§ 38-63. Disconnection and discontinuance of utility service

(a) Applicability. All customers and qualified service applicants of the city's utility systems, including those customers and qualified service applicants located inside and outside the corporate limits of the city, are subject to this section.

(b) Disconnection at the customer's request. Upon receipt of a written request from a customer to terminate service at the customer's service location, the city shall terminate service on or before the third day the customer requests termination. No additional notice of termination or discontinuance of notice is required. The city shall refund the customer's utility deposit to the customer if the customer discontinues service and pays all outstanding utility service bills. The city may apply the customer's utility deposit to the customer's unpaid utility account balance before the city refunds the balance of the deposit to the customer.

(c) Disconnection with notice. Any utility service may be disconnected for any of the following reasons after written notice of disconnection has been provided to the customer. Unless specific notice deadlines are otherwise provided by this chapter, service will be disconnected after the fifth day after written notice has been mailed, hand delivered, or posted in a place of common entry or upon the front door of the residential or commercial unit to be disconnected:

(1) Returned checks. In the event a check, draft, or any other similar instrument is given by a person to the city for payment of services provided for in this chapter, and the instrument is returned by the bank or other similar institution as insufficient or nonnegotiable for any reason, the city shall mail, via the U.S. Postal Service, a notice requiring redemption of the returned instrument within ten days of the date of the notice to be made in the city office. Redemption of the returned instrument shall be made by cash, money order, or certified check. The city shall disconnect service for failure to meet these terms. The customer whose instruments have been returned as insufficient or nonnegotiable for any reason for any two billing periods within a 12- month period shall be considered a bad credit risk by the city and the customer will be required to provide a utility deposit in the amount as set out in section 38-96, and shall be placed on a cash-only basis for a period of 12 months. The term "cash-only" means certified check, money order or cash.

(2) Failure to pay a delinquent account for utility service or failure to comply with the terms of a deferred payment agreement.

(3) Violation of the city's ordinances pertaining to the use of service in a manner which interferes with the service of others or the operation of nonstandard equipment and the customer has failed to remedy the problem within the time period provided in the notice.

(4) Failure of the customer to comply with the terms of the city's service agreement, ordinances relating to utility service, or special contract provided that the city has given notice of such failure to comply, as may be required, and customer has failed to comply with a specified amount of time after notification.

(5) Failure to provide access to the meter under the terms of this chapter or to property at which service is received when there is reason to believe that a hazardous condition or policy violation exists for which access is necessary to verify.

(6) Misrepresentation by any applicant or customer of any fact on any form, document, or other agreement required to be executed by the city.

(7) Failure of customer to meet requirements of the regulatory authority for construction or maintenance of on-site sewage facilities as authorized by the V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 366.

(8) Failure of customer to reapply for service upon notification by the city that customer no longer meets the terms of the service classification originally applied for under the original service application.

(9) Failure of customer to comply with the following drought contingency plan requirements:

a. During stage 2, moderate water shortage conditions, the following restrictions apply:

1. Mandatory lawn watering schedule. Customers with odd number street addresses may water with sprinklers or other means on Wednesday and Saturday between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight only. Customers with even number street addresses may water with sprinklers or other means on Thursday and Sunday between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight only. Irrigation of landscape is permitted at any time with a handheld hose or a faucet-filled bucket or water can of five gallons or less.

2. Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle is prohibited except on designated outdoor water use days between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. Such washing, when allowed, shall be done with a handheld bucket or a handheld hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle. Vehicle washing may be done at any time on the immediate premises of a commercial car wash or commercial service station. Further, such washing may be exempted from these regulations if the health, safety, and welfare of the public is contingent upon frequent vehicle cleansing, such as garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and perishables.

3. Use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools or jacuzzi-type pools is prohibited except on designated outdoor water use days between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8: 00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight.

4. Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.

5. Use of water from hydrants shall be limited to fire fighting, related activities, or other activities necessary to maintain public health, safety, and welfare, except that use of water from designated fire hydrants for construction purposes may be allowed under special permit from the city.

6. Use of water for the irrigation of golf course greens, tees, and fairways is prohibited except on designated outdoor water use days between the hours 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight. However, if the golf course utilizes a water source other than that provided by the city, the facility shall not be subject to these regulations.

7. All restaurants are prohibited from serving water to patrons except upon request of the patron.

8. The following uses of water are defined as nonessential and are prohibited:

(i) Wash down of any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts or other hard-surfaced areas;

(ii) Use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection;

(iii) Use of water for dust control;

(iv) Flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street; and

(v) Failure to repair a controllable leak within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak.

b. During stage 3, severe water shortage conditions, the following restrictions apply:

1. All requirements of stage 2 shall remain in effect during stage 3 except as modified by subsections (c)(9)b.2, 3 and 4 of this section.

2. Watering of landscaped areas is prohibited except with a handheld hose or a faucet-filled bucket or watering can of five gallons or less. Customers with odd-numbered street addresses may water on Wednesday and Saturday between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight only. Customers with even-numbered street addresses may water on Thursday and Sunday between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 10:00 a.m. and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight only. The use of hose-end sprinklers, soaker hoses, drip irrigation systems and/or sprinkler systems of any type is prohibited at all times.

