It is the purpose of the Water
Department of the Village
of Bridgewater to:
A.Furnish
an adequate supply of pure and wholesome water to the residences
and business establishments in the
Village of Bridgewater and its immediate vicinity.
B.Supply
sufficient water with sufficient pressure in its water supply system to
adequately protect the buildings in said Village from damage or destruction
from fire.
C.To
properly maintain, improve and extend the water supply system:
1.Primarily
for the benefit of the water users and taxpayers within the Village.
2.Secondarily
for the benefit of the property owners outside of the Village who may in the
future be served by the water system.
II.Applicability
This chapter shall be a local law
applicable to all property and water users within the Village of Bridgewater
as terms of a contract in accordance with which water is to be supplied in such
outside users.
III.Definitions:
A.The
term “Village” shall mean the Village
of Bridgewater and/or the Village of Bridgewater Water Supply System.
B.The
term “consumer”, “customer”, or “applicant” shall mean the individual, firm,
association, corporation, landlord, or owner whose name the Water Department
has on its books as the party who applied for the water service, or any
individual firm, association, corporation, landlord, or owner who uses the
water service.
C.The
term “family” shall be one (1) or more persons occupying a single premises or
unit.
D.The
term “main” shall mean the supply pipe laid in the streets and rights-of-way
from which service connections are made for the supply of water to consumers.
E.“Lateral
pipe” shall mean the line from the main to the curb-stop.
F.The
term “service pipe” shall mean the pipe leading from the curb-stop to the meter
or to the internal piping system on the premises of the consumer.
G.The
term “premises” and/or “unit” as used herein shall be defined as follows:
1.A
building under one (1) roof owned or leased by one (1) customer and occupied as
one (1) residence or by one (1) place of business.
2.A
combination of buildings owned or leased by one (1) customer, in one (1) common
enclosure, occupied by one (1) family or one (1) corporation or firm as a
residence or place of business.
3.Each
separate unit of a multiple house or building occupied by one (1) family or one
(1) firm as a residence or place of business.
H.Annual
Capital Charge – The term annual capital charge shall be the annual charge
levied annually against each unit.It
shall be calculated annually be dividing one half the annual budget by the
actual number of units in the system each year.
I.The term “cross connection” means a physical connection
through which a water supply could be contaminated.
IV.Water Units
The purpose of assigning number of
units is to establish the basis for the annual capital charge.The unit system shall be as follows:
A.Each
single family dwelling shall be charged at the rate of one (1) unit.
B.Each
two family house, apartment house or multiple dwelling shall be charged at the
rate of one (1) unit for each apartment or dwelling unit.
C.Each
business activity in a residence with separate plumbing facilities for the
business shall be charged at the rate of an additional one (1) unit.
D.Commercial
establishments, including but not limited to, retail stores, gas stations or
garages, wholesale distributors, light manufacturers, barber and beauty shops,
banks, post offices, funeral homes, professional and business offices, lunch
bars, restaurants, day care centers, adult care centers, or other types of
business enterprises not heretofore or hereinafter described, shall be charged
at the rate of one (1) unit per commercial space whether occupied or not.
E.Laundromats
containing washers for public use shall be charged on the basis of one (1) unit
for every four washers or fraction thereof.
F.Car
washes shall be charged on the basis of one (1) unit per stall.
G.Churches,
lodges and religious or charitable organizations shall be charged at the rate
of (1) unit.
H.Public
schools, hotels, motels and similar properties shall be charged on the basis of
one (1) unit per every two (2) bathrooms or fraction thereof.
I.Industrial plants shall be charged on the basis of one
(1) unit per every two (2) bathrooms or fraction thereof.
J.Nursing
homes shall be charged at the rate of one (1) unit per five (5) patients.
K.In
the event the use of any parcel or real property combines two (2) or more of
the classifications herein set forth (except public schools), the number of
units in each classification shall be determined, and the total thereof shall
constitute the number of units in each classification shall be determined, and
the total thereof shall constitute the number of units to be charged to the
entire parcel.
