the property owner for a final or interim reading due to the sale of property or other reason, a final bill shall be rendered at the time of the request and payment due upon receipt.

§ 263-9 Bills.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

Bills will be sent to the property owner for his or her convenience, but the failure of any property owner to receive a bill shall not excuse payment of the same.

§ 263-10 General provisions.

The property owners of all premises, or users having connection with any water main through which Village water flows, must keep all the pipes and fixtures in connection therewith in good repair and protected against freezing to said main at their expense, in order that leakage and waste is prevented. Any lost water as a result of or damage to service lines, curb boxes, main lines, or any other Village appurtenance as a direct or indirect result of work and/or negligence by the property owner or any contractor thereof shall be borne in full amount by said property owner.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The Superintendent of Public Works, Water Foreman and his/her aides, agents and assistants may enter the premises of any property owner at any reasonable time to examine the fixtures and pipes to ascertain the quantity of water being used and the manner of its use and to determine whether there is any wasteful or unlawful use of water.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

No water user or property owner shall allow any person other than those residing or employed upon the premises to regularly take water therefrom. There shall be no additional water service on the premises beyond the original application without additional written application.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

No person other than the Superintendent of Public Works or those acting under his direction shall interfere with or open or close, or attempt to do so, any valve gate or shutoff appurtenant to the mains through which Village water flows or appurtenant to any service line between the water main and the curb shutoff.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007]

No person other than the Superintendent of Public Works, those acting under his/her direction, the Fire Chiefs or members of the Fire Department shall manipulate, control or operate or attempt so to do any fire hydrant or plug deriving a supply of Village water flows, or draw water therefrom. Only those trained in the operation of such fire hydrants or plugs shall be permitted to manipulate the same. Whenever a hydrant has been opened and used, notification of such fact shall promptly be given to the Water Department. No tools or implements shall be used to open hydrants except such as are furnished by the Village or by the Fire Department.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The Village undertakes to use reasonable care and diligence to provide a constant supply of water at a reasonable pressure but reserves the right at any time, without notice, to shut off the water in its mains for the purpose of making repairs, taps and extensions. The Village shall not be held liable for deficiency or failure in the supply of water or in the pressure for any cause whatsoever. However, the Village shall try to give notice of the shutting off of water supplies when time and conditions permit.

The Village water system furnishes water and not pressure and does not guarantee a continuous supply. No responsibility shall be assumed for any damages to any apparatus in any house or building due to the shutting off of, or turning on of, a water main without notice.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007]

The Village shall make extensions of mains, where practical, provided that it can be assured of a sufficient annual revenue from the area to be served to warrant the necessary expenditure.

§ 263-11 Rules for furnishing water.

The Village will furnish water under the following conditions and regulations only:

Regular in-Village meter connections.

It is clearly understood that the primary responsibility of the Village is to furnish water to users within its own corporate limits and nothing herein contained shall be construed in any way to jeopardize the supply of water to such users.

No swimming pools, irrigation systems or any other heavy uses of water shall be connected to lines fed from Village water mains without specific consent from the Village, and under no circumstances shall the Village ever become liable for any failure to supply water to any users outside the Village.

Where taps can be made on existing water mains to serve individual properties within the Village of East Aurora, the Village shall make such taps and install water service lines to shutoff valves at curbs at a cost established by resolution adopted pursuant to § 263-5 of this chapter. Service lines from shutoff valves to the building to be served shall be installed, maintained and paid for by the property owner.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

A water meter purchased through the Village of East Aurora, unless otherwise approved, shall be installed within the building to be served, with the cost of such meter to be borne by the property owner. Upon installation, the meter shall become the property of the Village of East Aurora. If the line is over 75 feet long, such meter shall be placed in a vault at or near the street line, which vault shall be constructed to meet Village requirements and shall be paid for by the property owner. All installations shall be made in accordance with Village rules.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

(5)

The Village shall read meters on regular schedules and shall render a quarterly bill for water furnished to the property owner. Until the Village is notified in writing by a property owner that premises have been vacant and that the water is to be turned off, or that title has been transferred, the property owner, as per the Village records, shall be responsible for all bills or service fees.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

(6)

The rate shall be in accordance with the schedule of rates adopted by the Village and in effect at the time of the meter reading.

(7)

Failure to pay a bill for water supply or for expenses for repairing of water mains or pipes, meters, fixtures or other appurtenances in connection with the water service, or for the damage to the same, or for fines imposed for the violation of any rules of the Board of Trustees within 25 days after the amount thereof becomes due and payable shall render the user liable for suspension of water service in accordance with § 263-6 of this chapter, and, in addition, there shall be added to said water bill an extra delinquent payment service charge as provided by § 263-5, whether or not the water has, in fact, been turned off.

Master meter connections.

