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BYLAW - Maintenence of Waterworks System, and Repeal 2120 77, and 3253 90 - 19910828 - 330591BY-LAW NUMBER 3305 -91 OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF AURORA BEING A BY-LAW to provide for the maintenance and operation of a Municipal Waterworks Distribution System in the Town of Aurora and to repeal By-laws No. 2120-77 and No. 3253-90 WHEREAS the Municipal Act as amended authorizes Council to enact by-laws to provide for the operation of municipal waterworks, to regulate the provision of such works and to charge a water works rate upon persons who will or may derive a benefit therefrom; AND WHEREAS Council deems it expedient to consolidate prior by-laws regarding such water works; NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. APPLICATION: That the rules and regulations set out in this By-Law shall govern and regulate the operation of any system of waterworks owned by the Corporation and shall be considered to form a part of the contract between the Corporation and the owner, or occupant, of any building in the Town for a supply of water by the Corporation to such building, and every such owner, or occupant, by applying for, or accepting a supply of water, from the Corporation shall be deemed to have expressed his/her consent to be bound by the said rules and regulations. 2. DEFINITIONS: In this By-Law, (a) "Corporation" means the Corporation of the Town of Aurora. (b) "Council" means the Municipal Council of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora. (c) "Director" means the Director of the Public Works Department of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora or his/her designate. (d) "Treasurer" means the Treasurer of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora or his/her designate. (e) "Meter" means the meter installed under the provisions of this By-Law for the purpose of measuring the water supplied by the Corporation to the premises in which such meter is installed, including the meter body and any appurtenances attached thereto. . By-law 3305-91 - 2 - (f) "Owner" includes the registered owner of a property, a tenant or lessee, mortgagee in possession or the person in charge of any property. (g) "Person" includes a natural individual and a corporation or a partnership. (h) "Private Water Service" means the pipes and fixtures used for the purpose of supplying any unit or premises in the Town with water from the system of waterworks established by the Corporation and situated between the street line adjacent to the premises so supplied and the meter or the unit so serviced. (i) "Department" means the Waterworks section of the Public Works Department of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora. G) "Water Service" means the pipes and fixtures used for the purpose of supplying any premises or unit in the Town with water from the system of waterworks established by the Corporation and situated between the street watermain and the street line or property line adjacent to the premises so supplied. (k) "Unit" means a residential, commercial, or industrial establishment which is separated or is capable of being separated, from any other establishment on the assessment roll of the Corporation. If a dispute arises as to whether an establishment is a unit, it shall be determined by reference to the last revised assessment roll of the Corporation. (I) "Apartment" includes all residential buildings with more than one dwelling unit and under one ownership. 3. APPLICATION FOR SERVICE 3.1 All persons desiring a supply of water from the Corporation shall, first, make written application to the Director Subject to Sub-section 3.2 of this section, such application shall be signed by the registered Owner of the building to be installed with water or by his agent duly authorized in writing. 3.2 Where the necessary water services and private water services have already been installed, the cost of such installation fully paid, and the premises for which the supply of water is required is occupied by the tenant, the application for a supply of water to said building may be signed by the tenant of such building. 3.3 The applicant shall pay to the Treasurer in advance of any installation, any levies charges or other fees as required for the application of the necessary water services in addition to, and separate from this By-Law. 3.4 The application shall be completed on the form prescribed by the Corporation for this purpose and shall be accompanied by the application fee set out on Schedule "A" attached hereto. By-law 3305-91 - 3 - 4. PRIVATE WATER SERVICE 4.1 All private water services shall be installed by and shall be the responsibility of the owner of the premises for which such service is required. All installations shall be made to the satisfaction of the Director. The service shall be buried a minimum of 1. 7m below the finished surface of the ground and shall be protected from frost at all locations. There shall be a stop and waste cock installed immediately prior to the water meter or unit served and no other connection shall be made to the private water service between the meter and the water service. 4.2 The owner of any property shall maintain in proper order and repair, at this own expense, the private water service and its fixtures and appurtenances. 4.3 The Corporation shall not be liable for any damage which may result to any person, premises or equipment caused by shutting off the water supply for any purpose whatsoever. 4.4 All water supplied through private water services shall be metered and the rates charged as shown on Schedule "A" of the By-Law and as may be amended from time to time, or charged at the flat unit rates as set out on the said Schedule "A" and as may be revised by the Council of the Town of Aurora from time to time. 4.5 No owner shall use water supplied by the Corporation for purposes of air conditioning, refrigeration or cooling, unless the water is recirculated. 