Fairfield Municipal Code Art. 22.05 In General

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

Applicant.

The property owner or his, her, or its authorized agent applying for water service, water service connection, or water main extension.

Chief of police.

The chief officer of the police department.

City.

The City of Fairfield, a municipal corporation, and its duly authorized representatives.

Code enforcement officer.

A non-peace-officer of the police department to enforce local ordinances as authorized by the Chief of Police.

Commercial office.

The business office of the department of finance, located in the city hall.

Construction water permit.

Permit required of anyone using water for construction purposes prior to installation of permanent meter.

Consumer.

A person or entity receiving water service or other services from the Fairfield municipal utilities.

Costs.

Actual cost of materials and labor, plus a percentage factor for equipment rental and overhead.

Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook.

The City of Fairfield Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook, which provides regulations, policies, and procedures, that is prepared, maintained, and updated from time to time by the FMU director and adopted by the city council to prevent contamination of the public water supply from cross-connections and backflow events, prepared in conformance with the State Water Resources Control Board Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook.

Customer.

A person or entity of record receiving water service or other services from the Fairfield municipal utilities.

Demand.

The rate of draft of water for specified time; the total quantity of water delivered or received for a specified time.

Delinquent Account.

A customer water service account which has an unpaid balance after the due date of bill payment.

Director of Finance.

The chief officer of the finance department.

Fairfield municipal utilities.

The water division of the public works department of the City. Also known as FMU.

Fire chief.

The chief officer of the fire department.

FMU director.

The Public Works Director or their designee is charged with the responsibility of administering, directing, and representing FMU, as described in more detail in Section 22.3.

FMU regulations.

The Fairfield Municipal Utility Regulations, which provides regulations, policies, and procedures, that is prepared, maintained, and updated from time to time by the FMU director and adopted by the city council to implement the rules and regulations in this code and to govern the operation of the FMU.

Main extension.

Extension of distribution pipe lines, exclusive of service connections, beyond existing facilities.

Mains.

The transmission or distribution pipelines of the water system.

Peace Officer.

A sworn law-enforcement officer of the police department.

Premises.

That separate identifiable and transferable lot or parcel of real property, including the improvements thereon except that portion thereof having well defined boundaries such as walls, fences or hedges, which prevent the common use of the property by all occupants, for the purpose of this chapter shall be considered separate premises.

Public works director:

The chief officer of the department of public works charged with the responsibility of planning, organizing, directing, and reviewing the activities and operations of the public works department including engineering, building, transportation, operations, and FMU, or his/her designee acting within the scope of assigned duties.

Services.

The delivering or receiving of water; a water service connection including but not limited to domestic, fire, or irrigation; and act of duty performed by the FMU.

Water service.

The delivery or receipt of water; a water service connection.

Water service connection.

The connection between the water meter and the main, including service pipes, meters and appurtenances through which water delivery is made.

Water system.

The entire physical plant thereof, and the distribution system of FMU.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

This chapter governs the use of all water furnished by the City and shall apply to all users thereof. Rules as set forth herein are adopted to govern the general operation of the FMU to provide an efficient and economical water supply while protecting public health and safety. The objectives of this chapter are as follows:

A. Prevent a public hazard, public nuisance, or other condition detrimental to the public health, welfare and safety, or detrimental to the environment, from developing from or in connection with the distribution and use of water.

B. Prevent the introduction of contaminants into the City’s water system.

C. Maintain conformance to regulatory requirements regarding water use.

D. Provide for fees and charges that equitably distribute the cost of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the FMU water system to those who benefit.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

The FMU director is responsible for enforcing the provisions of this chapter. Enforcement and penalties of section 22.13 may be used to secure compliance with this chapter. The FMU director shall prepare, maintain, and update the FMU regulations from time to time to implement the provisions of this Chapter.

In addition, the FMU director shall prepare, maintain, and update a cross-connection control plan in conformance with the State Water Resources Control Board Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook, as may be updated from time to time. The FMU director shall implement and enforce a cross-connection control program in accordance with the FMU cross-connection control plan.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

Every person taking water shall be considered as having expressed their consent to be bound by this chapter and the FMU regulations adopted pursuant to section 22.2 of this chapter.

By accepting water service from FMU, customers are deemed to have accepted all conditions of water quality, pressure, and flow. FMU will exercise reasonable diligence and care to deliver to customers a continuous and sufficient supply of water at the meter. FMU shall not be liable for interruptions in supply or variations in water quality or pressure, or any loss or damage occasioned thereby. To the extent practical, FMU shall undertake to give advance notice of such interruptions or variations. FMU reserves the right at any time to shut off delivery for the purpose of protecting public health and the environment, and maintaining, repairing, altering, or changing the size of its facilities. FMU shall not be liable for any loss or damage occasioned by such suspension of service.

