Section 19-1. Application for Service.
- The rates, rules, and regulations hereinafter prescribed shall constitute and be considered a part of the contract with every person, firm, organization, or corporation who is supplied with water from the waterworks system of the Town of Tryon; and every person, firm, organization or Corporation, hereinafter called the customer, who accepts and uses water shall be held to have consented to be bound hereby.
- All applications for water service shall be made by the customer to the utilities department and upon acceptance of the applications, the department shall as promptly as practicable supply the customer with service in accordance with rates, terms, regulations, and all provisions of this Article.
- The applicant agrees to comply with the provisions of this Article.
Section 19-2. Water Department Created; Respective Duties.
The water department shall be under the control of the Board of Trustees who may from time to time as it sees fit, appoint certain employees to conduct the duties of that department.
The water department shall have charge of the control, operation, repair, maintenance, and improvement of the physical plant of the water system, testing, reading, repair, and setting of meters, and line extensions.
The Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Water Department and shall have charge of all the ordinary financial operations of the water system as a business enterprise, such as billing for water rent, the collection of fees for taps, materials, and line extensions when the cost is born by the consumer, water deposits, water rents, penalties, and other money payable to the city for the ordinary financial operations of the water system, and the keeping of proper accounts. The Town Clerk shall issue all permits, turn-on orders, cut-off orders, and other orders relative to the ordinary financial operations of the water system. The conduct of the Town Clerk’s duties under this ordinance are to be always under the supervision of the Board of Trustees.
Section 19-3. Application for Water Service.
- Any person desiring to have a premises connected with the water supply system of the Town of Tryon shall make an application therefor at the Town Clerk’s office upon a form to be furnished for that purpose. The application shall contain the description of the premises where such water is to be used and shall be signed by the person desiring water service or by his duly authorized agent and shall be filed in the Town Clerk’s office.
- The Town at the time of making said application a connection fee in the amount of twenty dollars ($20.00) which fee shall be for the costs of connecting said consumer water service.
Section 19-4. Deposits.
At the time of making the application and signing the contract of the service agreement, the applicant shall deposit with the Utility Clerk the following sum(s) as a deposit to guarantee payment of water bills which will be incurred from month to month.
- For each residential use $150 + $50 connection Fee
- For each commercial use $150 + $50 connection Fee
Section 19-5. Fees for setting up a water tap.
Fees for installation from the main to the curb lines hereafter provided shall be as follows:
- For any installation up to two (2) inches $450
For all services larger than 2 inches, the charge will be the actual costs thereof complete in place, plus 15% for supervision, tools, and machinery furnished in the performance thereof. When services are laid under pavement, an additional charge shall be made to cover the costs of cutting, repairing, and replacing the pavement.
Section 19-6 Water Rates.
$23.10 Minimum for the first 1000 gallons
$3.68 per 1000 gallons from 1001 to 2000 gallons
$4.72 per 1000 gallons from 2001 to 3000 gallons
$5.28 per 1000 gallons from 3001 gallons to 4000 gallons
$5.28 per 1000 gallons from 4001 gallons to 5000 gallons
$7.88 per 1000 gallons from 5001 gallons on up
5% increase each year in July.
** Sewer Service Rates* *
$17.11 Base rate for the first 1000 galloons
$2.36 per 1001 gallon and each 1000 gallons after
All bills shall be due and payable by check or money order in full before the 20th day of the month. There shall be levied and charged a late fee of $20 for any payment received after the 20th day of any month.
This ordinance shall not be construed as to annul any contract that the Town may have heretofore entered into or may have assumed, nor shall it invalidate any valid bonus agreement made to secure the location of any business or manufacturing institution in or near the Town of Tryon.
Section 19-7. Delinquency, Penalty, Water May be Cut Off, Charge.
- All bills for water, sewer, or trash service shall be due on the day of receipt and payable on or before the 20th day of each month. Failure to receive a bill shall not excuse a customer from their obligation to pay within the specified time period. It is the duty of the customer, whether he or she be the owner or tenant to keep the Town Clerk/Utility Clerk advised in writing of his correct mailing address.
- A month shall be considered as that period of approximately thirty (30) days or less ending when the meter is read.
- Any water billing not paid on or before the due date shall be assessed a late penalty of twenty dollars ($20.00) pursuant to the provision of Section 19-70 hereof.
Section 19-8. Service Line Maintenance.
All service lines between the main and the curb shall be maintained by and at the expense of the town.
If a meter is not set at the end of the service lines and connections between the end of the service and the meter shall be maintained by the Town, but the actual cost of said maintenance shall be charged to the customer.
Section 19-9. Separate Premises.
- Every separate premises supplied with water by the Town must have its own separate service connection.
