The city will make all street excavations and bring the water service line from the main to the property line and will furnish and install the corporation cock, curb cock, meter and meter box at the actual cost incurred by the city; provided however, the minimum charge shall be $50 for a three-quarter inch service and $100.00 for a one inch service.

(Code 1972, 22-45; Code 2014)

Unless special permission is granted by the city manager in connection with the application hereinbefore made, each premise shall have a separate and distinct water service connection. Where permission is granted for a branch service pipe each branch pipe must have its own curb cock and separate meter; provided, in apartment houses, stores and other business buildings one water connection may be used and the service furnished to the owner or the authorized agent of the apartment house or business building, and only one water meter shall be used and the owner or authorized agent for such property in whose name the service is recorded shall be responsible to the city for all charges accruing on account of water used by all of the tenants in such apartment or business building.

(Code 1972, 22-46; Code 2014)

No person except plumbers licensed in accordance with city ordinances shall do any plumbing on any pipe connected or to be connected to the city water mains.

(Code 1972, 22-47; Code 2014)

All excavations made by a property owner or persons employed by him or her or plumbers licensed in accordance with city ordinances, in the public ways or grounds, shall not be kept open longer than is absolutely necessary to make the connections required; provided, while any such excavations are open, they shall be protected by suitable barriers, guards and lights as provided by this code, and the backfilling shall be thoroughly compacted and left in a condition satisfactory to the city manager. When such excavations are unsatisfactorily filled, the city manager may cause the same to be filled in a satisfactory condition and the cost thereof, if done by the city, shall be charged to the property owner or plumber having done the work originally and the license of the plumber may be suspended until the sum is paid.

(Code 1972, 22-48; Code 2014)

All water service pipes in the city shall either be galvanized wrought iron, copper, lead or cast iron or as may otherwise be provided by the plumbing code and the same shall be laid not less than three feet below the established grade or as low as the street water mains.

(Code 1972, 22-49; Code 2014)

There shall be a curb cock installed in every service line attached to the water mains, the same to be placed within one foot of the curb, if on a street, or within one foot of the alley line if the main is located in the alley. Curb cocks shall be supplied with strong and suitable “T” handles and shall be enclosed is a substantial case covered with a tight fitting iron lid. There shall be one or more stop and curb cocks attached to every supply pipe, at some point between the curb cocks and the meter, so that the water can be shut off and the meter and the house plumbing entirely drained.

(Code 1972, 22-50; Code 2014)

Check valves shall be required on all connections made to steam boilers and on any other connection deemed by the city manager to require the same. Safety and relief valves shall be placed on all boilers or other steam apparatus connected with the water system where the steam pressure may be raised in excess of 40 pounds per square inch.

(Code 1972, 22-51; Code 2014)

The original installation of all plumbing on the customer’s side of the meter box, any service devices maintained by the consumer, and all extensions thereafter made to such services, as well as all repairs to the same, shall be made entirely at the cost of the consumer; provided, such service pipes and devices on private grounds shall at all reasonable times be subject to inspection by duly authorized employees of the city. If repairs are found to be necessary upon such inspection, the same shall be made promptly and the city reserves the right to discontinue service until such repairs are made. No claims should be allowed against the city by reason of the breaking or leaking of any service pipe or stop cock.

(Code 1972, 22-52; Code 2014)

The city may extend its water mains within or without the city by construction or purchase, when applications have been made and agreements entered into by the persons along the proposed extension, that, in the judgment of the governing body, will produce a revenue to pay interest upon the cost of construction of the extension and the operating cost of the service furnished.

(Code 1972, 22-53; Code 2014)

Any person whose premises are located outside the city may connect with the city water lines inside the city upon application and approval by the governing body; provided, a curb cock and meter shall be installed inside the city limits where possible; provided further, if the meter is installed outside the city, all installation shall be as provided herein, and the pipe and service connections shall be subject to the provisions of this division; and provided, all costs therefor shall be charged to the consumer.

(Code 1972, 22-54; Code 2014)

All water furnished to any consumer by the city shall be measured by meters furnished by the city for that purpose.

(Code 1972, 22-55; Code 2014)

All water meters shall be installed in the parking outside of the sidewalk lines; the city shall install and maintain the same. The city manager shall have all meters carefully tested before being installed, and after their installation they shall be tested as frequently as circumstances warrant in the discretion of the city manager. If at any time a consumer becomes dissatisfied with the accuracy of the water meter, he or she may make application to the city clerk to have the meter tested. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of $1.00. Upon receipt of such application and fee, the city manager shall cause the meter to be tested, and in the presence of the consumer or complaining party if he or she so 15-10 desires. If the test shows the meter has been over-registering more than two percent, the previous bill computed on the reading of such meter shall be corrected accordingly and the fee of $1.00 returned. If the test shows that the meter is not over-registering or under-registering more than two percent, the meter shall be considered correct and the fee previously paid retained. If the test shows that the meter has been under registering more than two percent the previous bill based on the reading of such meter shall be corrected accordingly and the test fee of $1.00 returned. All meters found to be over-registering more than two percent or under two percent of the correct registration shall be repaired or replaced at once by one that is correct.

