Chapter 13A.20
WATER METERS AND SERVICE LINES
Sections:
13A.20.010 Size of water meters.
13A.20.030 Installation requirements.
13A.20.040 Water meter size changes, relocations and grade changes.
13A.20.050 Service line reuse.
13A.20.060 Water meter testing.
13A.20.070 Pressure reducing valves on service lines.
13A.20.090 Damage and tampering.
13A.20.100 Hazards and backflow prevention devices required.
13A.20.110 Backflow prevention device installation requirements.
13A.20.120 Annual inspection and testing requirements.
13A.20.010 Size of water meters.
The public works superintendent shall establish the size of water meter required to serve a premises. Basis for sizing shall be as follows:
A. Three-quarters-inch or one-inch meter for single residence, commercial, duplex;
B. One-inch meter for triplex, fourplex or under a requirement not to exceed fifty gallons per minute;
C. One-and-one-half-inch meter for five units based upon requirements of gallons per minute;
D. For flows over one hundred gallons per minute the meter shall be sized according to applicable design standards and approved by the superintendent concurrent with application;
E. The superintendent may allow a larger meter than the established guideline above provided the owner of the premises signs a statement filed with the utility department acknowledging they will pay for replacement costs over and above the cost of the recommended standard listed above should the meter need replacement for any reason. (Ord. 346 §1, 2000)
13A.20.020 Ownership.
The town shall own and maintain all water service connections from the main to and including the water meter and water meter box. The customer shall own and maintain the service line from the water meter to the premises being served. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.030 Installation requirements.
A. The town shall install all water service lines from the main to and including the water meter and water meter box; provided, however, that water service lines from the main to and including the water meter box may be installed by the customer’s contractor when the director grants permission to do so. The installation shall be subject to approval by the director.
B. No later than September 1, 2008, each separate dwelling unit must have a separate service line and separate water meter unless otherwise authorized by the director. “Separate dwelling unit” when used to describe property other than residential means the individual user served by the town’s water system. In the case of any multi-tenant building, each tenant shall have a separate service line and separate water meter unless otherwise authorized by the director.
C. The location of the water meter must be in a place satisfactory to the director. Ordinarily, the water meter will be installed outside of buildings and on the public right-of-way, or on the premises as near the main line as possible. Where water meters are installed within a building, the town will not be responsible for damage caused from water leaking or flowing from a leaking or broken meter, pipe, fittings or valves. Valves and sprinkler line piping belonging to a customer will not be allowed in the meter box.
D. On all services connected, each dwelling unit served by a water service line shall have within the dwelling unit a separate water service shutoff supplied and installed by the customer.
E. All water service lines located on private property shall be laid at a depth of not less than two and one-half feet below the surface of the ground, and not less than two and one-half feet of cover shall be provided in all radial directions for the pipe. (Ord. 476 §1, 2008: Ord. 350 §1, 2000: Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.040 Water meter size changes, relocations and grade changes.
Requests for water meter size changes, relocations and grade changes shall be made to the director who will review all applications and arrange for a preliminary field inspection of the work site. The work as approved by the director will be performed only by the town and then only if the customer agrees to pay the fee established for this service as set from time to time by resolution of the town council. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.050 Service line reuse.
When a new or converted building replaces an old one, the use of the existing water service connection will be permitted when the director determines that the water service connection conforms to the requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.060 Water meter testing.
At the request of a customer or user, a meter shall be tested for accuracy in measuring water consumption. A testing deposit as established by resolution of the town council shall be paid by the customer or user prior to testing. If the test reveals that the meter has been registering consumption in excess of three percent of actual consumption, the customer or user shall be credited an overcharge to the extent of the error for a period not to exceed four months (one hundred twenty calendar days) prior to the test and the testing deposit will be refunded. If the test reveals that the meter has been registering consumption not in excess of three percent of actual consumption, the testing deposit will not be refunded. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.070 Pressure reducing valves on service lines.
The town shall furnish, install and maintain pressure reducing valves on the water service connection to a customer when the maximum delivered water pressure in the town’s main line servicing a customer’s service line exceeds one hundred pounds per square inch. The director shall inform a customer when a pressure reducing valve is required. The initial cost of the pressure reducing valve and the initial cost of the installation thereof shall be paid for by the customer. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.080 Access to meter.
Customers shall maintain trees, shrubs and landscaping in the vicinity of water meter boxes in a manner that allows easy and clear access to the water meter box for meter reading and maintenance purposes. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.090 Damage and tampering.
If a water meter is damaged by tampering by the customer or user or other action of the customer or use, or by hot water coming from the customer’s line, then all costs for the repair or replacement of the water meter shall be charged to and paid for by the customer. If a water meter is found to have been tampered with by a customer or user resulting in under-measurement of water consumption, the director may cut off water service to the premises upon twenty-four-hour notice. Service once cutoff because of tampering by the customer or user shall not be restored until assurances satisfactory to the director have been given by the customer and/or user that tampering will not occur in the future. (Ord. 242 (part), 1991)
13A.20.100 Hazards and backflow prevention devices required.
