GENERALLY

Glendale City Code ch. 33, art. II, div. 1

in effect

Glendale City Code § 33-1 Definitions.

Sec. 33-1. - Definitions. When used in this Article, the following words, terms and phrases, shall have the meanings as provided in this Section: Approved: Accepted by the department as either meeting an applicable specification stated or cited in this chapter, or accepted as suitable for the proposed use. City: Refers to the City of Glendale, its employees or other authorized representatives performing certain governmental functions and duties. Contractor: A person licensed to do work in the State for or on behalf of another party to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, structure, project, development or improvement. The term "contractor" includes subcontractors, specialty contractors, developers, and speculative builders. Contamination: An impairment in the quality of water by sewage, industrial fluids, waste liquids, compounds or other material or fluids, to a degree which creates an actual or potential hazard to the public health, welfare or the environment. Customer: The person who has requested and been granted water and/or sewer or service by the City. A Customer may be the owner, operator, tenant, trustee, receiver, manager or occupant of the property connected to the City's water and/or sewer system. Customers shall be financially responsible for payment of water and/or sewer services provided to the premise. Customer account: The account set-up by the City in its billing system, that contains a customer's billing and payment history, name(s), mailing address and other identifying information collected by the City at the time water service is requested or initiated. Customer water supply system: The water distribution facilities within a Customer's premises commencing at the discharge point of the service connection. Deposit: Funds held by the City as security against potential non-payment by Customers for water and/or sewer services. Deposits shall not earn interest while held by the City and shall be refunded as provided in the administrative procedures adopted by the City consistent with this Article. Developer: The person who is responsible for the development of real property that creates a demand for water and/or sewer service. Development: Any improvement of real property which creates demand for domestic water. Notice: A written instrument served by the City. Service of a Notice shall be accomplished by: (1) U.S. regular mail to the last known address of the person to whom it is required to be given; or (2) Personal service upon the person or his/her lawful representative at his residence or place of business; or (3) Filing or recording with a clerk of the superior court or county recorder as provided by applicable law; or (4) Electronic mail to the last known email address provided by the Customer, if the Customer requested electronic notification as the preferred method when establishing his Customer Account. Owner-builder: A person who constructs improvements on the real property he/she owns within the City. Person: Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, association or other business or governmental entity, including the State, or any political subdivision of the State such as a municipality, or a tribal government or subdivision thereof. Premises: Any building, lot, parcel, real estate, or land or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips. Property owner: The person who, according to the title recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder's Officer, owns the real property to which water and/or sewer service is being provided by the City. Shall: The words "shall", "will," and "must" refer to mandatory actions. Structure: Each separate residence, house, store, building or any construction served by a separate water meter. Turn on fee: Refers to the fee assessed to a customer to establish a customer account and turn on the meter at the premise. Premise: Each structure, group of structures, portion of a structure or real property which is served by a separate water meter. User: The Customer as herein defined. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-2 Request to turn on water and/or sewer service at a service address.

Sec. 33-2. - Request to turn on water and/or sewer service at a service address. (a) Before the city turns on or provides any water or sewer service at an existing service address, the Customer must meet all applicable requirements of this Article and must provide the following information: (1) The name, service address, and telephone number of the Customer/applicant, driver's license number or other forms of identification acceptable to the City; (2) The mailing address of the Customer/applicant, if the mailing address is different from the service address; (3) The name, telephone number and/or address of the property owner or manager for the service address, if different from the Customer; (4) Such other information or documents as the City may deem necessary for billing and collection purposes may include social security or federal employer identification number. (b) Customer information is confidential and will not be released to any party other than the individual(s) listed on the account, unless authorized by the Customer or by applicable law or court order. (c) Any unpaid amounts owed on existing or prior account(s) in the Customer's name must be paid before service will be turned on by the City. Failure to pay any delinquent amount owing on a prior or existing account in the Customer's name may constitute grounds for the City to refuse to turn on the new service. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-3 Turn-on fee.

Sec. 33-3. - Turn-on fee. The City shall charge a turn-on fee for water and/or sewer service turned on at a service address. The turn on fee will be established in an amount set by resolution of the City Council. Such fee will be charged to the Customer Account and billed in the first billing and is nonrefundable. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-4 Deposits.

