Chino Municipal Code Ch. 13.04 Water

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

A. "Developer" means a person, requesting water service from the city regardless of the number of services.

B. "Engineering department/division" means the engineering division of the public works department or its designated representative.

C. "Existing street" means a street which has been accepted as a part of the street system of the city or the county as of January 1, 1963.

D. "Fire service lateral" means the portion of a fire service line that provides water for fire fighting purposes to a parcel of land and/or a structure on that parcel of land, and is located between the structure and the water main line in the public right-of-way.

E. "New street" means a street which has not been accepted as a part of the street system of the city or county as of January 1, 1963.

F. "Water department/division" means the utility operation of the city or its designated representative.

G. "Water lateral" means the portion of a water line that provides water to a parcel of land and/or a structure on that parcel of land, and is located between the structure and the water meter at the edge of the public right-of-way.

(Ord. 83-11 §§ 1, 6, 1983; prior code § 25-1.)

(Ord. 2012-07, § 1, 2012.)

All funds and moneys received from the collection of water service charges, water meter fees, water distribution system fees, hydrant meter usage, delinquency charges, water facility system fees, water bond issues, deposits, and any other fees or charges as might be provided for in this chapter, shall be deposited with the city treasurer who will establish and maintain a separate fund to be known as the "water fund." The funds therein shall be expended for the management, operation, maintenance, construction, replacement, enlargement and retirement of bonds for the city's water production, storage and distribution systems, for necessary water purchases, and to meet responsibilities under regional water agreements.

(Ord. 89-2 § 10, 1989: Ord. 83-11 § 2, 1983.)

All funds and moneys received from the collection of water service charges, water meter fees, hydrant meter usage fees, delinquency charges, or advance payments shall be deposited with the finance director, who will credit such in the water fund. These funds shall be primarily expended for the management, operation, maintenance, replacement, construction and enlargement of the city's water production, storage and distribution systems and retirement of interest and principal payments on outstanding water related bonds or loans.

(Ord. 96-14 § 1, 1996: Ord. 83-11 § 3, 1983.)

The water department shall charge, for installation and perpetual maintenance of services and meter fees as shown in the city's cost control system.

(Ord. 96-14 § 2, 1996: prior code § 25-2(a).)

A. The city may require the customer on each new account, and any customer who is delinquent in payment of a utility bill for existing service, to make an advance payment in an amount set by resolution.

B. The advance payment requirement may be waived for a customer who provides a letter of credit from their most recent water provider along with a completed credit application. Any new customer or applicant who cannot provide a letter of credit, current customers who have not established satisfactory credit, or any customer who refuses to complete a credit application may be required to pay the advance payment as set by resolution. Should any customer whose advance payment requirement was waived and thereafter becomes subject to shut-off for delinquency, may be required to make an advance payment equivalent to two times their average monthly utility bill to reinstate service, in addition to any other fees or charges due.

C. A customer who has had two years of satisfactory payment history with the city, and who can prove a record of satisfactory credit on his/her prior account with the city, shall not be required to pay an advance payment to begin new service.

D. Advance payments shall be applied to the closing bill upon termination of service. An advance payment may be applied to the customer's account on the first bill following two full years of satisfactory service with the city. For purposes of this section, satisfactory service means two full years of payment history within the established due dates.

(Ord. 96-14 § 3, 1996: Ord. 77-7 § 2 (part), 1977: prior code § 25-2(c).)

A. Services and meters shall be installed at the location requested by the developer. All present service and meter installations are presumed to have been so located. Any relocation shall be done by the water department at the customer's expense, such expense to be computed by the water department.

B. Meters and service lines are and shall remain the property of the city, and no refund shall be allowed if such service is discontinued or removed.

(Prior code § 25-3.)

Water service outside the city shall be allowed only by resolution of the city council and if allowed, the charge for installation and perpetual maintenance of services and meters shall be as provided by the city's cost control system.

(Ord. 96-14 § 4, 1996: prior code § 25-2(b).)

A. Readiness-to-Serve Charge. The monthly readiness-to-serve charge, by meter size, shall be collected by the city's water utility and billed to all customers with active services on which a meter is installed. The charge rates and their effective dates shall be set by resolution.

B. Consumption Charge. In addition to the base readiness-to-serve charge paid by all active water services, there shall be a consumption charge per hundred cubic feet (HCF) of water which is registered as passing through the meter, which charge shall be based on and billed monthly at the rates and effective dates set by resolution.

C. Senior Citizen Discount. Any signatory on a single-family residential water system account who is age sixty-five or older, and who certifies that they are the primary source of income for the household which receives city water service, shall be granted a fifty-percent discount on the monthly readiness-to-serve charge and the first one hundred cubic feet of water consumed each month. The senior citizen discount application process shall be administered by the finance department.

(Ord. 96-14 § 5, 1996: Ord. 90-3, 1990; Ord. 89-14 § 1 (part), 1989: Ord. 84-18 § 2 (part), 1984: prior code § 25-4.)

