Windsor Municipal Code Art. 3 General Regulations

No person shall unlawfully connect or procure another to connect with any water main owned or operated by the District without the knowledge and consent of the Water Collector.

No person shall improperly make or procure to be made such connection for the purpose of appropriating water and to evade payment therefor.

No person shall injure or alter or procure to be injured or altered any water meter, or obstruct the working of the same with the intent to evade payment of water charges.

No person shall maliciously tamper with or injure any such water meter.

In order to conserve water and reduce the need for accelerated construction of new water sources and production facilities, the District shall require that all toilets, or water closets installed within the District boundaries, or served by District water or sewer facilities, whether new construction or remodeling or existing structures, requiring the issuance of a building permit, shall be of an "ultra low flush" (no more than one point six (1.6) gallon) type water closet, as approved by the Board.

When an application for water service is made by a former consumer who was responsible for and failed to pay all bills for service previously rendered, regardless of location or time when incurred, the District shall refuse to furnish service to such applicant until the outstanding bills are paid, and, as a guarantee for the payment of future bills, a guarantee of payment as prescribed in Section 12-3-225 shall be made.

Each dwelling unit and each duplex, whether inside or outside of the District, shall be separately metered. Where business premises are located in separate buildings on the same lot or parcel, each such separate premises may be separately metered. No consumer of a utility service shall convey any part of such service from his/her property to a separate lot or parcel of property, whether or not the other lot or parcel of property is owned by the same consumer.

Separate meters are not required for guest houses, dwelling groups, boardinghouses, apartment houses, hotels, motels, auto courts, trailer courts or multiple business occupancies in a single commercial building or on a single parcel.

When the requirements of a customer exceeds the capacity of the water service in use, a larger service and meter may be installed by the District upon payment of the estimated cost of replacing the line plus thirty (30%) percent and payment of the meter charge as shown in the current schedule of fees and charges and provided the larger service will not adversely affect the supply of any existing service. The applicant will be credited with the meter charges of the former service.

If an applicant desires a change in the location or arrangement of size of meter or service lines, the applicant must bear all costs of such change in location.

All water services outside the District shall be metered.

The District reserves the right to determine the size of service connections and their location with respect to the boundaries of the premises to be served. The laying of consumer's pipe line shall not be determinative of the location of the service connection, unless prior approval of the District has been obtained.

All water meters shall be located on the private property side of the sidewalk or at a point of the premises nearest the road or street on which the property faces. Charges for a single lateral and meter service shall be as set forth in resolution of the District. Additional meters manifolded from a single lateral shall be installed by the owner at no expense to the District and such installation shall be inspected and approved by the District Inspector.

Every service connection shall be equipped with an angle meter ball valve. Such valve shall be on the street side of the meter. A customer valve shall be installed at the building; such valve shall remain the property of the customer.

If a meter fails to register due to any cause except the nonuse of water, the charge for water will be made on the basis of the average charge per month covering the period of the preceding months, first ascertaining whether the meter has properly functioned during such period and whether normal conditions prevailed in regard to the use of the water at the premises supplied. In the preparation of such averaged bills due consideration will be given to fluctuations caused by seasonal changes or any interruption to the service known to have occurred.

If the accuracy of a meter is questioned by a customer, the customer shall deposit with the District a meter test fee, after which the District will have the meter accurately tested. If the test shows the meter to be registering more than two (2%) percent in excess of the actual quantity of water passing through it, the District will return the deposit, adjust any overcharge during the preceding three (3) months resulting from the inaccuracy of the meter, and set another meter at the service location. Should the meter be accurate within two (2%) percent, the deposit will not be returned to the customer whether or not the District sets a new meter.

The meter reader shall have the authority to enter any premises for the purpose of reading water meters and for inspecting, testing, replacing or removing water meters and meter boxes. The meter reader shall seal off all meters so ordered by proper application of the consumer and shall restore such services upon the proper application of a new consumer. All connections and disconnections shall be properly recorded in the records of the meter reader. The meter reader shall make, when required, any other disconnections provided by this article.