Sec. 33-4. - Deposits. (a) The City may adopt administrative procedures for determining when a Customer will be required to provide the City a deposit before water and/or sewer service will be turned on. These procedures may also set forth: (i) the amount of the deposit; (ii) how it will be collected; (iii) the criteria for any waiver; (iv) how the deposit will be applied to pay any delinquent amounts on Customer Accounts; and (v) the refund process. The Customer is not entitled to any interest earned on the deposit. The administrative procedures shall be posted on the City's website. (b) A separate deposit may be required for each meter. Unless the deposit is waived, the City will turn on service to the Customer's premise only after the applicable deposit(s) is (are) paid in full. (c) The City may reduce, waive, or increase up to five (5) times the deposit established by resolution of the City Council and contained in Appendix 1 to this Chapter based on the following factors: (1) The Customer's utilities account history; (2) The Customer's credit history; (3) Typical monthly bill for a similar service address; and (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-5 Miscellaneous customer service fees.

Sec. 33-5. - Miscellaneous customer service fees. (a) Customer service fees in the amount established by City Council resolution pursuant to Glendale City Code section 2-2 may be charged by the City for the following items: (1) Establishing new Customer Accounts; (2) Administration and collection of delinquent Customer Accounts; (3) Fees charged for non-payment due to insufficient Customer funds; (4) Costs incurred by the city for conducting meter field tests, meter bench tests, field visits or inspections; (5) Costs to repair or replace broken meter locks or tampered meters; (6) Prohibited water use fines during a Stage Three Drought Declaration or Stage Four Drought Emergency; (7) Late charges or penalties; or (8) Any other fee or charge the city council deems appropriate. (b) All rates, charges and fees for water, sewer, flood irrigation and other services the City will impose pursuant to this Chapter are identified in the Table entitled "Water, Sewer And Flood Irrigation Services Rate Schedules; and Miscellaneous Customer Service Fees" which is appended to this Chapter as Appendix 1. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-6 Sales tax.

Sec. 33-6. - Sales tax. Privilege license (sales) tax shall be added to each bill for water service at the current tax rate provided by the applicable state and City tax codes. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-7 Notification to water and sewer customers.

Sec. 33-7. - Notification to water and sewer customers. (a) All notices regarding any matter pertaining to the use of the City water and/or sewer services shall be sent to the Customer's service address unless an alternate mailing address has been provided to and is on file with the City. Alternate mailing addresses may be provided when the Customer makes the request to have the service turned on and should include the Customer's email address for the delivery of billing and other pertinent notifications. To ensure proper delivery of bills and notices, the Customer must report all changes of address and all errors in billing or mailing information to the City within ten (10) business days. (b) All Customers shall be notified at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the sewer user charge rate associated with wastewater flow. The flow rates are based upon the Customer's water usage as billed each January, February and March as calculated in Section 33-173. This is the winter use average. Once the Customer is presented a bill with the annually adjusted sewer charge, the Customer has ninety (90) days to file an appeal with the City for reconsideration of the calculated winter use average, as defined in the City's administrative procedures. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-8 Meter reading and billing.

Sec. 33-8. - Meter reading and billing. The City will read meters and calculate charges due for water and/or sewer services at regular intervals. All such charges and associated taxes shall be billed monthly. Services billed outside of the normal billing intervals may be pro-rated, using the minimum or base monthly charges for a standard (30) thirty-day month. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-9 Due date; penalty for late payment.

Sec. 33-9. - Due date; penalty for late payment. (a) All charges for water and/or sewer and/or solid waste services shall become due and payable when a bill is created by the City. (b) It is the responsibility of the Customer to pay all charges in full and on a timely basis. (c) All charges for water and/or sewer and/or solid waste services shall become delinquent if payment is not received by the City within nineteen (19) calendar days of the date the bill was created by the City. (d) Failure to pay all charges for water, sewer or solid waste services in accordance with this Section may subject a Customer to: (1) An increase in the amount required as a deposit for the Customer's account with the City, as provided in Section 33-4; and (2) A late fee, as provided in Section 33-5; and (3) Any other penalty for late payment provided in this Chapter or available under any applicable law, including, but not limited to, termination of service in accordance with Section 33-11. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-10 Adjustments of water and/or sewer charges and fees.