Standby fire protection water service charges shall be based on the size of the connection to the city's water main whether actively connected to the city's water lines or valved-off. Such charges shall be collected by the city's water utility, effective with the billing date and rates fixed by resolution.

(Ord. 96-14 § 6, 1996: Ord. 89-14 § 1 (part), 1989: Ord. 87-25 § 2 (part), 1987; Ord. 83-11 §§ 7, 8, 1983; prior code § 25-14.)

A. No water service connections to any premises shall be installed or maintained unless the water supply is protected as required by the Public Health Service of the state of California and Title 17 of the California Health and Safety Code regulations relating to cross-connections.

B. The type of protection that shall be provided to prevent backflow shall be commensurate with the degree of hazard that exists on a property owner's premises, as determined by the water division.

C. If an approved backflow prevention assembly is required for the safety of the system, the water division or a designated agent shall give notice to the customer in writing. The customer shall immediately install such approved assembly at the customer's own expense. Failure, refusal or inability of the customer to install, have tested and maintain said assembly shall constitute grounds for discontinuing water service to the premises until such requirements have been satisfactorily met.

D. Customers' systems shall be open for inspection at all reasonable times to authorized representatives of the water division to determine whether cross-connection or other structural or sanitary hazards, including violations of this section, exist.

E. It shall be the duty of the customer at any premises where backflow prevention assemblies are installed to have certified inspections and operational tests made at least once per year. In those instances where the water division deems the hazard to be great enough, certified inspections may be required at more frequent intervals. These inspections and tests shall be at the expense of the water user and shall be performed by a certified tester approved by the American Waterworks Association (AWWA). The customer shall notify the water division in advance when the tests are to be undertaken so that an official representative may witness the tests if so desired. Test results shall be sent to the city to be kept on file. These assemblies shall be repaired, overhauled or replaced at the expense of the customer whenever said assemblies are found to be defective. The water division may also conduct its own inspections in accordance with Title 17.

F. Whenever an approved backflow assembly is moved or undergoes more than minimum maintenance, the water division shall be notified and the assembly tested and the test results are to be sent to the city in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(Ord. 87-25 § 2 (part), 1987.)

Meter deposit and charges for hydrant meter rental shall be as indicated by resolution and by the city's cost control system.

(Ord. 96-14 § 7, 1996: prior code § 25-5.)

In the event of a request by a developer or property owner for an increase or decrease in service and meter size, the charge shall be computed as the new service costs of the size requested less the salvage value of the existing service. The finance department shall be the sole judge of the value of the salvage.

(Ord. 96-14 § 8, 1996: prior code § 25-7.)

The city manager is directed to prepare and submit an annual update of revenues, costs and rates based on the recommendations and information submitted by the director of finance and the director of public works regarding the projections of costs, capital needs, reserves and revenues for the water, sanitary sewer, sanitary sewage treatment and storm drainage accounts, which projections initially were provided by the model upon which the rates set herein are based.

A. Annual Progress Report. Such updates shall be prepared as part of the city's annual budget, and shall be presented to the city council in the form of a progress report on the accomplishment of scheduled capital improvement projects, estimates of the adequacy of operational expenses and reserves, and revenue and rate projections.

B. Five-Year Projection of Costs and Revenues. Such annual update of revenues, costs and rates shall include an analysis to provide a five-year projection assessing the adequacy to maintain the physical integrity of these systems; to comply with all required health standards; to provide adequate water storage and flows for fire suppression purposes; to provide adequate quality of wastewater treatment; and to provide adequate levels of maintenance, upgrade and expansion of the water, sewer and storm drainage facilities.

C. Rate Adoption Schedule. The city council shall adopt a five-year rate structure forty-eight months from the date of the adoption of the ordinance codified in this section and shall do so at each forty-eight month interval thereafter. Any five-year rate structure amendment may be established by resolution. The city manager shall be responsible for providing a full cost and revenue analysis with revised rate proposals to the city council sixty days prior to the date required to enact the new five-year rate structure.

D. Unanticipated and Emergency Needs. The annual progress report also shall recommend rate changes in the years for which rates have already been set by the city council, if such changes are determined to be necessary. Such rate changes shall be recommended if, in the judgment and written report of the three aforecited city officials, unanticipated costs or revenues, and emergency needs of these systems are such that either of rate reductions or rate increases are appropriate and warranted.

(Ord. 96-14 § 9, 1996: Ord. 89-14 § 1 (part), 1989.)

A. Payment on all accounts shall be due and payable in full at the city hall on the date specified on the bill for water and other city-related services received during the preceding billing period.

B. All accounts shall become delinquent twenty-six days following the billing date and become subject to shut-off thereafter. A late charge in an amount set by resolution shall be applied to all accounts with a delinquent balance.

C. Payments received shall be allocated first to the charges in the wastewater fund, then to charges in the sanitation fund, and lastly to charges in the water fund.