Where water service is to be furnished to multiple users, a master meter shall be installed, the cost of which to be borne by the property owner, and connected to the Village main. Such master meters shall be located as near as practicable to the Village main and upon installation, shall become the property of the Village.

The charge for such connection to the Village water main shall be in accordance with the schedule adopted by the Village and in effect at the time of making such connection.

All water mains and service lines beyond the master meter shall be installed and maintained by the applicant, and the Village shall in no way be responsible for them, except that the application for water service may be rejected if, in the opinion of the Village, such water mains and service lines are not satisfactory.

Master meters shall be read as often as the Village determines to be necessary, and a bill shall be prepared quarterly. Such bills shall be rendered to such person as shall be designated on the application. The Village will not read any individual meters located beyond the master meter.

(5)

When master meters service out-of-Village users, the rate charged to all such outside users shall be in accordance with the rates established by resolution adopted pursuant to § 263-4 of this chapter.

(6)

No credit shall be allowed against the bill for any water loss occurring outside the Village for any water used to fight any fire or for any other heavy or unusual use of water occurring outside the Village.

(7)

No extension of water lines or increase in the number of properties served beyond the limits of the Village or the limits of a water district which has contracted to purchase water from the Village shall be made without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

(8)

No pumps or other mechanical means of drawing water from the mains, which might impair service to water users within the Village, shall be installed without the knowledge and consent of the Village.

(9)

There shall be no cross-connections between the Village water supply system and private wells or other water supply.

(10)

Any leak between the Village water shutoff valve at or near the curb and a building shall be repaired by the property owner within five days after notification by the Village, or water service to the building will be discontinued.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

§ 263-12 Discontinuance of service.

Water service may be discontinued for any of the following reasons:

Use of water other than as represented in the application.

Willful waste of water through improper or imperfect pipes.

Interfering with any service pipe, seal, meter, curb box, curb stop or any other appliance of the Village.

APPROVED DOUBLE CHECK VALVE ASSEMBLY

Nonpayment of bills for water or services rendered by the Village.

(5)

Cross-connecting the Village service pipe with any other source of supply or with any apparatus, which may endanger the quality of the Village water supply.

(6)

Refusal of reasonable access to the property for the purposes of inspecting fixtures or piping.

Before service so discontinued shall be restored, the property owner shall pay the turn-on charge and any additional costs to restore service in advance of the work performed and sign an application for service, if he has not already done so. In addition to the above, the property owner may be required to pay water rent up to one year in advance before restoration of service shall be considered.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

Shutoff of joint services. Where two or more users are now supplied water through one service pipe under the control of one curb stop, if any of the parties so supplied shall violate any of these rules of this chapter, the Village reserves the right to shut off the joint service line, except that such action shall not be taken until the innocent user who is not in violation of the Village rules has been given notice to the extent practicable.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

§ 263-13 Prohibited acts.

Any person who shall, except as permitted by this chapter, break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, apparatus or equipment which is part of any public water supply system shall be deemed to have violated this chapter. Any person who commits or permits any acts in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed an offense against such chapter and shall be liable for the penalties provided. A separate offense against this chapter shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. A separate penalty may be imposed for each separate offense.

§ 263-14 Meters.

All water used on any premises or for any purpose shall be metered, except that no meter shall be required to be installed to meter and measure water used for a sprinkler system for fire protection. Any meters for fire protection systems existing in the Village will no longer bill for water or the quarterly charge. No bypass or connection, including but not limited to bleeders, shall be made or maintained unless covered by a meter. Only meters purchased through the Village of East Aurora, or which the Village has approved, shall be installed. The Village Water Department shall determine the type and size of meter in each instance.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 9-17-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018]

The meter(s) shall be installed within the building to be served as close as practical to the point where the service pipe enters the building by an outside wall and shall be set with the inlet and outlet in a horizontal line, with the register on top, and shall be located so as to be readily accessible at all times for reading, inspection and repair. Stop valves shall be provided on both inlet and outlet sides of the meter.

In the event of a discrepancy between the water consumption as indicated by the reading device and the water consumption as measured by the water meter, the water consumption as measured by the water meter shall be controlling.

Outside meter pits may be installed in special cases, on written approval of the Village Water Department. Such meter pits must be installed in accordance with Village specifications and at the expense of the property owner.

Provision shall be made to prevent hot water from entering the meter. No tee or other fitting through which water may be drawn shall be used or placed between the main and the meter. The Water Foreman or agent may, at any reasonable time, enter upon the premises for the purpose of inspecting pipes or reading or checking the water meter and shall discontinue the supply of water when the customer has failed to comply with Water Department rules and regulations or for nonpayment of water bills.

All meters will be tested before being set. Meters furnished by other parties will not be recognized unless they have been first tested by the Water Department and approval has been given.