The following standards shall apply to the operation, access and maintenance of Town water meters and associated appurtenances:

1. Water meters and appurtenances shall be accessible at all times by any designated Town employee.

2. Access to water meters and appurtenances shall not be fenced or blocked by posts, mailboxes, growth, trash, debris, storage, etc.

3. Fencing and landscaping shall be located behind the meter and/or appurtenance or, with the written approval of the Administrative Services Director, shall have a gate or panel immediately adjacent to the water meter and/or appurtenance for easy accessibility by the designated Town employee.

4. There shall be a three-foot horizontal clearance (from the outside of the meter box and/or appurtenance) on all sides and a six-foot vertical clearance to allow access for reading, inspecting, testing, replacing or removing water meters, meter boxes, and appurtenances.

5. No obstructions may be placed in front of or within the required horizontal and vertical clearance that would deter or hinder free immediate access at all times.

6. No fencing or landscaping shall encroach in this clearance area. Fencing and other structures shall not obstruct or deter from Town access any water meters and/or appurtenances.

(Ord. No. 2002-155 § 1)

The water of any consumer may be shut off from the main at any time for repairs, alterations or other purposes and the District shall inform such consumers, in advance, of the time such shutdown will occur and although notice is not received by the consumer due to his/her absence, the District will not be responsible nor liable for any consequent damage resulting from such shutdown.

In the event of an emergency necessitating immediate action the service of any consumer may be shut off without prior notice and the District will not be liable for any consequent damages resulting from such shutdown.

a. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote water conservation and the efficient use of potable water furnished by the Town of Windsor by eliminating all intentional or unintentional water waste when a reasonable alternative solution is available, and by prohibiting use of equipment which is wasteful. Customers of the Town of Windsor shall comply with the following regulations and restrictions on water use:

b. Nonessential Uses. No customer of the Town of Windsor shall engage in or permit the following nonessential uses of potable water from the Town, regardless of whether the purpose is residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, agricultural or other:

1. The washing of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots and other hard-surfaced areas by direct hosing, except as may be necessary to properly dispose of flammable or other dangerous liquids or substances, to wash away spills that present a trip and fall hazard, or to prevent or eliminate materials dangerous to the public health and safety;

2. The escape of water through breaks or leaks within the customer's plumbing or private distribution system for any substantial period of time within which such break or leak should reasonably have been discovered and corrected. It shall be presumed that a period of seventy-two (72) hours after the customer discovers such a break or leak or receives notice from the Town, is a reasonable time within which to correct such break or leak or, as a minimum, to stop the flow of water from such break or leak;

3. Irrigation in a manner or to an extent which allows excessive runoff of water or unreasonable over spray of the areas being watered. Every customer is deemed to have his water system under control at all times, to know the manner and extent of his water use and any runoff, and to employ available alternatives to apply irrigation water in a reasonably efficient manner;

4. Washing cars, boats, trailers or other vehicles and machinery directly with a hose not equipped with a shutoff nozzle;

5. Water for nonrecycling decorative water fountains;

6. Water for single pass evaporative cooling systems for air conditioning in all new installations unless required for health or safety reasons;

7. Water for new nonrecirculating conveyor car wash systems;

8. Water for new nonrecirculating industrial clothes wash systems.

c. Exempt Water Use. All water use associated with the operation and maintenance of fire suppression equipment or employed by the Town for water quality flushing and sanitation purposes shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. Use of water supplied by private well or from a reclaimed water, grey water or rainwater utilization system is also exempt.

d. Variances. Any customer of the Town may make written application for a variance. Such application shall describe in detail why applicant believes a variance is justified.