(Ord. 2001-04, 2001: Ord. 97-06, 1997: Ord. 96-14 § 10, 1996: Ord. 84-18 § 2 (part), 1984: Ord. 83-11 § 9, 1983: Ord. 79-6 § 1, 1979: Ord. 77-7 § 2 (part), 1977: prior code § 25-6(a).)

Accounts that remain delinquent shall be notified of the "final day to pay" on the following month's utility bill, beyond which date services may be discontinued without further notice.

(Ord. 96-14 § 11, 1996: Ord. 84-18 § 2 (part), 1984: Ord. 83-11 § 10, 1983: Ord. 77-7 § 2 (part), 1977: prior code § 25-6(b).)

On the day following the final date for payment when water service is to be discontinued on delinquent accounts, the city may elect to post a final written notice of delinquency at the service address and postpone shutoff for at least forty-eight hours in order to minimize the number of accounts which will ultimately be discontinued. The charge for posting a final notice at the service address shall be as provided for in the city's cost control system.

(Ord. 96-14 § 12, 1996: Ord. 89-14 § 1 (part), 1989: Ord. 77-7 § 2 (part), 1977: prior code § 25-6(d).)

Service which has been disconnected due to delinquent payment shall not be resumed until the delinquent amount has been paid in full. Accounts so disconnected shall be charged in addition to the other amounts due a disconnect/reconnect fee as provided for in the city's cost control system, and shall be subject to having the deposit on file adjusted to provide sufficient funds to cover one standard billing period. No service shall be resumed until all delinquent billings and other charges required by this code have been paid in full.

(Ord. 96-14 § 13, 1996: Ord. 83-11 § 11, 1983: Ord. 77-7 § 2 (part), 1977: prior code § 25-6(c).)

A developer desiring the extension of water lines or service lines to one or more parcels of property created either by record of survey, regular subdivision, subparcel or any other manner, and which property has not received or by virtue of its alteration does no longer receive water service directly through a service connection from the city, shall make written application to the water department setting forth the legal description of the property to be served and upon demand shall submit a sketch or map of the proposed development showing pertinent facts or information.

(Prior code § 25-8.)

A water distribution system fee shall be paid pursuant to Chapter 3.40 of this code.

(Ord. 89-2 § 11, 1989: Ord. § 83-11 § 12, 1983: prior code § 25-9.)

A. Upon receipt of an application pursuant to Section 13.04.140 for water service to lots, parcels or tracts which necessitate new mains and/or meters, the public works department may require approved drawings showing the proposed waterline and all connections thereto. Water main extensions shall be installed at the expense of and by the developer requesting the line, subject to inspection and approval of the public works department in accordance with city standards and specifications.

B. Fire hydrants shall be installed according to city standards and specifications at the expense of the developer.

C. Water services and meters shall be constructed by the developer requesting such services and under the inspection of the public works department. The city shall furnish the water meters and furnish inspection upon payment of the fees as indicated within the city's cost control system. All such lines and installation shall be built in compliance with city standards and specifications.

(Ord. 96-14 § 14, 1996: Ord. 83-11 § 13, 1983: prior code § 25-10.)

Reimbursements for water mains of supplemental size or strength installed by developers shall be made pursuant to Chapter 3.40 of this code.

(Ord. 89-2 § 12, 1989: Ord. 88-16 § 1, 1988: Ord. 82-12 § 1 (part), 1982: prior code § 25-12.)

The owner of each parcel of land that is served by a water lateral or a fire service lateral shall be responsible for the repair, maintenance, and replacement of those laterals.

(Ord. 2012-07, § 2, 2012.)

When contractor, agency, or other party damages city water facilities, repair work accomplished by the city shall be charged for in accordance with the city's cost control system.

(Ord. 96-14 § 15, 1996: prior code § 25-16.)

A. Except in a fire emergency, it is unlawful to obtain water from fire hydrants without a written permit from the city.

B. Use of fire hydrants shall be governed by rules established by the water department and fire department of the city. Any violation of such rules may be reason for suspension of the permit or fine under the terms of this chapter.

(Prior code § 25-13.)

It is unlawful to do any of the following:

A. Use water from a fire hydrant or other outlet without first having obtained written permission or a meter from the water department; and

B. Open any valve or shutoff that has been closed by the water department; and

C. Open, break or tamper with any seal or lock of the fire district or city; and

D. Interfere, move or tamper with any barricade, warning sign, lights, or other safety device placed by the city for the safety of the public;

E. Except in a fire emergency, take any water from any fire hydrant without a meter furnished upon application to the finance department. Anyone taking water from a hydrant without a meter will be assumed to have taken water in the value of at least one hundred dollars, and will be charged for that amount in addition to any other applicable penalty or fee.

(Ord. 96-14 § 16, 1996: prior code § 25-15.)

Water facility development fees or water distribution system fees shall be paid pursuant to Chapter 3.04 of this code.

(Ord. 89-2 § 13, 1989: Ord. 78-23 (part), 1978.)