Chapter 15 · Utilities

Article 2. Water

Sections 15-201 to 15-228 · 28 sections

15-201 Superintendent of water and sewage.

The general management, care, control and supervision of the city water system shall be in the superintendent of water and sewage, who shall be hired by the governing body.

(Code 1990)

15-202 Regulations.

The furnishing of water to customers by the city through its waterworks system shall be governed by the regulations set out in this article.

(Code 1990)

15-203 Service not guaranteed.

The city does not guarantee the delivery of water through any of its mains and connecting services at any time except only when its mains, pumping machinery, power service connection are in good working order, and the supply of water is sufficient for the usual demand of its consumers.

(Code 1990)

15-204 Connection fees and costs.

Service installation charges for water service in the city shall be as follows:

(a)All charges for water service installation in the amounts as hereinafter fixed shall be paid to the city clerk when application is made for a new service installation for the supply of water from the city mains. The city shall make such installation when the applicant shall have extended his. or her service line to the proper location for a meter as determined by the water department. The charges to the customer for making such installation shall be as follows:

(1)3/4 to 5/8 inch meter - $1,100.00;

(2)1 ½ inch meter- $1,440.00;

(3)2 inch compound meter - $2,565.00;

(4)All meters larger than 2 inches - $1,065.00 plus the cost of materials and installation; provided, that all temporary meter installations shall be the cost of the materials and installation, regardless of size.

(b)Each customer shall pay, in addition to the charges set out above, a flat extension charge as follows:

(1)Single family dwelling units- $100;

(2)Multiple family dwelling units - $100 for the first unit plus $50 for each additional unit;

(3)Commercial units - $100.

(Ord. 628)

15-205 Application for connection.

Any person, firm or corporation desiring a connection with the municipal water system shall apply in writing to the city clerk, on a form furnished by the city for that purpose, for a permit to make a connection with the water mains adjacent to the applicant’s property. Upon receipt of the application, if the same is in proper form, and the payment of the sum required in section 15-204, the city clerk shall issue to the person applying for the same a permit to connect to the water system.

(Ord. 390)

15-206 Mains and connections.

All mains and service pipe to the meter shall be maintained by the city.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-207 Repairs.

All customers shall keep their own service pipe from the meter to the buildings, stop cocks and boxes and apparatus in good repair and protected from freezing at their own expense, and shall prevent all unnecessary waste of water; and no claim shall be made against the city by reason of the breaking or leaking of any service pipe or service cock.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-208 Water to be metered.

All water supplied by the municipal water system shall be metered. All meters shall be furnished by and remain the property of the city.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-209 Turning on water.

Any person from whose premises the water shall have been turned off for any reason herein provided or for a violation of any of the provisions of this article who shall turn the water on or cause the same to be turned on without authority in writing from the city, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not exceeding $50.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-210 Injury to property.

Any person who shall willfully and maliciously injure or destroy any machinery, meter, pipes, hydrants or other fixtures or property belonging to the city, or carry away from the waterworks system of the city any water for private use without a written permit from the water superintendent shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not exceeding $250 for each offense.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-211 City reserves right to discontinue service.

The city hereby reserves the right to discontinue service to any or all consumers of the municipal water without notice when the same is necessary for the repair of the system, or any part thereof, or for the extension of mains, by first giving an hour’s notice thereof.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-212 Every premises to have separate connection.

Unless special permission is granted by the governing body, each premises shall have a separate service connection, and where permission is granted for a branch service, each service must have a separate meter and cut off.

(Ord. 390, Sec. 1)

15-213 Fees, charges and deposits.

(a)Service Fee. A service fee in the amount of $15 shall be paid by each consumer at the time application is made for water service

(b)Delinquency Charges. A delinquency charge of 10% shall be charged for any water bill not paid by the 10th of the following month in which the customer has been billed. In the event the bill for any month is not paid by the 25th day of the delinquent month, the water shall be turned off and the same shall not be reinstated until all due bills, a $25.00 reinstatement charge and the deposit as set out in subsection (c) below, have been paid. In the event the 25th day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the customer shall have until the close of the next business day in which to pay the charges. Notice of termination of service shall be given as provided by Section 15-103.

(c)Deposit. There shall be a deposit required in an amount twice the customer’s average monthly bill before turning on and reinstating the water after the same has been shut off for nonpayment under the provisions of this Code or any other water ordinance. The deposit will be returned to the customer if his or her account has not incurred any delinquency charges for 12 consecutive months immediately following reinstatement. If there has been a delinquency, then the deposit will be held for another 12 months under the same conditions. Said deposit shall be held for additional 12 month periods if there continues to be delinquencies. If there has not been a delinquency during any particular 12-month period, the customer must request in writing the return of said deposit. If the customer moves or otherwise terminates said services before the expiration of said 12-month period and if the account has not incurred any delinquency, the customer may make a request in writing for the return of the deposit. Any return will be made only after all city utility bills have been paid in full or the amount due will be subtracted from the deposited amount. There shall be a $10.00 charge for turning on and reinstating the water if the customer has requested that the services be discontinued for reasons other than for repairs.

(d)Meters.