L.Any
vacant lot shall be assigned one (1) unit.
M.Each
mobile home will be responsible for paying a quarterly water bill, based on the
rate schedule established by the Village
of Bridgewater.The owner of each mobile home park will be
assigned a number of units equal to thenumber of mobile homes hooked up to the Village water system.Each mobile home park owner will have placed
on his yearly property tax bill, an amount, for the purpose of property taxes
for the municipal water system.That tax
amount will be determined by multiplying the number of units assigned, by the
tax dollar value per unit.
1.The
initial assignment of unit values for the mobile home parks will be based on a
number of units agreed upon by each park owner and the Village Board.
2.No
later than February 1 of each following year, the owner of each mobile home
park shall report in writing to the Village Board the number of mobile homes
presently hooked up for the purpose of receiving Village water.This shall be done every year whether the
number remains the same or changes.That
number of mobile homes will be the new number of units assigned as of February
1st.
3.Since
the Village uses the Town’s assessment data for levying Village taxes, the
Village Board shall then transmit this number of units to the Town of Bridgewater Assessor.The Town Assessor should then make any
necessary changes for the new tax roll.
4.This
is done with the understanding that the Village and Town fiscal years are not
the same.Any change in unit
assignments, whether an increase or decrease, will be applied to the Village
tax bill for the Village fiscal year which is one year after the year in which
the change is made.
V.Application For Service
A.All
applications for the use of water must be made in writing on the forms
provided, to the Board of Trustees of the Village.
B.Applications
will be accepted subject to there being an existing water main and lateral pipe
in a street or right-of-way abutting on the premises to be served but
acceptance shall in no way obligate the Village to extend water mains or later
pipes within or beyond the Village limits to serve new or additional premises.
VI.Installation of Service Pipe
Customers shall furnish and
install, at their expense, the service pipe from the curb stop to the house
being served.All service pipes shall be
buried with at least four and one-half (4-1/2”) feet of cover.The single family home service pipe shall be
a three fourths (3/4”) inch diameter or larger and shall be of US Government
Type-K soft tempered Copper or 200 psi rated Polyethylene meeting AWWA C-901.The Village reserves the right, in all other
cases, to stipulate the size and type of service connections to be used.
VII.Maintenance of Service Pipe
All service pipes are owned and
shall be maintained, repaired or replaced by the property owner.Services pipes are the (3/4”) inch or larger
pipes beginning at but not including the curb stop located on the property
line/highway boundary and running into the home being served.The Village shall have the right to test service
pipes for leakage at any time.Should
investigation disclose a leak in the service pipe, the owner will be notified
in writing.Such notice will inform the
owner that if the repairs are not made within ten (10) days of receipt, the
Village will shut off the water service.
If the leak is between an existing
usable curb stop and the home, the curb stop will be closed to control the
leakage.If the leak is between the
corporation stop at the water main and the curb stop then the Village will make
the necessary pavement cuts, excavation and/or repairs.
Any cost incurred by the Village
investigating leaks that are determined to be on the customer’s service pipe
will be charged to the customer.Any
cost incurred by the Village investigating leaks that are determined to be on
the lateral pipe shall be paid by the Village.
VIII.Extension of New Water Mains or Lateral Pipes
A.An
owner or developer of undeveloped property within the Village may, at their
cost and expense, construct new water mains to serve proposed new homes or
commercial property which are located adjacent to existing water mains.The new water mains shall be designed by a
professional engineer licensed by the State of New York in accordance with the
Recommended Standards for Water Works as adopted by the Great Lakes-Upper
Mississippi River Board of State Health and Environmental Engineers, Part 5,
Subpart 5-1 of the New York State Public Health Law and standards of
construction as may be adopted from time to time by the Village.
The Village shall in no way be
obligated to extend water mains within or beyond Village limits to serve new or
additional premises.