If the meter is not placed in an accessible location, the water supply will be turned off by the Water Department and will be turned on at the property owner's expense when the meter is reset in an accessible position. There shall be no tampering with water meters or breaking meter seals with the intent to slow, stop or alter the reading of a water meter.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

At the request of a property owner, the Water Department will test the meter supplying the property of said property owner. If the meter, on test, is found to be registering over 3% more water than actually passes through it, no charge will be made for the test; otherwise, the fee charged shall be in accordance with § 263-5.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

When a meter is not working, the property owner will be billed by estimate. The charge will be made on the basis of the average of the water bill for the previous four quarters or for a comparable period, whichever is deemed more accurate by the Village.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

The Water Department will provide meters up to one inch at the property owner's expense.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

Repairs to damaged meters shall be at the property owner's expense. The Village may terminate water service after notice of the defect has been given, if damaged meters are not repaired within 15 days.

[Amended 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007; 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

Meters suspected to be inaccurate or leaking should be reported to the Water Department immediately.

The Water Department may inspect, replace or repair any meter at any time it is felt it should be replaced or repaired.

A meter damaged by or as a result of faulty plumbing in the building, such as faulty heating or hot water system allowing hot water to back through the meter or damage by a blow or tampering or freezing, shall be repaired and the cost billed to and paid by the property owner.

Existing multifamily dwellings (rentals) with individual meters for each unit may continue, but the water account shall be established in the property owner's name and, as such, the property owner shall be responsible for the payment of any billing.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

New multifamily, condo or townhouse facilities shall be master metered (one meter), which shall be the responsibility of the property owner. The meter size will be determined by the Water Department.

[Amended 5-20-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]

§ 263-15 Water backflow.

The purpose of this chapter is to safeguard potable water supplies from potential contamination by preventing backflow from a water user's system into the public water system. It is the intent of this chapter to recognize that there are varying degrees of hazard and to apply the principal that the degrees of hazard protection should be commensurate with the degrees of hazard. Further, it is the intent of the Village of East Aurora, New York to comply with the requirements of the New York State Sanitary Code, Part 5 Section 5-1-31, which section mandates the requirement that the supplier of water protect their water system in accordance with procedures acceptable to the Commissioner of Health. These mandated requirements are as set forth in the Cross Connection Control Manual published by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and to that extent the terms, conditions and provisions of the New York State Sanitary Code, Part 5, Section 5-1-31, and the Cross Connection Control Manual are incorporated in this chapter by reference as if more fully stated.

Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

AIR GAP SEPARATION

A physical break between a supply pipe and a receiving vessel. The air gap shall be at least double the diameter of the supply pipe, measured vertically above the top rim of the vessel, in no case less than one inch.

APPROVED CHECK VALVE

A check valve that seats readily and completely. It must be carefully machined to have free moving parts and assured watertightness. The face of the closure element and valve seat must be bronze composition or other noncorrodible material, which will seat tightly under all prevailing conditions of field use. Pins and bushings shall be of bronze and other noncorrodible, nonsticking material, machined for easy dependable operation. The closure element shall be internally weighted or otherwise internally equipped to promote rapid and positive closure in all sizes where this feature is obtainable.

Two single independently acting check valves, including tightly closing shutoff valves located at each end of the assembly and suitable test connections. This device must be approved as a complete assembly.

APPROVED REDUCED PRESSURE PRINCIPAL BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE

A device incorporating two or more check valves and an automatically operating differential relief valve located between the two checks, two shutoff valves, and equipped with necessary appurtenances for testing. The device shall operate to maintain the pressure in the zone between the two check valves, less than the pressure on the public water supply side of the device. At cessation of normal flow, the pressure between the check valves shall be less than the supply pressure. In case of leakage of either valve, the differential relief valve shall operate to maintain this reduced pressure by discharging to the atmosphere. To be approved, these devices must be readily accessible for maintenance and testing and installed in a location where no part of the device will be submerged.

APPROVED WATER SUPPLY

Any water supply approved by the New York State Department of Health.

AUXILIARY SUPPLY

Any water supply on or available to the premises other than the approved public water supply.

CERTIFIED BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE TESTER

An individual who has successfully completed a New York State Department of Health approved course in the testing of backflow prevention devices and has been issued a certificate by the New York State Department of Health.

CONTAMINATION

An impairment of the quality of the Village water supply by the presence of any foreign substance (organic, inorganic, radiological or biological) to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health.

CROSS CONNECTIONS

Any unprotected connection between any part of the Village water system used or intended to be used as a supply of water for drinking purposes in a source or systems containing water or substance that is not or cannot be approved as equally safe, wholesome and potable for human consumption.

NONTOXIC SUBSTANCE

Any substance of a nonpoisonous nature that may create a moderate or minor hazard to the water supply system.

