El Segundo Municipal Code Ch. 1 Water Services

The rules and regulations hereinafter set forth in this Chapter, are hereby fixed, adopted and established, as the rules and regulations for and governing the service of water from the waterworks system of the City; and the service shall be rendered subject to each and all of the rules, regulations and rates and in conformity therewith.

(Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code; Ord. 1595, 11-19-2019)

A. Application For Service: Before service is delivered, a written application therefor, on a form furnished by the Public Works Department of the City must be signed by the person desiring the service, giving in addition to such information as the Department may require, his status as owner, agent or tenant.

B. Deposits: Deposits are required as a condition of service in the amounts and under the conditions set forth hereunder:

1. Where service is to be delivered to other than a bona fide owner of the property, a cash deposit must be made to cover the Department's estimate of the average bill for two (2) months' service to the subject property, and in no case shall the deposit be less than ten dollars ($10.00). The deposit will be refunded at the time the service is discontinued and all bills for water furnished the service are paid.

2. Each application for a new service installation (as differentiated from an order to turn on an existing service connection) shall be accompanied by a cash deposit of ten dollars ($10.00). The deposit shall be held by the Department for a period of six (6) months from the date the new service is installed and turned on. At the end of this six (6) months' period the deposit shall be credited to the account of the subject service to apply on subsequent billings until depleted. In the event that service is discontinued prior to the time that the credit is consumed, the balance of the deposit on hand in the Department will be refunded after all bills for water furnished the service are paid.

C. Temporary Service: Connection for temporary use will be made upon a deposit equal to the Department's estimate of the total cost of labor, materials and overhead necessary to make the installation. This amount shall remain on deposit with the Public Works Department until the termination of the use, during which time regular rates will be charged for water used, when the deposit will be returned to the depositor, less ten percent (10%) per year depreciation on material and labor, etc., costs.

D. Relocation Of Service: Services will be relocated at the request of the owner of the premises being served at such time as the owner pays to the Public Works Department a sum equal to the Department's estimate of the cost of moving the service.

E. Refunds In Certain Cases: In the event any deposit has been made for the installation of any service as set forth in this Section, and for any reason the installation of the meter and service for which the deposit was deposited is not made, the Chief Financial Officer may order refund of the deposit at any time. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code; Ord. 1620, 11-17-2020)

A. For every meter installation or upgrade requested from and granted by the City of El Segundo, the City shall charge a fee prescribed by the City's Master Fee Schedule. The City may also request a deposit for each meter installation or upgrade and the amount of the deposit taken shall be determined by the City's Master Fee Schedule.

B. Meters Property Of City: All meters installed shall be and remain the property of the City.

(Ord. 924, 1977; amd. 2000 Code; Ord. 1595, 11-19-2019)

A. All Services Metered: All services shall be metered; provided, however, nothing herein contained shall be construed as requiring more than one metered service to a hotel or apartment house where the halls and reception rooms are used in common by all families occupying the same; nor as requiring more than one metered service to any store or office building for services to the respective stores or offices actually contained in and made a part of the store or office building.

B. Meter Size For Single Or Multiple Units On Single Meter:

1. Two (2) or more units may be connected to one meter; provided, however, that all units are on the same premises and that only one address shall be recognized for billing and collecting purposes.

2. The minimum size of meter to be installed shall be determined by the number of fixture units in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code of the City. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967)

3. The total number of fixture units shall be computed by the Building Department at the time a plumbing permit is issued and the applicants are hereby required to submit the computation to the Public Works Department with his application for water service.

4. The monthly minimum charges and method of billing recommended by the Water Superintendent shall then be applied to existing meters; not in accordance with the size of the existing meters; but in accordance with what that size should be, computed by the total number of fixture units served.

5. No change shall be made in the size of the existing meters unless the changes are requested and paid for by the owner or applicant. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code)

Rates and charges for water service and the effective date of the rates and charges for water service from the Municipal waterworks system shall be fixed and established from time to time by the City Council by resolution. (Ord. 744, 8-24-1970; amd. Ord. 1622, 3-2-2021)

All services on any premises, whether used or not, shall be considered as used and shall be charged for so long as the same remain connected. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967)

Bills will be considered delinquent twenty two (22) days after the date the bill is generated and provided to the customer. The City may impose, and customers of delinquent accounts must pay to the City, an initial late fee after the account becomes delinquent. The fees described in this section are set pursuant to the City's Master Fee Schedule unless limited by California State Law. None of the penalty fees described in this section are to be construed or interpreted as interest.

(Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. Ord. 1595, 11-19-2019)

No allowance or rebate shall be made in water rates charged against any property or premises so long as the water remains connected therewith, and full rates shall be charged against any and all property or premises as hereinbefore specified until the Public Works Department has been notified in writing to shut off or disconnect the water therefrom. Any complaint in regard to the rating of property must be made at the office of the Public Works Department and the adjustor will properly rate premises. Collectors shall not make rebates or adjust rates. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code)

Any damage to meters or appurtenances resulting from carelessness, wilfulness or neglect, or any of them, as well as any damage which may result from hot water or steam from a boiler, or otherwise, shall be paid for to the Public Works Department on presentation of bill and in case the bill is not paid, the water may be shut off from the premises without further notice and not turned on until all charges are paid. (Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code)

A. The City may discontinue water service for non-payment if a customer account has been delinquent for sixty (60) days. No less than seven (7) business days before service is disconnected, the City must attempt to contact the customer of record by telephone or by written notice addressed and mailed to the customer of the residence to which the residential service is provided. If such customer does not respond to the City's attempts to contact, the City must post an imminent shutoff notice in a conspicuous place on the property before taking such action. If an adult at the residence properly and timely appeals the water bill, the City shall not discontinue residential service while such appeal is pending.

B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City may not discontinue residential water service for non-payment if all of the conditions described in Health and Safety Code section 116910 are met.

C. If an imminent shutoff notice is issued and residential water service is terminated, the City may impose, and the customer must pay to the City, a red tag fee for the posting of an imminent shutoff notice and a shutoff fee upon the termination of service. If residential water service is restored, the City may impose, and the customer must pay to the City, a re-connection fee to restore service. The fees described in this section are set pursuant to the City's Master Fee Schedule unless limited by California State Law. None of the penalty fees expressed in this section are to be construed or interpreted as interest.

D. In the event service is discontinued for non-payment, the City shall provide the customer with information on how to restore residential service.

E. The City shall adopt a written policy relating to discontinuation of residential service for non-payment, as required by state law, and such policy shall be posted on the City's website. The City shall report the number of annual discontinuations of residential service for inability to pay on the City's website and to the State Water Resources Control Board.

(Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code; Ord. 1595, 11-19-2019)

A. Water Service Billing Credit:

1. Procedure: The Director of the Department of Finance may grant a credit allowance to a customer’s water service bill if the customer makes a written request to the Chief Financial Officer for a credit allowance and presents evidence to establish all of the following facts to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial Officer and the Director of Public Works: a) a leakage on the customer’s property caused a high consumption of water for the property; b) the customer did not have any knowledge or reason to know of the leakage prior to receiving water/sewer service bill indicating an unusually high water consumption; and c) prompt repairs of the leak were performed upon the customer becoming aware of the leakage.

2. Amount Of Credit Allowance:

a. The amount of credit allowance may be up to one-half (1/2) of the amount of the water consumption billing in excess of the billing for consumption in a comparable billing period for which there was no known or apparent leak.

b. The credit allowance is limited to the consumption of two (2) billing periods.

c. Once the allowance for the excess consumption is granted, no further allowance will be made for a period of twelve (12) months for such reason.

B. Sewer Service Billing Credit:

1. Procedure: The Chief Financial Officer may grant a credit allowance to a customer’s sewer service charges on the water/sewer service bill if the customer makes a written request to the Chief Financial Officer for a credit allowance and if: a) the customer’s sewer service charges are calculated based on the customer’s water consumption; b) the Chief Financial Officer has granted the customer a credit allowance to water service billing pursuant to subsection A of this Section; and c) the customer presents evidence to establish to the satisfaction of the Chief Financial Officer that the water leakage did not enter the property’s sewer connection and result in an increased flow to the sewer as determined by the Director of Public Works.

2. Amount Of Credit Allowance: The amount of the credit allowance for the sewer service charge may be up to one-half (1/2) of the amount of the excess sewer service charges related to the excess water billing determined pursuant to subsection A of this Section.

C. Credit Allowances Applied To Subsequent Bills: All such allowances provided to the customer as a result of the leakage shall be applied as credits to the customer’s subsequent water/sewer service bill.

D. Director’s Decision Final: The decision of the Chief Financial Officer on the herein described credit allowances for water and/or sewer services is final except as given in subsection E of this Section.

E. Administrative Limit On Allowance: Upon the Chief Financial Officer determining the possible allowance credits to the original water service billing and the original sewer service billing and that the total allowance could exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), the allowance must be submitted to the City Council for review and possible approval. (Ord. 1191, 1-19-1993; amd. Ord. 1620, 11-17-2020)

Any owner or occupant of a premises which accesses water service or assists in providing water service from the City that is unauthorized will have their water service shut off with twenty four (24) hours posted notice. The owner or occupant will be charged a disconnection fee and re-connection fee determined by the City's Master Fee Schedule. Before water service can be resumed, all outstanding charges must be paid in addition to satisfying any other corrections determined by the City for unauthorized access.

(Ord. 663, 5-8-1967; amd. 2000 Code; Ord. 1595, 11-19-2019)