(Code 1972, 22-56; Code 2014)

The city does not guarantee the delivery of water through any of the mains and connecting services at any time, except only when its mains, pumping machinery, power and service connections are in good working order.

(Code 1972, 22-58; Code 2014)

All consumers of city water are hereby notified that in case of fire all mains are subject to fire pressure and that no claim will be allowed against the city by reason of any leaks or ruptures caused by such fire pressure. Pressure regulators or relief valves should be placed on all service pipes or lines.

(Code 1972, 22-59; Code 2014)

It is unlawful for any person in this city or any person owning or occupying premises connected to the municipal water system of this city to use or allow to be used during a fire, any water from the water system, except for the purpose of extinguishing the fire, and upon sounding of a fire alarm, it shall be the duty of every such person to see that all water services are tightly closed, and that no water is used except in extraordinary cases of emergency during such fire.

(Code 1972, 22-60; Code 2014)

It shall be unlawful for any person to take any water from the municipal water system of this city except through a meter installed by the city, or from any premises not owned by him or her without the permission of the owner thereof.

(Code 1972, 22-61; Code 2014)

It shall be unlawful for any person to turn any curb cock on or off unless he or she is a duly authorized employee of the city water department; provided, in making necessary repairs a licensed plumber may turn water on or off, but shall not turn water on except when such necessary repairs to water pipes have been completed and then only when water was already turned on when such repair work was undertaken by him or her and he or she was the person who turned the water off.

(Code 1972, 22-62)

If a water bill appears excessive and complaint is made immediately to the city manager, the meter shall be reread and reasonable assistance given to search for the cause of wasted water but in no case will the water department be liable for water wasted on the customer’s side of the meter.

(Code 1972, 22-63)

There is hereby established the following rates for water furnished by the City of Sterling municipal water utility to be charged against customers of such water through one meter and is for exclusive use of customer and is not to be resold or shared with others.

Where two or more dwellings are served through one meter, the service charge (minimum bill) per month schedule shall be applied by multiplying the service charge by the number of dwelling units served.

The rate charged for bulk water sales shall be assessed by using the Inside City Water Rate Schedule for volumetric charges plus a loading fee of half the service charge for each load.

(a)   INSIDE CITY WATER RATE SCHEDULE:

(1)   Service Charges (minimum bill) per month:

(2)   Commodity charge per month per 1000 gallons:

(b)   OUTSIDE CITY WATER RATE SCHEDULE:

(1)   Service Charges (minimum bill) per month:

(2)   Commodity charge per month per 1000 gallons:

(c)   WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS

Wholesale rates and contracts are negotiable for large customers.

(Ord. 2341; Code 2014; Ord. 2458; Ord. 2479; Ord. 2501; Ord. 2561)

No person shall establish or permit to be established or maintain or permit to be maintained, any cross connection whereby a private, auxiliary, or emergency water supply other than the regular public water supply of the city may enter the supply and distribution system of the city unless specifically approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the governing body.

(Code 1990)

Approved devices to protect against backflow or backsiphonage shall be installed at all fixtures and equipment where backflow and/or backsiphonage may occur and where there is a· hazard to the potable water supply in that polluted water or other contaminating materials may enter into the public water supply. Any situation in which a heavy withdrawal of water, such as a sudden break in the main or water being used from a fire hydrant, may cause a negative pressure to develop which would lead to backsiphonage of polluted water into the system shall be improper and must be protected by approved backflow preventive valves and systems as determined by the superintendent.

(Code 1990)

The city utility superintendent or other designee of the governing body shall have the right of entry into any building or premises in the city as frequently as necessary in his or her judgment in order to ensure that plumbing has been installed in accordance with the laws of the city so as to prevent the possibility of pollution of the water supply of the city.

(Code 1990)

Pursuant to the city’s constitutional home rule authority and K.S.A. 65-163a, the city by its utility superintendent may refuse to deliver water through pipes and mains to any premises where a condition exists which might lead to the contamination of the public water supply system and it may continue to refuse the delivery of water to the premises until that condition is remedied. In addition, the city utility superintendent may terminate water service to any property where the cross connections or backsiphonage condition creates, in the judgment of the superintendent, an emergency danger of contamination to the public water supply.

(Code 1990)

The occupants of all houses, buildings or properties, used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, abutting any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located, or may be located in the future, public water mains, are hereby required to make connection to such public city water mains subject to and as set forth in the preceding sections of this article. Except that those occupants who had their own water supply prior to September 7, 1999, and have not connected to the municipal water system shall not be required to connect to the municipal water system until such time as the occupant vacates such house, building, or property whether due to sale, rental, death, or any other reason, and at which time the new occupant(s) shall be required to connect to the municipal water system.

(Ord. 2300, Sec. 1)