- Every separate mobile home or trailer supplied with water by the Town must have its own separate service connection and the sharing, resale, or cross connection of water is hereby prohibited.
- It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or entity to use a source or supply of water, other than from the Town of Tryon. Provided that this Section shall not apply unless there shall be a public water supply located within One Hundred Fifty feet (150′) of the property boundary.
Section 19-10. Meter Required.
It shall be unlawful for a plumber or any other person to make a connection to, or use water from the town water system until a meter has been set. All meters installed by the Town shall belong to the Town.
Section 19-11. Size of Pipe: Laid Two Feet Below Surface.
All persons connected with the town water system or laying their own private pipe shall be required to use Galvanized or schedule 114011 plastic potable water pipe up to and including two (2) inches in size. All pipes shall be laid not less than two (2) feet below the surface of the ground, except in ungraded streets where the grade is already established; the pipes shall be laid at least two (2) feet below the established grade.
Section 19-12. Insuring a Meter, etc: Estimate of Bill.
In all cases where meters or meter boxes are lost, injured, or broken by willful action or by carelessness or negligence of owners or occupants of premises, they shall be replaced or repaired at the expense of the owners or occupants of the premises. In case of non-payment, the water shall be cut off and will not be turned on until such charges are paid. In the event of a meter getting out of order or failing to register properly, the consumer shall be charged on an estimate made by the Town of the average monthly consumption during the last three (3) months when the meter was in good condition or from what it may consider to be the most reliable data at his command.
It shall be unlawful for any person, unless duly authorized by the Town, to disturb, displace, interfere with, cover up, damage, or destroy a water main, water pipe, meter, meter box, machinery, tools, building, fire hydrant, curb cock, curb box or any other property belonging to, connected with or under control of the municipal water supply system of the Town of Tryon, Oklahoma.
Section 19-13. Private Lines.
All private lines shall be maintained by and at the expense of the owner. When the water department notifies the owner that there is a leak in his private line, the owner shall have the same repaired immediately, and in case of failure to do so, the water will be cut off until the line has been repaired.
Section 19-14. Keys for Curb Cocks.
The Town may permit any licensed plumber to have a service key, which he shall keep in his possession and with which he may shut off the curb cock for the purpose of making repairs on the premises. No person other than a licensed plumber shall use this key, and plumbers shall leave a curb in the in which it was found.
Section 19-15. Water Turned on Only by Authority of Town Clerk.
When water has been shut off from any premises by application and other cause, it shall be unlawful for any person again to connect such premises with water, except when authorized to do so by the Town Clerk. When water is so turned on without such authority the water department may then shut off the water at the main or remove a portion of the service connection at the cock; and if the water was turned on thus by the consumer or by his authority, he shall be charged the actual cost of cutting out and reinstating the water supply.
Section 19-16. Town May Cut Off at Any Time.
The Town reserves the right at any time, without notice, to cut off the water supply for repairs, extension, non-payment of rents, creating a nuisance, use of such water creating unsafe or unsanitary purposes, use of such water for illegal purposes or any other proper cause; and the Town shall not be responsible for any damage such as bursting of boilers supplied by direct pressure, the breaking of any pipes or fixtures, stoppages or interruptions of water supply, or any other damage resulting from the shutting off of water.
Section 19-17. Meter Tested.
When the accuracy of the record of a water meter is questioned, it shall be removed at the consumer’s request and shall be tested in his presence in the shops of the water department by means of apparatus there provided, and a report thereon shall be duly made. Both parties to the test must accept the findings so made. If the test disclosed an error against the consumer of more than three percent (3%) in the meter’s registry, the excess of the consumption in the three (3) previous readings shall be credited to the entire expense of the test, and the deposit required in this 19-17 shall be returned. On the other hand, where no such error is found, the person who has requested the test shall pay the charge fixed for such test. Before making a test of any meter, the person requesting such test shall at the time of filing such request with the Town Clerk, make a deposit in the amount of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) with the Town Clerk for such test, subject to the conditions herein stated.
No meter shall be removed or in any way be disturbed, nor the seal broken, except in the presence of and under the direction of an officer or employee duly authorized by the Town.
Section 19-18. Service for Fire Protection.
Service for fire protection must be fitted for such fixtures only as are needed for fire protection and entirely disconnected from those used for other purposes.
Section 19-19. Use of Another Water Supply: Cross Connections Prohibited.
