§ 8-2-40. Emergency water conservation.

(a)

General.

(1)

Special emergency resolution. If the availability of water so limits the water system that unrestricted use may endanger the adequacy of the supply, the director of public services will make a recommendation to the city manager and he shall recommend that the city council, exercising its discretion in the protection of the public health, safety and welfare, may by resolution adopt such emergency use restrictions, including increased rates, as are reasonably calculated under all conditions to conserve and protect that supply and to ensure a regular flow of water through the water system. Emergency water use regulations and restrictions shall remain in force and effect until the city council determines that the conditions requiring their imposition no longer exist.

(2)

Emergency procedure. Even if the city council has not adopted a special emergency resolution imposing restrictions when, for whatever reasons the water level at Oak Hollow or City Lake reaches a critical level, or other emergency situations occur, the director shall implement temporary emergency procedures until formal action can be taken by the city council.

(b)

Water conservation program. The city, in recognition of the need to conserve water during certain water shortage emergencies, will immediately restrict its usages to essential uses of water. In addition to these efforts on the city's part, the following procedures will be implemented as authorized by this section and in accordance with the city's water shortage management policy:

(1)

Phase one—Water shortage alert. In the event of a water shortage alert due to high peak demand days which cause the water treatment plant to exceed its designed capacity, all customers of the city's public services department will be requested to voluntarily reduce water consumption by the following:

All city water accounts and water users (residential, commercial, industrial and institutional) are requested to limit noncommercial outdoor water use such as lawn watering, sprinkler systems, pool filling and car washing to odd or even calendar days, depending on the last digit in their address:

Example

2011 E. Kivett (odd) would water on July 31 (odd). And would not water on August 2.

This odd/even plan would start on April 15 and end on September 15, and therefore would be effective immediately.

(2)

Phase two—Mandatory conservation. If the water shortage emergency continues and voluntary conservation measures prove inadequate, mandatory conservation will be implemented in accordance with the water shortage management policy. The policy will be enforced by the following:

a.

Affecting the residential water rates whereby consumption above 15 units will be billed at double the normal rate.

b.

Prohibiting outdoor irrigation with treated water except for handheld hose end nozzle and drip irrigation.

c.

The director of public services will be empowered to negotiate with all industrial and commercial accounts to ensure that all reasonable conservation measures are implemented. Failure to implement such measures is grounds to terminate services.

d.

Noncompliance with any provision of the water shortage management policy, or this section will subject the violator to a civil penalty as follows:

	Meters 1" and smaller	Meters 1½" and greater
1st offense	$100.00	$200.00
2nd offense	$200.00	$400.00
3rd and subsequent offenses	$300.00	$600.00
Each day's violations shall be a separate and distinct offense. Two or more incidents involving a single user will also result in loss of service.

 

(3)

Phase three—Stringent conservation. If the water shortage emergency worsens and mandatory conservation measures prove inadequate, then stringent conservation measures will be implemented in accordance with the water shortage management policy. The policy will be enforced by the following measures:

a.

Double the water rate cost for above 10 units per month.

b.

The immediate removal of service for any violation of the shortage management policy.

c.

The director of public services will have the authority to implement additional conservation measures on commercial and industrial customers, including but not limited to percentage reductions of consumption, cutting off specific water consumption units, etc.

d.

A list of the names and addresses of those charged with violations of this section will be available for public inspection in the office of the city clerk.

(4)

Phase four—Rationing. In addition to all restrictions previously imposed, the following measures will be implemented:

a.

All other uses of water will be limited to those necessary to meet minimum health and safety needs of the customers.

b.

The director of public services shall be empowered to limit the hours of service to different sections of the city on a rotating basis in order to maintain minimum health and safety needs.

(Ord. No. 86-29, § 1, 8-7-86; Ord. No. 95-77, § 1, 8-17-95; Ord. No. 97-102(2); § 1(5), 12-18-97; Ord. No. 6500/07-95, § 1, 10-22-07)