PERSON

Any natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, trust or association or persons, joint venture, corporation or company and includes the United States, the State of New York, the County of Erie, any special purposes district and officer or agent thereof.

PREMISES

Integrated land area, including improvements thereon, undivided by public thoroughfares or water distribution mains of the Village of East Aurora and where all parts of the premises are operated under the same management and for the same purpose.

PROTECTIVE DEVICE

Any of the following devices:

Air gap separation.

Approved reduced-pressure principal backflow prevention device.

Approved double-check valve assembly.

VACUUM BREAKER, PRESSURE TYPE AND NON-PRESSURE TYPE

Approved single check valve

[Added 11-26-2007 by L.L. No. 10-2007]

SERVICE CONNECTION

The terminal end of a service connection from the Village water supply at its point of delivery to the consumer. If a meter is installed, "service connection," means the downstream end of the meter. No unprotected takeoffs from the service line ahead of any meter or backflow protective device located at the point of delivery to the consumer shall be permitted.

TOXIC SUBSTANCE

Any substance (liquid, solid or gaseous), including raw sewage and lethal substances, that when introduced into the water supply system creates or may create a danger to the health and well being of the consumer.

A vacuum breaker which can only be used for internal plumbing control and, therefore, not acceptable as a containment device.

VILLAGE

The Village of East Aurora.

VILLAGE WATER SUPPLY

Approved water supply sold and delivered to consumers' premises through the waterworks system of the Village of East Aurora.

WATER FOREMAN

The Water Foreman of the Public Works Department of the Village of East Aurora, or his/her authorized representative.

WATER SUPERVISOR

The consumer, and/or owner of premises, and/or a person the premises charged with the responsibility of complete knowledge and understanding of the water supply piping within the premises and for maintaining the consumer's water system free from cross connections and other sanitary defects, as required by this chapter and all other required regulations and laws.

"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

Protection required.

Where protection is required. The water system shall be required to maintain a degree of protection commensurate with the degree of hazard regardless of whether the hazard is immediate or potential. To that extent, the Cross Connection Manual published by NYSDOH shall be used as a guide to determine where protection is required. It shall be the responsibility of the water user to provide and maintain such required protection devices and such devices shall be of a type acceptable to the NYSDOH.

Type of protection. The type of protective device required shall depend on the degree of hazard as tabulated below:

(a)

At the service connection to any premises where there is an auxiliary water supply handled in a separate piping system with no known cross connection, the public water supply shall be protected by an approved reduced pressure zone device.

(b)

At the service connection to any premises on which a substance that would be objectionable, but not necessarily hazardous to health if introduced into the public water supply, is handled so as to constitute a cross connection, the public water supply shall be protected by an approved double check valve assembly.

(c)

At the service connection to any premises on which a substance of unusual toxic concentration or danger to health is or may be handled, but not under pressure, the public water supply shall be protected by an air gap separation or an approved reduced pressure zone backflow prevention device. If an air gap is installed, it shall be located as close as practical to the water meter, and all piping between the water meter and receiving tanks shall be entirely visible. A reduced pressure zone device when installed shall be located as close as possible to the property line.

(d)

At the service connection to any premises on which any material dangerous to health, or toxic substance and toxic concentration, is or may be handled under pressure, the public water supply shall be protected by an air gap separation. The air gap shall be located as close as practical to the water meter, and any piping between the water meter and receiving tanks shall be entirely visible. If these conditions cannot reasonably be met, the public water supply shall be protected with an approved reduced pressure zone backflow prevention device and it shall be located as close as possible to the property line.

(e)

At the service connection to any sewage treatment plant or sewage pumping station, the public water supply shall be protected by an air gap separation. If these conditions cannot reasonably be met, the public water supply shall be protected with an approved reduced pressure zone backflow prevention device and it shall be located as close as possible to the property line.

Frequency of inspection of protective devices. It shall be the duty of the water user on any premises on account of which backflow protective devices are installed, to have competent inspections made at least once a year or more often in instances where successive inspections indicated repeated failure. Devices shall be repaired, overhauled or replaced at the expense of the water user whenever they are found to be defective. These tests shall be performed by a qualified backflow prevention device tester, and all test results will be provided to the water user within 72 hours after the test is made. Records of such tests, repairs and overhaul shall also be kept and made available to the water user and the local health department upon request.

Penalties for offenses; recourse for noncompliance.

Water service connection to any premises shall be installed or maintained by the water user unless the water supply is protected as required by this chapter and such other applicable local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations.

If any facility served by a water system denies a Water Department person access to their premises for the purposes of determining if protection to the public water system is necessary, the maximum protection condition shall be imposed with the requirement that the number of devices shall equal the number of service lines.