B.The
owner or developer of undeveloped property within the Village, which is
adjacent to an existing water main but not provided with a lateral pipe, may
petition the Village to construct said lateral pipe.The Village shall make all pavement cuts,
excavation, tapping operations and provide all pipe and fittings to be
installed within the highway or other right of way.The owner or developer requesting the lateral
pipe shall pay the Village a sum, to be determined from time to time, to
reasonably represent the actual cost of constructing said lateral pipe.
C.Upon
construction, satisfactory to the Village, of any new water main or lateral
pipe, within a highway or other right-of-way, the owner or developer shall
dedicate (i.e. turn over ownership) those facilities to the Village.The Village shall thereafter be responsible
for maintenance, repair or replacement of those facilities.
IX. Limitations on Service
Lines
B.Each
property owner served by the water system shall have a separate and individual
tap into the main, unless otherwise approved by the Village Board.
C.No
pipes or fixtures connected with the mains of the Village shall also be
connected with pipes or fixtures supplied with water from any other
sources.NO CROSS CONNECTIONS!
IX.Removal or Replacement
A.In
case of removal or replacement of the service pipe, the old service must be
removed or abandoned and the old corporation cock turned off at the main before
the new corporation cock will be turned on.Where a building is demolished, water service is to be shut off at the
main by the contractor, owner, architect or engineer handling the project.
X.Pressure and Curb Boxes
A.Service
pipes of all sizes, together with all plumbing fixtures, shall be able to stand
a pressure of 150 pounds per square inch.Each installation shall be equipped with a curb-stop and curb-box
located at an approved location.
B.The
Water Department is authorized as a condition of service, to operate the curb
cock as required.The iron cover of the
curb-box must be kept level with the surface of the ground and always in sight.
XI.Installation and Repair of Service
A.A
5/8” water meter will be furnished, installed and maintained by the Water
Department.Meters larger than 5/8” will
also be provided by the Village, however, the difference in cost between the
5/8” meter and a larger size will be billed by the Village to the
customer.The sizes of the meter
required for any service shall be determined from the information supplied by
the customer or his agent, architect or engineer.All meters shall be set as nearly as possible
at the place of entrance of the service pipe to the building.Special care should be given to locating the
meter to prevent freezing.There will be
a charge for repairing meters damaged by freezing or hot water, payable at the
time of regular billings.The charge
will be the cost of labor and materials.
B.The
Water Department shall have the right to test, change, inspect, replace, repair
or remove any meter at any time within reasonable hours.
XII.Access to Premises
A.The
Water Department, through its properly authorized agents, shall have free
access to the premises supplied, for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity
of water used, the manner of its use, and also that the meter or other
apparatus or appliance belonging to the Water Department are properly protected
and in good condition.If such access is
refused, the Water Department may immediately discontinue the service without
further notice.
B.It
shall be the duty of all customers to see that meters on service connections
wherever located, shall be readily accessible at all reasonable times to the
agents or inspectors of the Water Department.Failure to remove any obstruction which prevents access to the meter
within three days after being notified by the Water Department will be just
cause to have the water shut off from the premises and it shall not be turned
on again until all obstructions are removed and all regulations complied
with.Customers outside the Village
limits must have Board approval for reinstatement of water service.
XIII.Testing Meters Upon Request
A.The
Village of Bridgewater and/or the Water Department
will test the accuracy of domestic meters upon request of the customer.Should the meter on test show a registration
in excess of two percent (2%) in favor of the Water Department, the bill will
be adjusted accordingly, and the cost of the excess water usage exceeding the two
previous readings shall be credited to the account.Where no such error is found, the customer
will be charged for the cost of the test.
XIV.Notice to Customers
A.Whenever
anynotice is required to be given by
the Village of Bridgewater and/or the Water Department under these regulations,
the same shall be signed by the proper official or employee of the Water
Department, an shall be served by enclosing a copy thereof in an envelope, with
postage prepaid, addressed to the person, firm, association or corporation to
be notified as the same appears on the records of the Water Department, and
notice so given shall be conclusively deemed to have been served at the time of
mailing.Notice may also be served by
delivering a copy to the customer personally.