Sec. 33-10. - Adjustments of water and/or sewer charges and fees. The City may establish policies and procedures for adjusting charges and/or fees on a Customer's Account that occurred or may occur as a result of errors, omissions, unusual usage or other extraordinary circumstances. (a) The City may make an adjustment to the amount billed and may recover, credit or refund the difference between the original billing and the corrected billing, when an error, omission, usage discrepancy or other extraordinary circumstance has occurred. Such adjustment will rely on any relevant and credible data, including historical usage data, to determine if an error, omission, usage discrepancy or extraordinary circumstance has occurred and to calculate the applicable adjustment. (b) A Customer who disputes the accuracy of a water and/or sewer charge on a closed Customer Account must present a written complaint or request for adjustment to the City no later than sixty (60) days after the final bill has been issued. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-11 Remedies for delinquent accounts; termination of water or sewer service for non-payment.

Sec. 33-11. - Remedies for delinquent accounts; termination of water or sewer service for non-payment. (a) If all charges due for water and/or sewer service(s) are not paid in full before a bill becomes delinquent in accordance with Section 33-9, the City may terminate service at the service address for which payment is delinquent. Service shall not be terminated until the City sends the Customer written notice and gives the customer an opportunity to cure the delinquency by paying all outstanding past due amounts in full. (b) If the Customer fails to cure the delinquency within the time specified in such notice, the City may terminate water and/or sewer service by disconnecting the service without further notice on or after the date stated in the termination notice. The Customer will be responsible for and will be charged any costs incurred by the City to terminate the delinquent service. (c) Once service is disconnected, a delinquent account fee may be charged to the Customer's Account in addition to any costs associated with the termination of service. The City may use all or any part of the deposit provided by the Customer pursuant to Section 33-4 to pay the delinquent charges. (d) The Customer is required to pay all amounts owed to the City and may be required to provide a new or increased deposit as provided in Section 33-4, before water and/or sewer service is restored to the service address. (e) Notwithstanding the requirement to pay all amounts owed to the City before service is restored in subsection (d) above, the City may establish and implement policies and procedures which allow for deferring, reducing or waiving, in whole or in part, any water and/or sewer charges and fees on a case by case basis. The City may also agree to accept alternate payment arrangements, on a case by case basis. The establishment and implementation of such City policies and granting any such accommodation will occur in the City's sole discretion and is not subject to appeal or challenge. (f) A Customer may dispute any charges billed to an existing, active Customer Account by submitting the dispute in writing to the City within twenty (20) days of the date the Customer's Account becomes delinquent. After review, the City may resolve the dispute or make a further demand for some or all of the delinquent water and/or sewer charges and fees. If City and the Customer are unable to resolve the dispute informally, the Customer may request a formal hearing be held. The City shall set the date of the hearing within twenty (20) calendar days from the date of the Customer's request for a hearing. (g) The hearing need not be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure or Rules of Evidence. Both parties may present relevant and credible evidence at the hearing, including oral testimony or written documentation. (h) A written report containing any findings and recommendations will be issued within two (2) weeks of the conclusion of the hearing. The City Manager or his/her designee shall review the report and make a final decision regarding the delinquency of the charges and fees and any request for a reduction, deferment or waiver within thirty (30) days of receipt. The decision of the City Manager or his/her designee is final and may not be appealed. (i) The hearing is open to the public, unless the Customer requests it be held in private. (j) Customers who have filed a written dispute with the City shall not be required to pay the delinquent amount in dispute or be subject to disconnection for nonpayment until a final determination is made by the City Manager or his/her designee. (k) Once there is a final decision, any amount determined to be due and owing must be paid in full by the Customer within ten (10) days of the issuance of the decision, unless other payment arrangements have been made with the City as provided in subsection (e) above. In the event the Customer does not make such payment in a timely fashion, the City may terminate the service(s) without further notice to the Customer. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-12 Resumption of city service.