4.6 No owner shall connect the water service or private water services to any cisterns, wells, privies, privy vaults, cesspools or private pressure pumps. 4. 7 Where prior arrangements have been made with the Director for the installation of the meter(s) by the Town the installations shall have a horizontal length of pipe to coincide with the length of the meter to be installed. 5. METERS 5.1 All meters shall be installed under the Corporation's supervision. The Corporation may supply and install any meter at the discretion of the Director. Under these circumstances the costs shall be prepaid by the applicant prior to the water being turned on. 5.2 One meter shall be installed for each water service which crosses from the municipal road allowance to the private property, unless the water service is for multiple unit developments where specific needs shall be determined by the Director. By-law 3305-91 - 4 - 5.3 Should a meter be mechanically defective, and where the Corporation installed (or otherwise assumed ownership of) said meter, the cost of such repairs shall be paid by the Town but if the meter is damaged by the carelessness or neglect of any person other than an employee or agent of the Corporation, the owner of the premises shall pay to the Corporation the cost of making the necessary repair to such meter. 5.4 If a meter fails to register for any reason, the consumer will be charged for the average consumption for the pertinent period as determined by the Corporation on the basis of prior consumption records. 5.5 All water which is registered on a meter will be charged for in accordance with the rates shown on Schedule "A", whether used or wasted. 5.6 The owner or occupant of any unit shall provide ready and convenient access to any meter installed, so that it may be read and examined by the Director or Treasurer. 5.7 Where a meter cannot be located conveniently for the Town inside a building it shall, at the Director's discretion, be placed in a meter chamber, the location and construction of which are to be approved by the Director and the cost of which is to be paid for by the applicant. 5.8 A meter will be removed and tested upon the request of the owner of any unit. If the meter is tested and found to register correctly or less than 3% in favour of the Corporation, the expense of removing and testing of the meter will be paid by the person requesting such test. 5.9 If a meter, when tested, is found to register in excess of 3% in favour of the Corporation, a refund will be made to the consumer of a portion of the consumption charges paid for the three month period prior to the testing. This refund will be calculated by the Treasurer on the basis of prior consumption records and the meter repairs will be paid by the Corporation. 5.10 The meter shall be placed in each building and the plumbing shall be so arranged that all water used on the premises shall pass through the meter(s) and the owner of the premises will be held liable for all water charges. 5.11 The Corporation may enter into agreements with owners to provide for the installation of water services or meters in any other manner satisfactory to the Director. 6. WATER RATES 6.1 Meters shall be read quarterly but if a meter is not so read an average of the two prior readings, when available, will be taken and the consumer billed accordingly. 6.2 -5 - Where water is supplied to multiple family dwellings an account for the water supply shall be charged to the registered owner or principal occupant of the premises and in the case of non-payment, unless guaranteed by the owner, the water may be shut off, notwithstanding that one or more of the occupants have paid part or all of the account to such owner or principal occupant. 6.3 All sums charged for water supplied, or for expenses incurred for the repair of private water services, meters, fixtures and all appliances connected with the water service or for damage to the same shall be charged to the owner of the premises. If for any reason charges for water rates cannot be collected from the owner, or the occupant of the premises, the water shall be turned off on account of nonpayment. No application for water supply for such premises shall be approved by the Corporation, not withstanding that the ownership of the said premises shall have changed, until such sums and other charges have been paid in full to the Treasurer. 6.4 The Council may from time to time, change the water rates without notice to any person taking a supply of water from the Corporation. 6.5 All accounts for water shall be prepaid and payable when specified on the invoice received. The first invoice shall be based upon the non-metered rate per month as shown on Schedule "A". 6.6 Water accounts shall be payable by the due date and a penalty shall be charged on all accounts as shown on Schedule "A". 6. 7 Where the Corporation has been unable to install a watermeter in a residential building due to the refusal of entry of the owner or occupant, a flat rate will be charged which is equal to one and one-half (1.5) times the rate of the average annual residential consumption unless otherwise specified on Schedule "A". 7. TEMPORARY USE Builders and Contractors requiring water for construction purposes shall make an application to the Director and shall furnish him with all information so required and shall pay to the Treasurer the water rates and security as determined by the Director. Builders and Contractors will only be permitted to take water from the specified source, as may be altered from time to time, as required by the Director. 