Prior to the installation of irrigation systems (fire sprinkler systems) and backflow prevention assemblies, the customer shall obtain a permit from the town for such installations. All approved backflow prevention devices shall be installed at the service connection or within the following facilities under the direction of the director of public works or cross-connection control specialist commensurate with the degree of hazard, including but not limited to:
A. Premises having an auxiliary water supply;
B. Premises having internal cross-connections or intricate plumbing arrangements which make it impractical to ascertain whether or not a cross-connection exists;
C. Premises where entry is restricted so that inspections for cross-connections cannot be made;
D. Premises having a history of repeated cross-connections;
E. Premises on which any substance is handled under pressure and/or piped so as to permit entry into the public potable water system;
F. Process waters or cooling towers;
G. Toxic or hazardous chemicals;
H. Hospitals, mortuaries, clinics;
I. Laboratories;
J. Sewage treatment plants and lift stations;
K. Food and beverage processing plants;
L. Chemical plants;
M. Metal plating plants;
N. Petroleum processing plants or storage tanks;
O. Car washes;
P. Fire sprinkler systems;
Q. Irrigation systems;
R. Others specified by the director of public works. (Ord. 321 §3, 1997)
13A.20.110 Backflow prevention device installation requirements.
A. State-approved backflow prevention devices required by this chapter shall be installed and tested to make certain they are operational under the direction of the director of public works and/or under the supervision of the cross-connection specialist per the town of Wilbur standards.
B. Backflow prevention assemblies in service, but not included on Washington State’s current list of approved devices, shall remain in service provided they were on the Washington State-approved cross-connection control assembly list at the time of installation.
C. The backflow device must never be subject to flooding, corrosive fumes, damage or freezing and shall be installed as follows:
1. A.G. A vertical physical separation between the end of the potable water system of not less than one inch and two times the inside diameter of the potable pipe, whichever is greater, measured from the flood level rim of the receiving vessel, tank fixture or plumbing apparatus.
2. R.P.B.A. Twelve inches plus diameter of the backflow prevention device from the finished grade or floor to the bottom of the backflow prevention device and not more than five feet without an approved working platform.
3. D.C.V.A. Twelve inches from the finished grade or floor to the bottom of the backflow prevention device and not more than five feet without an approved working platform.
4. P.V.B.A. Twelve inches above all downstream piping and sprinkler heads and not more than five feet. (Ord. 321 §4, 1997)
13A.20.120 Annual inspection and testing requirements.
All R.P.B.A.s and P.V.B.A.s are required to be tested at least annually and all air gaps installed in lieu of a backflow prevention device shall be inspected at least annually. The test reports shall be returned to the town of Wilbur public works department within thirty days after receipt of the yearly test notification. Tests and inspections may be required on a more frequent basis at the discretion of the director of public works. (Ord. 321 §5, 1997).
13A.20.130 Noncompliance.
If a customer fails to comply with any of the rules and regulations in force, the department of public works shall give notice of such failure. If the customer does not comply as the rules provide and within a reasonable time, the department shall have the right to shut off the water and collect the scheduled charge for restoration of service or to remove any water meter and make the same charge for resetting as if the meter was removed at the customer’s request. The town of Wilbur public works director or city council reserves the right to terminate water service to the premises for continued failure of the customer to cooperate with this chapter. (Ord. 321 §6, 1997)
13A.20.140 Enforcement.
A. The director of public works will administer the provisions of this chapter. The director may delegate responsibilities to a certified cross-connection control specialist. The provisions of this chapter may supersede WAC 246-290 but in no case shall it be less stringent. All approved standards must be approved by the water utility and the director of public works. All backflow prevention devices required by this chapter shall be preapproved by the director of public works or cross-connection control specialist.
B. The town of Wilbur strictly prohibits the connection to any fire hydrant, standpipe or blow-off. All connections to the above shall be considered a cross-connection and will be terminated immediately. The following are exceptions:
1. The fire department for fire protection and training;
2. The water department for service and maintenance of system;
3. The cross-connection control specialist may make exceptions with the use of an approved backflow assembly. (Ord. 321 §7, 1997)
13A.20.150 Termination of water service--Property without structures--Requirements to reestablish service.
In the event of a termination of water service for any reason, as otherwise provided in this water code, after said service has been discontinued for twelve months, and neither a habitable residence nor serviceable commercial structure exists on the property served by the water service, the director shall disconnect the service line from the water main by closing the corpstop or utilizing other effective means to isolate the service line from the main. In those instances where the corpstop has been closed or the water service line otherwise isolated from the water main and a subsequent request for water service to the property is made to the town, said request shall be treated as a request for a new service and all usual and customary charges for a new service shall then be paid prior to the resumption of said new water service.
Each request for termination of water service shall be recorded in the abandoned waste service log kept in the town clerk’s office and a notation made in said log when the director closes the corpstop or otherwise isolates the unused water service line from the town’s water system. If a request for resumption of water service to the same property is made prior to the service being isolated from the water main, this event shall also be entered in said log to record disposition of the termination of service request. (Ord. 337 §2, 1999)