3. No new landscapes may be installed.

4. The watering of golf course tees is prohibited unless the golf course utilizes effluent from wastewater treatment.

c. During stage 4, critical water shortage conditions, the following restrictions apply:

1. All requirements of stage 2 and 3 shall remain in effect during stage 4, except as modified by subsections (c)(9)c.2 through c.5 of this section.

2. Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle not occurring on the premises of a commercial car wash and commercial service stations and not in the immediate interest of public health, safety, and welfare is prohibited. Further, such vehicle washing at commercial car washes and commercial service stations shall occur only between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m.

3. The filling, refilling, or adding of water to swimming pools, wading pools and jacuzzi-type pools is prohibited.

4. Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.

5. The watering of landscaped areas is totally and absolutely prohibited.

(d) Disconnection without notice.

(1) Utility service may be disconnected without notice for any of the following conditions:

a. A known dangerous or hazardous condition exists for which service may remain disconnected for as long as the condition exists, including but not limited to a violation of the V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 341 or the public drinking water rules and regulations of the TCEQ, or there is reason to believe a dangerous or hazardous condition exists and the customer refuses to allow access for the purpose of confirming the existence of such condition and/or removing the dangerous or hazardous condition.

b. Failure to comply with the city's cross connection prevention requirements in this chapter.

c. Service is connected without authority by a person who has not made application for service or who has reconnected service without authority following termination of service for nonpayment;

d. In instances of tampering with the city's meter or equipment, including placing any object or device (such as a magnet or electrical or battery operated device) on or near the meter or the meter box that disrupts the meter's registration of flows, bypassing the meter or equipment, or other diversion or theft of service; or

e. In instances in which the service connection has been abandoned and is not longer in use.

(2) Where reasonable, given the nature of the reason for disconnection, a written statement providing notice for disconnection and the reason therefore shall be posted at the place of common entry or upon the front door of each affected residential unit as soon as possible after service has been disconnected.

(e) Disconnection prohibited. Utility service may not be disconnected for any of the following reasons:

(1) Failure of the customer to pay for merchandise or charges for nonutility service provided by the city, unless an agreement exists between the applicant and the city whereby the customer guarantees payment of nonutility service as a condition of service;

(2) Failure of the customer to pay for a different type or class of utility service unless a fee for such service is included in the same bill;

(3) Failure of the customer to pay charges arising from an underbilling occurring due to any misapplication of rates by the city more than four months prior to the current billing;

(4) Failure of the customer to pay the account of another customer as guarantor thereof, unless the city has in writing the guarantee as a condition precedent to service;

(5) Failure of the customer to pay charges arising from an underbilling due to any faulty metering, unless the meter has been tampered with or unless such underbilling charges are due to meter error;

(6) In response to a request for disconnection by an owner/customer of rental property where the renter is billed directly by the city as authorized by the owner, and the renter's account is not scheduled for disconnection under the requirements for disconnection of service in this chapter.

(f) Disconnection on holidays and weekends. Unless a dangerous condition exists or the customer requests disconnection, service shall not be disconnected on a day, or on a day preceding a day, when personnel of the city are not available to the public for the purpose of making collections and reconnecting service.

(g) Disconnection for ill and disabled. The city may not discontinue service for nonpayment to a delinquent residential customer permanently residing in an individually metered dwelling unit when that customer establishes that discontinuance of service will result in some person at that residence becoming seriously ill or more seriously ill if service is discontinued. Each time a customer seeks to avoid termination of service under this subsection, the customer must have the attending physician call or contact the city during regular business hours by the 16th day of the month. A written statement must be received by the city from the physician by the 26th day of the month to avoid termination of service. The prohibition against service termination shall last through the month following the receipt of the written statement from the physician or such lesser period as may be agreed upon by the city and customer's physician. The customer shall enter into a deferred payment agreement. Late penalties shall apply.

(h) Disconnection of master-metered services. When a bill for utility services is delinquent for a master-metered service complex (defined as a complex in which a single meter serves two or more residential dwelling units), the following shall apply:

(1) The city shall send a notice to the customer as required. This notice shall also inform the customer that notice of possible disconnection will be provided to the tenants of the service complex in six days if payment is not rendered before that time.

(2) At least six days after providing notice to the customer and at least four days prior to disconnection, the city shall post at least five notices in public areas of the service complex notifying the residents of the scheduled date for disconnection of service.

(3) The tenants may pay the city for any delinquent bill in behalf of the owner to avert disconnection or to reconnect service to the complex.

(i) Reestablishment of services after termination. The city shall reconnect service to a customer whose service has been disconnected under this section if the customer's account is current or the customer has otherwise entered into a deferred payment plan pursuant to this chapter and is current under that plan, all late fees, delinquent fees and utility deposits have been paid, and any hazardous or dangerous conditions have been corrected.

(j) City reserves right to discontinue without notice. The city hereby reserves the right to discontinue service at any time without notice to any and all customers when such discontinuance becomes necessary to repair the system, or any part of the system, to make connections or extensions to the system, to protect the integrity of the system, or to ensure the utility system does not contaminate drinking water or the environment.

(k) Review of discontinuance. Any customer whose service is discontinued under this section may request review of the city manager's decision. The request shall be made to the city manager, who shall place the request before the city council at the next possible city council meeting. The city manager may request additional information of the customer whose service has been discontinued. The city council may uphold the city manager's decision to discontinue service, or reinstate the service, after review of the request, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 592, art. IV, § 6, 10-23-2012)