During times of threatened or actual water shortage, FMU will apportion its available supply among its customers in the manner that appears most equitable under the circumstances then prevailing with regard to public health and safety.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

FMU retains the ownership of the water system, including water mains, connecting service lines, up to and including the discharge side of the water meters or point of connection for private water systems. The customer owns, operates, and maintains all water piping and appurtenances starting on the discharge side of the water meter, including backflow prevention assembly, pressure-regulating valve, and shut-off valve. For services to fire sprinkler systems, FMU owns water piping from the point of connection of the fire service at the water main, downstream of the isolation valve, to the first fitting immediately upstream of the double check detector assembly.

Operation and inspection of all water system facilities, up to and including the water meter shall be under the management and control of FMU. No persons except authorized employees, agents, or contractors of FMU shall have the right to enter upon, inspect, operate, adjust, change, alter, move, or relocate any portion of the water system facilities.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

No person shall tamper, or place upon or about, any water system valve box, manhole, blowoff, air relief valve, water meter, meter box or vault, or any distribution or delivery facilities or appurtenances, any object, materials, debris, landscaping, planting, or structure of any kind so as to prevent the FMU free access to said items, facilities, or appurtenances at all times.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

The City is the sole owner of the water facilities, and of equipment, supplies, warranties, rights-of-way, encroachment permits, and licenses that are acquired therefor. FMU or its duly authorized agents shall have unrestricted access to all city-owned water facilities owned and operated by the city on customer’s premises.

Customer facilities are as described in Article VIII of this chapter. FMU or its duly authorized agents shall at all reasonable times have the right to enter or leave customer’s premises to observe customer facilities to which water service is supplied to see that the rules and regulations of this Chapter and the FMU regulations are followed in the taking and use of water. FMU may enter premises to observe waste of water, conduct hazard assessments, or conduct backflow assembly or cross-connection testing.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

All persons engaged in construction or street work shall give at least ten days’ written notice to FMU for operation, removal, or displacement of water system facilities that may interfere or conflict with street work. Any damage resulting to such facilities from such failure to give notice shall be charged against the person engaged in such work. All costs involved in the removal or displacing of water facilities shall be paid by the person engaged in such work, except where provisions of city encroachment permits or contracts state otherwise.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

FMU is responsible for handling and transmission of water up to the discharge side of the water meter or point of connection of a fire service line to the water main. Each customer shall bear the risk of loss, and shall be responsible for the carriage, control, handling, storage, distribution and use of all water furnished by FMU from and beyond the point of delivery.

Customer shall be responsible for the following:

A. Any interruption of service or damage caused by customer-owned spigots, valves or other equipment or fixtures that are open when water is turned on, pressure relief valves, whether when water is turned on originally or when turned on after a temporary shutoff.

B. Connection of the customer’s service line to the meter. The customer shall furnish, install and maintain at their own risk and expense that portion of the water system which begins at the outlet side of the meter. Such water receiving equipment shall remain the property of the customer and they shall be responsible for its maintenance and repair. FMU shall have the right to require the customer to adjust, replace or discontinue using any water receiving or regulating equipment on his side of the meter which disturbs or inconveniences other customers.

C. Where reduced or increased pressure is desired by the customer, the customer shall be responsible for installing and maintaining the necessary regulators, backflow devices and relief valves per cross connection control policy handbook. In such cases, the equipment shall be installed on the customer’s side of the meter at the customer’s expense.

D. Any loss or damage caused by the negligence, want of proper care, or wrongful act of the customer or any of their tenants, agents, employees, contractors, licensees or permittees in installing, maintaining, using, operating or interfering with any water receiving equipment. Furthermore, the customer shall be responsible for damage caused by faucets, valves and other equipment which may be open at any time that water is turned on at the meter.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

It shall be unlawful for any person or entity other than FMU to deliver and/or sell water within the corporate limits of the city, or the city’s sphere of influence, without having first obtained a permit from FMU, or received permission to do so from the city council.