(1)Accessibility: The owners and occupants of any premises where city water is used shall be responsible for keeping the meters free and clear of all obstructions and shall see that the same is conveniently accessible at all times for the purpose of reading, inspecting, and repairing the same.

(2)Interference: No water or city water facility shall be connected, removed, repaired, or otherwise disturbed without proper authorization of the city. No supply of water shall be opened to any person or premises without proper authorization of the city. Violation of this section shall be punishable be a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days or both.

(3)Estimate: The meters shall be read once each month. In the event any meter fails to register, or in the event the same as registered is incorrect in the opinion of the city water department or if the meter cannot be read for any reason, the city clerk shall estimate the reading based on the consumer’s established pattern of use.

(Ord. 390; Ord 528; Ord. 635)

15-214 Service connections required.

(a)The owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purpose, situated within the city abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located near public water mains, is hereby required at his or her own expense to make connection to such public water main.

(b)Before any connection is made to the city’s water system an application must be made in writing to the city clerk by the owner of the premises, or his or her authorized representative, for a permit to make such connection.

(Code 1990)

15-215 City to make connections.

All taps shall be given, street excavations made, corporation cocks inserted, pipes installed from main to curb, and the curb cock installed in a meter box to which the service pipe is to be connected by city employees only.

(Code 1990)

15-216 Curb cocks.

There shall be a curb cock in every service line attached to the city main, the same to be placed within the meter box. Curb cocks shall be supplied with strong and suitable “T” handles.

(Code 1990)

15-217 Check valves.

Check valves are required on all connections to steam boilers or on any other connection deemed necessary by the water superintendent. 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 1990)

15-218 Cross-connections prohibited.

No person, company, corporation or institution shall establish or permit to be established or maintain or permit to be maintained, any cross connection whereby a private water supply, or any source of contamination may enter the regular public water supply or the City of Whitewater, unless said source is approved by the City Council of the City of Whitewater, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

(Ord. 531; Code 2026)

15-219 Same; protective backflow devices required.

Approved devices to protect against backflow or backsiphonage shall be installed at all fixtures and equipment where backflow or backsiphonage may occur and where there is a hazard of contamination of the potable water supply system.

(Ord. 531; Code 2026)

15-220 Same; inspection.

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.

(Ord. 531; Code 2026)

15-221 Same; protection from contaminants.

Pursuant to the city’s constitutional home rule authority and K.S.A. 65-163a, the city 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 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.

(Ord. 531; Code 2026)

15-222 Same; regulation manual incorporated by reference.

There is hereby incorporated by reference for the purpose of regulating cross connections between the public water supply and any sources of contamination that certain manual known as “MANUAL OF REGULATIONS REGULATING BACKFLOW AND BACKSIPHONAGE OF CONTAMINANTS DUE TO CROSS CONNECTIONS FOR THE CITY OF WHITEWATER PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY”. No fewer than three copies of said manual shall be marked and stamped, “Official Copy as Adopted by Ordinance 531”, and to which shall be attached a copy of said ordinance or this code section, and filed with the City Clerk to be open to inspection and available to the public at all reasonable hours.

(Ord. 531; Code 2026)

15-223 Leaks prohibited; penalty.

No allowances shall be made for water used or lost through leaks, carelessness, neglect or otherwise after the same has pass through the meter. However, every customer shall have the right to appeal to the city from water bill or meter reading which he or she may consider excessive.

(Code 1990)

15-224 Prohibited acts.

It shall be a violation of this article for any unauthorized person to:

(a)Perform any work upon the pipes or appurtenances of the city’s waterworks system beyond a private property line unless such person is employed by the city;

(b)Make any connections with any extension of the supply pipes of any consumer without written permission to do so having been first obtained from the governing body;

(c)Remove, handle or otherwise molest or disturb any meter, meter lid, cutoff, or any other appurtenances to the water system of the city.

(Code 1990)

15-225 Right of access.

Authorized employees of the city may enter upon any premises at reasonable hours for the purpose of reading the meter or servicing or inspecting meters or water lines.

(Code 1990)

15-226 Water rates.

The rates per month for the use of water in the City of Whitewater, Kansas shall be as follows:

(a)Readiness to serve fee as follows:

$24.70 per month - ¾ inch meter;

$30.50 per month - 1 ½ inch meter;

$36.75 per month - 2 inch meter;

$52.50 per month - 3-inch meter.

(b)In addition to the readiness to serve fee, water used within the corporate limits of the City shall be charged at the rate of $5.75 per thousand gallons.

(c)For water used outside the corporate limits of the City, the schedule of charges shall be 150% of those set forth in subsection (b) and the readiness to serve fee shall be $30.50 per month; however, the landowner who has donated right-of-way easements to the City for its water transmission line from Potwin to Whitewater shall be charged the rates set forth in subsection (a) of this section providing that the water is used for domestic purposes as defined by K.S.A. 82a-701.

(Ord. 612)

15-227 Delinquent accounts; notice; hearing; finding; liability.

Water service shall be terminated for nonpayment of service fees or charges as provided in sections 15-102:104.

(Code 1990)

15-228 Use during fire.

No person owning or occupying premises connected to the municipal water system shall use or allow to be used during a fire any water from the water system except for the purpose of extinguishing the fire. Upon the 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 the fire.

(Code 1990)