8. FIRE PROTECTION 8.1 Equipment installed solely for the automatic extinguishment of fires in buildings may, with the approval of the Director, be attached to watermains provided that no other plumbing for domestic use is attached thereto. All such equipment shall be provided with a suitable valve at the street line and under the exclusive control of the Corporation. A valve shall be placed at each hose opening in the standpipe and shall be sealed by the Director. Whenever the seal of a valve is broken for the extinguishment of any fire, the person breaking the seal shall immediately thereafter give notice to the Director who shall then forthwith reseal said valve. .. )3y-;-l~:v. 3305-91 - 6 - 8.2 No seal placed by the Director upon a valve situated at a hose opening in a standpipe shall be broken. No water shall be used from fire extinguishment equipment or sprinkler system for any purpose except the extinguishment of fires, without the consent in writing of the Director. 8.3 A backflow preventer shall be installed on all fire extinguishing systems to prevent the possible contamination of portable water systems unless specific written approval is received by the Director to the contrary. 9. RESPONSIBILITY 9.1 No person shall make any connection or connections whatsoever, to any water service or private water service without the prior written consent of the Director. The owner of the premises on which an unlawful connection has been made, shall be responsible for the water rates or charges which would have been payable in addition to being liable for any other penalty provided by By-Law or by any Act, or Acts of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, or the Parliament of Canada. The rates shall be charged on the basis of the Director's estimate of water consumed during the period in question. 9.2 No persons supplied with water by the Corporation shall be entitled to use such water for any purpose other than those stated in the applications. 9.3 No person being the owner or occupant of any house, building or other premises supplied with water by the Corporation shall rent, sell or dispose of such water or give away, or permit the same to be carried away, or used, or apply such water to the use or benefit of any other person. 9.4 In case of making repairs or constructing new work in connection with the waterworks system, the Director may shut off the water from any consumer without notice, and keep it shut off as long as may be necessary and the Corporation shall not be liable for any damage resulting therefrom. 9.5 The Director, or any person duly authorized by him for the purposes, must at all reasonable hours, upon presentation of satisfactory identification, be given free access to all parts of every building to which the water is supplied, for the purpose of inspection and examination of meter, fixtures and pipes of every kind used in connection with the supply of water to, or the use of water, on such premises. 9.6 No person shall tamper with, cover or screen from view a fire hydrant by any structure or vegetation or any other means. 9. 7 No person except the Director or someone acting under his direction or authority shall open or close any valve, hydrant, or gate in the street mains, or interfere with the Town water system in any manner. By-law :3305-91 -7- 10. DISCONTINUED SERVICE 10.1 Any consumer wishing to discontinue the use of water supplied by the Town, must give notice thereof in writing at the Public Works Department office. No person shall turn on the water service who is not duly authorized to do so by the Director. 10.2 Any consumer wishing to discontinue the use of water due to the demolition of the building which is occupied, shall pay the Treasurer, prior to the issuance of a demolition permit, an amount determined by the Director for the removal and for disconnection of the existing water service. 11. RECONNECTION 11.1 Whenever a person taking a supply of water from the Corporation fails to comply with the provisions of this By-Law in any respect, the Director may, without notice to such persons, turn off the water and the water shall not be turned on again until all the provisions of this By-Law are complied with and the amount referred to in Schedule "A" has been paid to the Treasurer to cover the cost of turning the water off and turning same on. 11.2 Failure to pay water rates as and when the same become due and payable shall be considered a failure to comply with the provisions of the By-Law. 12. PENALTY Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this By-law is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000.00, exclusive of costs. Such fines are recoverable pursuant to the provisions of the Provincial Offences Act R.S.O. 1980c. (as amended). 13. By-law Numbers 2120-77 and 3253-90 are hereby repealed. 14. This By-Law shall come into force and effect on the day of the final passing thereof. READ A FIRST AND SECOND TIME THIS 24th DAY OF JULY 19 91 READ A THIRD AND FINAL TIME THIS 28th DAY OF AUGUST 1991. ' ' BY-LAW NUMBER __ 3"-'3'-"0""-5 __ -91 SCHEDULE "A" WATER RATES 1. EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 1991 a) b) Metered Service Non-metered i) Refusal by homeowner to install meter Residential .35 per m3 (on per unit basis) Industrial/ Commercial/ Institutional .35 per m3 Equivalent to 1.5 times average monthly residential billing. N/A ii) Meter installation Equivalent to average physically not monthly billing. possible N/ A 2. PENALTIES FOR LATE PAYMENTS 3. 4. 5. All billings are payable when stated thereon and shall, if not paid by the due date, be subjected to 10% penalty. SERVICE CHARGES a) TURNOFF During Working Hours $20.00 Other than normal working hours $75.00 b) TURN ON During Working Hours $20.00 Other than normal working hours $75.00 PURCHASED WATER $1.10 per m3 · APPLICATION FEE $20.00