No service may be allowed from the town water mains to any premises supplied by water from other sources unless the Board of Trustees grants permission; and the Board of Trustees may terminate such permission at any The Board of Trustees shall have the power to prescribe reasonable regulations for the use of water from another source on premises that have a connection with the town water system.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to cause a connection to be made or to allow one to exist for any purpose whatsoever between the town water supply and any other source of supply. Every person, firm, or corporation having any other source of water supply upon his or its premises is required to make a customer’s declaration of nonexistence of cross connection upon a form supplied by the water department before he or it shall be permitted to obtain or continue to use water from the town water system. Town water shall be discontinued upon any premises upon which there is found to be a connection between the city water supply and another water supply, and such service shall not be restored until such cross-connection has been discontinued.
Section 19-20. Interference With Fire Hydrants.
It shall be unlawful for any person, except one duly authorized by the Board of Trustees or a member of the Fire Department in the Town to open, turn off or on, interfere with, attach any pipe or hose to, or connect anything with any fire hydrant or stop cock belonging to the Town.
Section 19-21. Water Shortage.
In case of an emergency caused by a shortage of water in the town water system, it shall be the duty of the Town Clerk immediately to give notice by publication to the water consumers of the system not to use water obtained from the system for any other purpose other than for strictly domestic use and such other use as he may designate so long as the water shortage lasts. Thereafter and until he proclaims the emergency at an end it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation, during the existence or the emergency, to use water obtained from the town water system for the purpose of watering or sprinkling a lawn, flower bed, hedge or garden or to use said water for any purpose other than strictly domestic use and such other uses as he may have designated.
Section 19-22. Access to Customer’s Premises, etc.
- All meters shall remain the property of the Town and may be removed from the customer’s premises at any time, without notice, for the purpose of testing or repairing same or upon discontinuation of the service.
- Employees of the utilities department shall have the right to enter, at any reasonable hour, upon all premises served by the department for the purpose of reading the meters, inspecting the meter, pipes, and valves, and other purposes that may be necessary to maintain proper service.
Section 19-23. Refund of Deposit.
The deposit shall be refunded by the Town Clerk to the customer upon termination of use of service, provided that the customer has paid all bills due to the department but, if the meter is damaged in any way except by ordinary wear, the whole of such or so much thereof as is necessary to pay the amount due the department shall be deducted from the deposit.
The Town Clerk may require the identification of the person surrendering the deposit receipt.
Section 19-24. Deposition of Deposits Not Withdrawn.
All deposits, less any lawful deductions, made by a subscriber with the Town of Tryon to secure payment for, or any sum paid in advance for utility services to be furnished by the town, that has not been withdrawn by the person appearing on the records of the town entitled thereto for more than one (1) year after the termination of the services for which the deposit or advance payment made shall become the property of the Town of Tryon upon the following procedure. The Town of Tryon shall send written notice to the customer at his last-known address stating that the deposit will be paid over to the Town of Tryon unless it is claimed by the customer within ninety (90) days of the date the notice is mailed by the Town of Tryon. The Town of Tryon shall publish in a newspaper of local circulation a list of names and last-known addresses of customers stating the deposit will be paid over to the Town of Tryon if not claimed within ninety (90) days. If the money is not claimed or refunded within ninety (90) days, the amount of the deposit shall be paid into the general fund of the Town of Tryon. No municipal utility customer shall have a right to any claim or refund on the deposit after written notice or publication and expiration of the ninety-day (90) period in accordance with this Section.
Section 19-25. Tampering With Meter.
No one, except an authorized employee of the utilities department, shall be permitted to remove or work on the meter or connections. If at any time the department finds that a meter or other equipment used in furnishing water service to the customer had been tampered with by anyone except an employee of the department, it shall be considered sufficient cause for immediate discontinuation of service.
Section 19-26. Fraudulent Use of Services.
- No person, firm, organization, association, or corporation shall unlawfully use water supplied by the utilities department of the Town of Tryon without paying therefor, nor break the seal of any water meter or valve, nor install piping, make connections, or attach pipes to service lines in a manner so that water may be secured without being supplied under the terms of this Chapter.
- It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, organization, association, or corporation upon whose premises there is water supplied to install additional fixtures on said premises or to apply the water to purposes other than to those for which the application was made, or to furnish water to additional families, firms, organizations, associations or corporations without first making written application to the Town of Tryon and receiving permission for said use. Water delivered to consumers from the water conduit shall be for use upon the individual premises of the individual consumer only, and shall not be resold or delivered for use off the premises of the consumer. Service is for the exclusive use of the customer, and is not to be resold or shared with others. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this provision shall be construed to cover house trailers or mobile homes, or any water resold under and by virtue of a special contract entered into with the Town of Tryon and by the mayor thereof.
- Any person, firm, organization association, or corporation who violates any of the provisions of Chapter 19 of the Tryon Town Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined a sum not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), not including costs. Each separate day such violation for purposes hereunder.