XVI.Interruption
of Service
The
Water Department does not guarantee constant pressure nor uninterrupted
service, nor does it assure the customer full volume of water or the
required pressure per square inch necessary effectual to operate
appliances of any kind, the same being subject to all variable conditions
that may occur in the use of water from the distribution mains.
No
customer shall be entitled to damages or to have any payment refunded for
any interruption of service:
1.Occassioned
by accident to any portion of the works.
2.For the purpose of making additions or repairs.
3.Due to causes that are beyond the control of the Water Department
(excessive draft, excessive use, or
water by other customers).
4.Lack of water supply
The
Water Department will not be responsible for damages caused by roily water
resulting from the opening or closing of any pipe when the same is due to
no lack of reasonable care on the part of the Water Department.
The
Water Department assumes no liability for conditions which may exist in
customers pipes or appliances and which may cause trouble coincident with
or following repairs to any distribution main, supply main, meter, or
other appliances belonging to the Water Department.
The
Water Department reserves the right at any time, without notice, to shut
off the water in its distribution mains for the purpose of making repairs,
extensions or for other necessary purposes.All persons having boilers or other
appliances on their premises, depending on the pressure in the pipes to
keep them supplied with water are hereby cautioned against danger from
these sources and are required to provide at their own expense, the
necessary safe guards, namely, low-water cut-offs and pressure controls to
shut the feed off.
XVII.Discontinue
of Service
The
customer’s service may be discontinued for any of the following reasons:
A.The
use of water for any other property than that described in the application.
B.Failure
to maintain in good order connections or service lines owned by the customer,
after due notice has been given by the Water Department.
C.Vacancy
of premises.
D.Refusal
of customer after notice in writing to maintain and relocatehis meter to an approved location.
E.Use
of water through connections no the street side of the meter.
F.Molesting
any service pipe, seal, meter or any other connection or appliance used in
providing water service.
G.Nonpayment
of bills for water or services rendered by the Village water supply as
heretofore set forth.
H.Cross-connecting
pipes carrying water supplied by the Village with any other source of water
supply.
I.Not allowing reasonable access to the customer’s
premises for the purpose of inspecting fixtures and piping, repairing, testing
or removing meters.
J.Reselling
water.
K.Reinstatement
of water services can be accomplished only by paying in full with good and
certified funds, all charges, penalties and fees due at the time of reconnect.
XVIII. Rates and Charges
A.Metered Water:
The Village Board reserves the
right to levy such charges for metered water as it deems necessary.These levies will be separate from this law
and controlled by resolution of the Village Board after a proper public
hearing.All meters will be read on a quarterly basis and the readings
filed with the Village Clerk.
1.The
quantity of water registered by the meter on the customer premises, whether
used or wasted, shall be accepted by the customer as the amount to be paid
for.Bills shall be rendered on the
basis of the reading of meters.
2.If
a meter has ceased to register or is obviously registering inaccurately as
determined by the Water Department, the customer shall be billed based on the
average volume of water used during a corresponding semi-annual period for the
past two (2) years.
3.Water
use charges are payable on the meter reading or estimate of water consumed when
the bill is presented.
4.Minimum
water charges apply whether or not the meter remains on the premises during
suspension of water services.
5.Those
residents having access to village water but not using it shall pay the annual
water improvement charge only.
B.Annual
Capital Charge:
The Village Board reserves the
right to establish and levy annual charges to be assessed by units as defined
by Section IV of this local law.This
levy will appear on each and every Village tax statement.
IX.Payment
A.If
water bills are not paid on or before thirty (30) days from the date of
billing, a penalty fee of 10% will be added.Notice will be then given and fifteen (15) days allowed for payment in
full or service will be disconnected.Reinstatement of water service can be accomplished ONLY by paying in
full all charges, penalties, and fees due at the time to reconnect.Uncollected water charges due from inside the
Village will be relevied to the Village property tax.
