§ 39-94. Water conservation measures.
Upon a determination by the city manager of the existence of the following conditions, the city manager shall take the following actions that shall apply to any person whose water supply is furnished from the city water system:
(a)
Stage 1: When moderate but limited supplies of water are available, the city manager shall, through appropriate means, call upon the general population to employ prudent restraint in water usage, and to conserve water voluntarily by whatever methods available.
(b)
Stage 2: When very limited supplies of water are available, the city manager shall order curtailment of less essential usages of water, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following:
(1)
The watering of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, plants, or any other vegetation, except indoor plantings, greenhouse or nursery stocks and except limited watering for new lawns and watering by commercial nurseries of freshly planted plants upon planting and once a week for five weeks following planting. Athletic fields are also exempt but shall only be watered to match the evaporation-transpiration rate. In all cases where the above exceptions apply, the watering is not to occur between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Watering with buckets that have a capacity of five or fewer gallons is permitted at any time.
(2)
The washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, buses, airplanes, or any other type of mobile equipment, except in facilities operating with a water recycling system. The facility shall post a notice in public view that a recycling system is in operation. Exceptions are for tractor trucks, refuse trucks, septage haulers and city buses. Other exceptions must be approved by the director of utilities or a designee and be demonstrated to be necessary for health and safety purposes.
(3)
The washing of sidewalks, streets, driveways, parking lots, service stations aprons, office buildings, exteriors of homes or apartments, or other outdoor surfaces, unless the use is approved by the director of utilities for health and safety.
(4)
The operation of any ornamental fountain or other structure making a similar use of water.
(5)
The use of water from fire hydrants for any purpose other than fire suppression unless the use has been approved by the director of utilities.
(6)
Water service lines from the meter box to the home or structure shall be maintained and have no visible leaks.
(7)
Restaurants may serve water to customers only upon request.
(c)
Stage 3: When critically limited supplies of water are available, the city manager shall institute a water surcharge on each residential and commercial customer as follows:
The maximum allowable water use at the prevailing city rate will be the average water billed in November through April of the previous year. The actual water use will be recorded for each month and the sum divided by the number of months. The result is the allowable water use in hcf. The result will be rounded down to the nearest whole hcf. This is the maximum amount of water use that will be allowed at the prevailing rate in hcf and is termed the base amount. Use of water over this amount is subject to a surcharge of 25 percent up to 100 percent. The surcharge is calculated by subtracting the base amount from the actual water use and the remaining hcf is multiplied by the prevailing water rate multiplied by as an example 1.25. The total water portion of the bill is the base amount times the prevailing rate, the amount in excess of the base amount at the surcharge rate plus other applicable fees. For accounts less then one year old the base amount is fixed at 11 hcf. Failure to pay the full amount of the bill, when due, can result in water service termination. A $50.00 charge will be collected prior to service reconnection.
(d)
Stage 4: When crucially limited supplies of water are available, the city manager shall restrict the use of water to purposes which are absolutely essential to life, health and safety.
(Ord. No. O-02-175, 9-24-02)
(Ord. No. O-02-175, 9-24-02)