Sec. 33-12. - Resumption of city service. (a) Once any delinquent charges and fees have been paid in full or the City has agreed to an alternative arrangement in accordance with Section 33-11, the City shall turn the water and/or sewer service back on, unless good cause (e.g., broken or leaking pipes) exists to refuse to resume the service. (b) The City may require a business or commercial customer to pay any outstanding balances or delinquent amounts owed for the service address even if the Customer requesting the resumption of service did not occupy the property when the debt was incurred or prior service was provided. (c) Nothing in this subsection is intended to deny service to a residential Customer who did not physically reside at the service address at the time the Customer Account became delinquent or to condition the resumption of water or sewer service on payment of charges and fees for services provided to prior, unrelated occupants, tenants or owners of residential properties. (d) In addition to the charges and fees due and payable to the City as required by this chapter for turning on water and/or sewer service, the following charges and fees, may also be required to be paid by a Customer for a resumption of service: (1) Labor and materials to install pipes or other equipment to connect the service address with the City sewer mains, or for tapping the City sewer system; (2) Labor and materials to repair, replace or upgrade the service connection so that the service address can be served in a safe and sanitary manner; (3) Any fine or penalty; (4) Any charges associated with cutting, blocking or otherwise discontinuing sewer service. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-13 City's remedies for unpaid charges and fees.

Sec. 33-13. - City's remedies for unpaid charges and fees. (a) Once the dispute resolution procedures contained in Section 33-11 have been exhausted or a Customer Account has been closed, any debts remaining after applying amounts provided as a deposit may be assigned by the city to a bona fide collection agency for collection. The Customer shall be responsible for all costs incurred by the City in collecting those delinquent funds pursuant to Glendale City Code, section 2-4, collection charges. (b) Lien for unpaid charges. (1) Once the procedures contained in Section 33-11 have been exhausted or a Customer Account has been closed, the City may elect to file a lien on the real property, lot or tract of land that received or benefited from the City's water and/or sewer service. The lien shall be filed in the amount of any debts remaining after applying amounts provided as a deposit. (2) Prior to filing such a lien, the City shall give notice to the property owner that the City intends to file a lien on the property unless all past charges due are paid within thirty (30) days. (3) If delinquent charges due are not paid within the (30) thirty-day grace period, the City shall prepare a "notice and claim of lien" and shall file one (1) copy with the county recorder. The City shall then promptly send, by certified mail return receipt requested, a copy to the property owner at his/her last known mailing address, and shall send a copy to the Customer to the address or the alternate mailing address on the Customer Account. The "notice and claim of lien" shall contain the following: a. A legal description of the property. b. The name of the customer or property owner. c. The amount owed, including; and d. The cost of preparing, processing and releasing the lien, which shall be added to the amount then due. (4) The lien shall attach and remain in effect on the property until all amounts owed are paid in full. The lien may be satisfied upon judgment of foreclosure and order of sale. The City shall have the right to bring an action to enforce the lien in Maricopa County Superior Court. (5) A prior recording for the purposes provided in this Section shall not be a bar to a subsequent recording of a lien for such purposes, and any number of such liens on the same premise may be enforced in the same action. (c) Delinquent service charges may also be collected by a civil suit, instituted in the name of the City, at any time after the charges become delinquent. (d) The remedies provided by this Section shall be cumulative and supplemental to all other remedies provided under this Article or applicable law, notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-14 Voluntary utility billing donation program.

Sec. 33-14. - Voluntary utility billing donation program. (a) The City hereby establishes a voluntary utility billing donation program to allow users of City services to make voluntary donation of funds to human services programs serving the community. All persons receiving bills for services from the City under the provisions of chapters 18 and 33 of this Code are be eligible to participate in the voluntary utility billing donation program. Donations may be made by Customers paying additional amounts beyond the charges due to the City for their water and/or sewer fees and charges. (b) The City shall determine the form of the donation program. The amount of any donation added to a customer's bill, if any, shall not exceed two dollars ($2.00) per month. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-15 Reserved.

Glendale City Code § 33-16 Unlawful utility activities.

Sec. 33-16. - Unlawful utility activities. No person shall, in any way, interfere with representatives of the City in any discharge of their duties under this chapter. Interference may include, but is not limited to, the tapping of any water or sewer pipe, main, or lateral belonging to the City, or the cleaning, laying or connecting of any sewer pipe, main or lateral, digging up or cause to be dug up, any street or alley in the City for the purpose of connecting with the water or sewer systems of the City without first obtaining a permit from the City, failing or neglecting to place the street or alley in its original condition, or maliciously or willfully breaking, damaging, destroying, uncovering, defacing, or tampering with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is a part of the municipal water or sewer systems. Any person who interferes with any representative of the City in the discharge of his/her duties under this Article of the City Code shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Glendale City Code § 33-17 Definitions.