B.Water
bills may be paid by mail and must be postmarked on or before last date
acceptable to avoid penalty.
C.The
Board of Trustees of the Village shall determine the number of units to be
charged to each parcel of real property, pursuant to Section IV of this
law.The Village Clerk shall keep a
record of all owners of real property within the Village and this record shall
indicate the classification or classifications of each parcel of real property
and the number of units charged to such property.
D.Bills
shall be mailed to the owners of such property at the address to which Village
tax bills are mailed.Failure of any
owner or designated agent to receive a bill promptly shall not excuse
nonpayment of same as herein provided and in the event an owner fails to
receive a bill promptly, he shall obtain a bill at the office of the Village
Clerk.
XX.Transfer of Ownership or Change to Tenants:
Upon transfer of ownership or
occupancy, the present owner or occupant must make written request for a final
meter reading and satisfy any unpaid balance before the responsibility will be
conveyed to the new owner.Failure to do
so will result in any unpaid balance transferring to the new owner.
XXI.Discontinuance and Renewal of Service:
Upon the written order of the
customer, providing this request meets all applicable health and safety laws
and regulations, water will be turned off from any premises without in any way
affecting the existing agreement for service.Unit charges will continue to be assessed.
XXII.Special
Conditions for FurnishingWaterServiceOutsideVillage
Limits
A.The
Village may provide water to Town of Bridgewater
residents only if a Town of Bridgewater Water District is created.This district would consist of only
properties located along the route of the main from the water storage tank as
the main proceeds into the Village or water main extensions which the Town of Bridgewater may choose to
finance and construct.
B.Any
provision of water to such a Water District will depend on availability of
sufficient water quantity to provide for Village water usage as determined on
the reasonable discretion of the Village Engineer.
C.This
will also be subject to the requirements of the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission.
XXIII.Cross
Connection Elimination and Abandonment of Existing Water Sources
Upon connection of a water customer
to the Municipal Water System all connections to preexisting private water
sources shall be eliminated to prevent the intermingling and potential
contamination by the private water sources of the Municipal Water.The customer may maintain and continue to use
such private water sources for irrigation, car washing or other outdoor
non-potable water uses.In the event the
home owner elects not to maintain and continue to use any private water source,
it shall be abandoned in accordance with NYSDEC regulations to prevent
groundwater contamination or other physical hazard.
XXIV.General
Rules – Emergencies
A.Except
as specifically authorized by the Bridgewater Village Board or the Fire Chief,
fire hydrants will not be used for any other purpose than for fire protection.
B.No
person, with the exception of the Mayor, and Water or Fire Chief may declare a
water emergency.
C.For
the purposes of this item, a water emergency shall be deemed to have occurred
when:
1.A
mechanical failure exists in the pumping system
2.There
is an insufficient supply of water in the water tower
3.If,
for a valid reason, either the Mayor or Fire Chief determines that
circumstances exist, with respect to said water supply, which jeopardize either
the quality or the amount of the supply of water to the Village or which
threaten both the safety and well-being of the residents of the Village.
D.Upon
the declaration of a water emergency as above, customers must follow the
directives issued by the person declaring said water emergency.The customers will be limited to using only
that amount of water allowed to be used pursuant to the directives issued by
the person declaring said water emergency.Any excessive or improper water usage will be considered a violation of this
chapter, and grounds for immediate discontinuance of service.
XXV.Conflicts
and Separability
A.CONFLICTS:All local laws or parts of local laws in
conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
B.SEPARABILITY:The invalidity of any section, clause,
sentence or provision of this local law shall not effect the validity of any
other part of this local law which can be given effect without such invalid
part or parts.
XXVI.Local
Law In Force
This local law shall be in full
force and effect from and after its passage, approval, recording and
publication as provided by state and local law.