1. The Town Manager or his/her designee may grant variances for the use of water otherwise prohibited by this section upon finding and determining that failure to do so would cause an emergency condition affecting the health, sanitation, fire protection or safety of the applicant or public, or that denial would cause an unnecessary and undue hardship on applicant or public, including but not limited to, adverse economic impacts, such as loss of production or jobs.

2. The decision of the Town Manager may be appealed to the Town Council by submitting a written appeal to the Town Clerk within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date of the Town Manager's decision. Upon granting any variance on appeal, the Town Council may impose any conditions it determines to be just and proper. Variances granted by the Town Council shall be prepared in writing and the Town Council may require the variance be recorded at applicant's expense.

e. Enforcement and Fees. Depending on the extent of the water waste the Town may, after written notification to the customer and a reasonable time to correct the violation, as solely determined by the Town, take some or all of the following actions. Penalties, fees and charges noted below shall be established by resolution of the Town:

1. Written notice to the customer of the waste water violation including a specified period of time from notification to correct the violation;

2. Personal contact with the customer at the address of the water service. If personal contact is unsuccessful, written notice of the violation including a date by which the violation is to be corrected may be left on the premises and a copy of the notice sent by certified mail to the customer;

3. The Town may install a flow-restricting device on the customer's service line;

4. The Town may levy a water waste fee on the customer, which after service of written notice of the fee, as provided for above shall become a special assessment against the property on which the waste occurred and be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinance Town taxes. The procedure for such assessment shall be as provided for Title 3, Chapter 8, Article 3 of this Code;

5. The Town may cause termination of water service and the charge for same shall be billed to the customer. Except in some cases of extreme emergency as solely determined by the Town Manager, service shall not be restored until the Town verifies that the violation has been corrected and all charges and fees have been paid.

(Ord. No. 99-123 § 1; Ord. No. 2000-129 § 1)

All water service pipes and connections to water mains within the District shall be installed and maintained by the District to the customer side of the meter, except as otherwise provided by an agreement executed by the District. Any service pipe, fittings or water meter damaged as a result of negligence, malicious acts or intent shall be repaired by the District and the actual cost of the repair shall be charged to the owner or consumer.

(Ord. No. 2014-72, § 1, 11-19-2014)

The District may furnish and provide surplus water to persons outside the corporate limits of the District subject to the execution of an outside water service agreement, and payment of all fees established by the Board. Meters shall be of a type approved by the District and may be purchased from the District at cost. The meter shall be installed at the expense of the owner or consumer at a point on the premises nearest the road or street on which the property faces; the location and installation to be approved by the District Inspector.

Any water pipe or main to be used or carry water to a consumer outside the District shall be of a type and quality approved by the District Inspector and a map showing its location shall be furnished to the District upon completion of installation of the pipe. The District shall not be liable for any expense incurred in the installation or maintenance of water pipes, mains or services outside the corporate limits of the District and the time and material cost of the connection made by the District to the District water main shall be charged to the applicant.

No person shall draw or consume water from any standpipe or fire hydrant for the purpose of filling a tank truck or for any other purpose without first making an application for such service with the District. A deposit as required by resolution of the Board shall be required at time of filing application. This deposit, less a charge of a connection and disconnection fee, and less charges for actual water used is refundable to the applicant upon completion of use of hydrant. Where total charges exceed the deposit, the applicant shall pay to the District all other charges on demand by the District.

The rate for water consumed under this section shall be as provided from time to time by resolution of the Board.

No person shall draw or consume water from any standpipe or fire hydrant for purposes set forth in this section without first presenting a copy of his application to the District. Upon consideration of the time, in days or weeks in which withdrawals will be made, the General Manager shall designate the standpipe or hydrant to be used and connect a water metering device to the hydrant. The applicant must use only an approved hydrant wrench. Applicant shall be charged replacement cost for loss of, damage to or failure to return hydrant wrench to the District.

No water pipe on any consumer's premises shall cross-connect the District water system with any other source of water supply.

If an owner or consumer fails to comply with any of the provisions of this article, the District shall have the right to refuse or discontinue service.