Weed Municipal Code Art. V Unauthorized Use and Hydrant Access

It shall be unlawful for any person, not authorized by the city, to make any connections, additions, or alterations to the city water and/or sewer mains, and any violation thereof shall be punishable as provided in this chapter. All connections, additions, or alterations to the city water and sewer mains shall be by persons duly authorized by the director of public works or designee thereof.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to divert, or cause to be diverted, water services by any means whatsoever; to make, or cause to be made, any connection or reconnection with property owned or used by the city to provide water service without authorization by the city; to prevent any utility meter or similar device from accurately performing its measuring function by tampering or any other means; to tamper with any property owned or used by the city to provide water services; or to use or receive the direct benefit of water service with knowledge of, or reason to believe that, a diversion, tampering, or unauthorized connection existed at the time of the use or that the use or receipt was not authorized by the city.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with, connect to, open, close, or otherwise use or interfere with any city-owned fire hydrant, fire hydrant meter, or fire detector check, or to connect to, divert water from, or cause water to be diverted from, a fire hydrant without authorization from the city. A rebuttable presumption that a violation has occurred shall arise if evidence shows a person has tampered with or used a fire hydrant, fire hydrant meter, or fire detector check to obtain water without authorization and without paying the full lawful charge of the water.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)

No person shall place trash, dirt, building materials or other objects or obstructions on top of any meter or meter boxes, nor on, around, or adjacent to city fire hydrants, cut offs, faucets, or any exposed pipe or conduit of the city's water system, and no person shall allow any such facilities to become obstructed or obscured by trash, debris, building materials, vines, trees, shrubs or other plants or materials in any manner so as to make the location difficult to determine, or to in any way interfere with or render difficult free access to or use of city meters, meter boxes, fire hydrants, or other water system facilities.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)

Contractors shall obtain a city permit and use a city-furnished hydrant meter for water withdrawal from hydrants.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)

The city may discontinue service and impose penalties for unauthorized use or failure to otherwise comply with this chapter, including without limitation recovery of damages and enforcement costs. A violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to enforcement under Chapter 1.20 and Title 19 of this code, in addition to any other enforcement remedies available under law and this code. Any violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance which may be abated and/or enjoined pursuant to law and this code.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)

A. Administrative Fines.

1. In addition to any and all other enforcement remedies available to the city, after following the administrative procedures set forth in Title 19 of this code, any water theft committed via meter tampering in violation of this chapter may be punishable as follows:

i. A fine not exceeding one hundred thirty dollars for a first violation.

ii. A fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

iii. A fine not exceeding one thousand three hundred dollars for the third violation and each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

2. In addition to any and all other enforcement remedies available to the city, after following the administrative procedures set forth in Title 19 of this code, any water theft committed via an unauthorized connection to a fire hydrant (including the unauthorized use of a fire hydrant, fire hydrant meter, or fire detector check) may be punishable as follows:

i. A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars for a first violation.

ii. A fine not exceeding five thousand dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance.

iii. A fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars for the third violation and each additional violation of the same ordinance.

3. All other forms of water theft in violation of this chapter are punishable as follows:

i. A fine not exceeding one thousand dollars for a first violation.

ii. A fine not exceeding two thousand dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year.

iii. A fine not exceeding three thousand dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.

4. For purposes of this section, "water theft" shall mean an action to divert, tamper, or reconnect water utility services, as defined in Section 498 of the Penal Code.

B. Civil Actions. In addition to the administrative fines authorized by this section, the city may bring a civil action for damages against any person who tampers with a fire hydrant, fire hydrant meter, or fire detector check or connects to or diverts water from a fire hydrant without authorization, pursuant to California Civil Code Sections 1882.1 and 1882.3.

C. Cumulative Remedies. The remedies provided in this section are cumulative and in addition to any other remedy available under law, including the recovery of costs, enforcement penalties, or criminal prosecution.

(Ord. No. 489-2025, § 1, 1-8-2026)