Sec. 33-17. - Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Auxiliary water supply: Any water supply on, or available to, premises, other than the potable water supplied by the City of Glendale. These auxiliary waters may include, but shall not be limited to, water from another purveyor's public potable water supply or any natural sources such as a well, spring, river, stream, harbor, or treated effluent, waste waters or industrial fluids. These waters may be polluted or contaminated or may be objectionable and constitute an unacceptable water source over which the department does not have sanitary control. Backflow: The reversal of the normal flow of water caused by either backpressure or back-siphonage. Backpressure: Any elevation of pressure in a Customer's water supply system, above the pressure of the public potable water supply system, which could cause water or other liquids, mixtures or substances to flow from a Customer's water supply system into the distribution system of the public potable water supply system. Back-siphonage: A reversal of the normal flow of water caused by a reduction of pressure in the potable water supply system which causes the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances from a Customer's water supply system into the distribution system of the public potable water supply system. Cross-connection: Any physical connection or other arrangement of piping or fixtures, between a piping system containing potable water and a piping system containing non-potable water, waste fluids, industrial fluids or other fluids of questionable safety for human consumption, through which, or because of which, backflow may occur into the public potable water system. Cross-connections include any temporary connections such as swing connections, removable sections, four-way plug valves, spools, dummy sections of pipe, swivel or change-over devices or sliding multiport tube. Distribution system: The network of conduits used to deliver potable water from the source facilities to the customer's water supply system. Domestic water: Water supplied through the pipes of the water system of the city. Emergency fire sprinkler tap: A water tap maintained by the owner or occupant of a building or other structure to be used in the event of a fire or other emergency, and not used in the normal course of use and occupancy of the building or structure; provided that no water meter is installed on such tap. Flood irrigation system: Irrigation system consisting of pipes, gates, laterals, valves, and berms constructed for the purpose of conveying water to private property or public places. Flood irrigation water: Water supplied to or through a flood irrigation system. Hazard, degree of: Evaluation of the potential risk to the public health and the adverse effect of the hazard upon the public potable water system. House under construction: When water service is available to such house or building and shall end when final building inspection is made at the end of a (3) three-month construction period. Industrial fluid system: Any system containing a fluid or solution which is chemically, biologically or otherwise contaminated or polluted in a form or concentration such as would constitute an actual or potential threat or hazard to human health or welfare, the environment, the City's municipal water system, or a Customer's plumbing system or property if introduced into the public potable water system. This may include, but shall not be limited to, polluted or contaminated waters; all types of process waters, waste waters and used waters originating from the public potable water system which may have deteriorated in sanitary quality; chemicals in fluid form; plating acids and alkalines, circulating cooling waters connected to an open cooling tower and/or cooling towers that are chemically or biologically treated or stabilized with toxic substances; contaminated natural waters such as from wells, springs, streams, rivers, bays, harbors, seas, irrigation canals or systems, or oils, gases, glycerin, paraffins, caustic and acid solutions and other liquid and gaseous fluids used in industrial or other purposes or for fire-fighting purposes. Non-potable water: Water which is not safe for human consumption or which is of questionable quality for human consumption. Potable water: Any water which is safe for human consumption pursuant to the standards set by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Public potable water supply system: The source facilities and the distribution system under control of the city to the point where a Customer's water supply system commences. A Customer's water supply system commences at the discharge point of the service connection. Service connection: The terminal end of a service line from the public potable water system at its point of delivery to the Customer's water system where the department loses jurisdiction and sanitary control over the water. If a meter is installed between the Customer's water supply system and the public potable water system, the service connection shall be the discharge end of the meter. Service connections shall also include a water connection from a fire hydrant and any other temporary or emergency water connections with the public potable water supply system. Source facilities: All components and facilities utilized in the production, treatment, storage and delivery of potable water to the distribution system. Used water: Any water supplied by the department, from the public potable water system to a Customer's water system, after it has passed through the service connection and is no longer under the sanitary control of the department. Water meter: A City-owned device used for measuring and registering at point of delivery the water that flows from the City's service lines to the Customer's premise. Water service area: All area wherein the City has the right to supply domestic water. (Ord. No. 3003, § 1(Exh. A), 9-27-16)

Source: City of Glendale, Arizona, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/az/glendale/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH33WASESEDI_ARTIIWA_DIV1GEFetched: 11/1/2026