Sec. 34-5.02. - Other reinstatement charges.
Additionally, under certain special conditions or events, the procedures and charges relative to reinstatement of water service are as follows:
(a) If a customer, whose service has been discontinued in accordance with division 4 is found to have reinstated his water service at the curb stop without approval of the system, the customer's meter shall be removed to preclude illegal reinstatement of service by the customer, and a fee shall be added to the customer's account in the amount of one hundred thirty-four dollars ($134.00) to recover the cost of removal of the illegal service connection.
Additionally, a fee shall be added to the customer's account in the amount of four hundred and fifty-seven dollars ($457.00) to recover the cost of capping the customer's service line.
As a condition for service reinstatement, after removal of an illegal service connection or after a meter has been found to be damaged or illegally removed, one of the following fees shall also be assessed a customer's account to replace the damaged or illegally removed meter depending on the size and type of meter as listed below:
Meter Size | Mechanical Meter | Connect H2O Meter
⅝" | $97.00 | $156.00
¾" | $118.00 | $160.00
1" | $149.00 | $213.00
1.5" | $303.00 | $492.00
2" | $463.00 | $625.00
If the customer is found to have tampered or damaged an associated Connect H2O Meter, the associated valve, the associated lock, or the plug installed to cap the associated service line, one or more of the following charges shall be added to the customer's account depending on the piece of equipment damaged:
Connect H2O Meter tampering fee .....$58.00
Valve tampering fee .....$77.00
Lock tampering fee .....$61.00
Plug tampering fee .....$74.00
(b) In addition, the customer shall be charged the cost of the estimated amount of water used between the time the customer's service was disconnected for non-payment and the time the customer's illegal straight connection was discovered. For a residential customer, the charge for the water used will be calculated using the winter average (see section 34-226.1) for all SAWS residential customers. For a general class customer, the charge for water used will be calculated using the appropriate average monthly consumption amount by meter size listed in the table of average monthly consumptions by general class sub-classification a meter size established by SAWS and updated on an annual basis as defined in section 34-2.01.
(c) Full payment of all charges incurred under the terms of section 34-3.01, paragraphs (a) and (b) above must be made prior to the reinstatement of service.
(d) If a customer presents a check or other negotiable instrument in payment of service fees that is not honored by the bank or other financial institution upon which the check or other negotiable instrument is drawn, a service charge of thirty dollars ($30.00) shall be added to the amount due the system by the customer; provided, however, that if the instrument is returned by the financial institution because of error on its part, the service charge will not be added.
(e) All fee amounts listed in section 34-3.01, paragraphs (a) and (b) above are effective January 1, 2025. The fee amounts shall be adjusted on January 1 of each year thereafter by the percentage difference (greater than zero (0)) between the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as it is calculated by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics at the end of the month of July prior to the next year and as it was calculated at the end of the month of July one (1) year earlier, and subsequently rounded to the nearest dollar. SAWS will periodically perform a cost of service analysis to ensure that the fees charged do not exceed the cost of providing the services.
(Ord. No. 80330, § 1, 6-16-94; Ord. No. 101685, § 3(Att. I), 11-17-05; Ord. No. 2011-12-08-1004, § 2(Exh. L), 12-8-11; Ord. No. 2017-12-07-0928, § 3(Att. II), 12-7-17; Res. No. 18-262, 11-13-18; Res. No. 19-280, 7(Att. V), 11-5-19; Ord. No. 2022-11-10-0867, § 2(Att. II), 11-10-22; Res. No. 2023-198, 10-3-23; Res. No. 2024-227, § 7(Att. IV), 11-5-24)