Persons or entities issued hydrant water meters in accordance with section 22.25 below are authorized to deliver and/or sell water from FMU.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

The taking of water from an unmetered connection to the city water system except as authorized by this chapter shall be unlawful.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

It is recognized that information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right, but that access may be withheld where the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. It is hereby found that no public interest is served by the release of names and addresses of and other information relating to water customers where the purpose of such release is to further the private or pecuniary interests of the person or organization requesting release and that the true names and addresses of, and other information relating to water customers does not concern the conduct of the people’s business. Based upon these findings, the names and addresses of and other information relating to water customers which is received by the FMU in the regular course of furnishing water shall not be released to non-governmental persons or entities, except in the event that the person requesting release is able to demonstrate in writing and to the satisfaction of the FMU director that such release relates to studies or investigations concerning the proper conduct of the business of FMU. In such event, the requested information will be furnished upon payment of an amount equal to the actual cost of providing the copy.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

The FMU director is authorized to take reasonable and appropriate action to fully implement the provisions of this Chapter. A customer who violates any provisions of this Chapter, any City ordinances associated with water service, any FMU regulations, any provisions of the City’s current Water Shortage Contingency Plan, and/or any City standards, shall be subject to the penalties and enforcement provisions, either:

A. Any penalties and enforcement provisions of the most current Water Shortage Contingency Plan;

B. Code Section 1.7; or

C. The administrative citation process provided in Code Chapter 1, Article II.

Application of the enforcement and penalties provisions in this code shall be at the discretion of the FMU director or the City Attorney.

Any peace officer or City code enforcement officer shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this article. City FMU representatives designated by the FMU director shall also have the authority to write and deliver notices of violations pursuant to this article.

D. When there is evidence that a customer is violating a provision of this Chapter, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the customer may be issued a written warning. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a warning is not a prerequisite to the issuance of a notice of violation.

E. FMU shall issue a written notice of violation to the customer documenting the water use violation and assessment of penalty.

F. Each violation of a provision of this Chapter shall constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to separate and independent enforcement in accordance with the provisions of this section. Each day a violation of a provision of this code continues constitutes a separate offense.

G. The City may charge a fee for violation of the Code, which may be in the amount of costs incurred by the City to investigate and correct the violation of the Code, or which may be in an amount established under a separate ordinance or resolution adopted by City Council prior to the offense.

H. FMU shall discontinue water service if the customer fails to comply within five (5) calendar days after the date of written notice of violation. The customer whose water is thus discontinued shall forfeit all deposits made, and the water shall not be turned on again until all unpaid fees and charges are paid, and other requirements of this chapter or the FMU regulations are fulfilled.

I. If such noncompliance affects matters of health or safety, or affects the operation, maintenance, or other costs of FMU, water service may be discontinued immediately and without notice. Water service shall not be restored until the FMU director determines that adequate measures have been taken by the customer to comply with this code, to prevent recurrence of such violation, and that all unpaid fees and charges are paid.

J. In addition to the foregoing, the FMU director shall have the authority to issue penalties of increasing severity for repeated violations of this Chapter, including monetary charges to reimburse the City for costs that it has incurred which relate to the violation, including but not limited to labor, equipment, materials, and administrative costs to make corrections, and, ultimately, may suspend or terminate service.

K. Any damage occurring to a water meter or other appliances, including without limitation flow restricting device, service valve, hydrant, or any other water system facility, equipment or device, pipes or any other property of the FMU, caused directly or indirectly by lack of due care by the customer is the sole responsibility of the customer, who must pay for the damage on presentation of a bill.

FMU may use a variety of methods to collect for damages, including but not limited to use of property tax roll, internal billing system, or third-party billing system. All violations occurring on a water customer’s premises or using water delivered through a customer’s water service connection shall be the responsibility of the customer. In the event that customer is a tenant, both tenant and property owner shall be jointly and separately responsible.

L. Delinquent charges for water service shall be exempt from the enforcement procedures of this section and shall be remedied in accordance with Article IX of this chapter and the FMU regulations.

Further, FMU may file suit in civil court to enjoin those who divert utility services, make an unauthorized reconnection, obstruct or tamper with FMU property, or receive water service through one of the preceding activities, and/or to recover three times the amount of actual damages, plus the cost of the suit and reasonable attorney’s fees, in accordance with sections 1882 through 1882.6 of the Civil Code.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))

A customer may submit a written application for waiver of violation related to water use violations to the FMU director. The FMU director may grant a waiver of a particular violation if the customer’s justification is deemed to be reasonable and if the customer has mitigated the cause of the violation.

A customer may appeal a denial of an application for a waiver of violation within ten (10) calendar days by submitting a written appeal to the City Council, in accordance with chapter 1, section 1.15 of this code.

(Ord. No. 2025-13, § 1 (Exh. A))