The furnishing of water to customers by the city through its waterworks system shall be governed by the regulations set out in this article.

(Code 1990)

The city does not guarantee the delivery of water through any of its mains and connecting services at any time except only when its mains, pumping machinery, power service connection are in good working order, and the supply of water is sufficient for the usual demand of its consumers.

(Code 1990)

(a)   The owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purpose, situated within the city abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located public water mains, is hereby required at his or her own expense to make connection to such public water main.

(b)   Before any connection is made to the city’s water system an application must be made in writing to the city clerk by the owner of the premises, or his or her authorized representative, for a permit to make such connection. 

(Code 1990)

(a)   Any person, firm or corporation desiring a connection with the municipal water system shall apply in writing to the city clerk, on a form furnished by the city for that purpose, for a permit to make the connection.

(b)   The application shall:

(1)   Contain an exact description including street address of the property to be served;

(2)   State the size of tap required;

(3)   State the size and kind of service pipe to be used;

(4)   State the full name of the owner of the premises to be served;

(5)   State the purpose for which the water is to be used;

(6)   State any other pertinent information required by the city clerk;

(7)   Be signed by the owner or occupant of the premises to be served, or his or her authorized agent.

(c)   Each application for a connection permit shall be accompanied by payment of fees and/or costs specified in section 15-206.

(Code 1990)

All taps shall be given, street excavations made, corporation cocks inserted, pipes installed from main to curb, and the curb cock installed in a meter box to which the service pipe is to be connected by city employees only. 

(Code 1990)

The fee for connecting new meters to the City’s waterworks system shall be the rate required to fully reimburse the City’s actual cost of the specified meter and automatic meter reading appurtenances, plus the estimated hourly expense (at a rate of $25.00 per hour) for connection to the City’s waterworks system.

(Ord. 020-2020-175)

Check valves are required on all connections to steam boilers or on any other connection deemed necessary by the city.  Safety and relief valves shall be placed on all boilers or other steam apparatus connected with the water system where the steam pressure may be raised in excess of 40 pounds per square inch. 

(Code 1990)

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation, other than duly authorized persons to turn water on or off at the water meter or curb cock shut off, with a key or in any other manner. 

(Code 1990)

The governing body hereby establishes a program whose purpose is:

(a)   To protect the public water supply system from contamination due to cross connections;

(b)   To promote the elimination, containment, isolation or control of cross connections between the public water supply system and non-potable water systems, plumbing fixtures, and industrial process systems or other systems which introduce or may introduce contaminants into the public water system or the consumer’s water system, and;

(c)   Provide an effective means of enforcing cross connection protection through a program of inspection, education and technical assistance.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

No water service shall be installed or maintained to any premises where actual or potential cross connections to the public water supply system may exist unless such actual or potential cross connections are abated or controlled to the satisfaction of the city.  No connection shall be installed or maintained whereby an auxiliary water supply may enter a public water supply system either directly or indirectly.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

The cross connection control officer shall be responsible for effectively conducting and administering the city’s cross connection control program.  If, in the judgment of the cross connection control officer, cross connection protection is required through either piping modifications or installation of an approved backflow prevention device, due notice shall be given to the consumer who shall, within the time frame established by the cross connection control officer, comply with the notice by providing and installing the required protection at his or her own expense.  Failure, refusal, or inability on the part of the consumer to provide such protection shall constitute grounds for the discontinuance of water service to the premises until such protection has been provided. 

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   Agency:  The City of Hesston, Kansas.

(b)   Air Gap Separation:  The unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet supplying water to a tank, plumbing fixture or other device and the overflow level of the receptacle, and shall be at least double the diameter of the supply pipe measured vertically above the flood level rim of the vessel, but in no case less than one inch.

(c)   Approved Tester:  A person qualified to make inspections; to test and repair backflow prevention/cross connection control devices; and who is approved by the city.

(d)   Auxiliary Water Supply:  Any water source or system, other than the city’s, that may be available in the building or premises. This does not include other public water supply systems approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

(e)   Backflow:  The flow of other than the intended direction of any foreign liquids, gases, used water or substances into the public water supply distribution system.

(f)   Backflow Prevention Device:  Any device, method, or type of construction intended to prevent backflow into the public water supply system.

(g)   Consumer:  Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or agency or their authorized agent receiving water from the city.

(h)   Contamination:  An introduction of any sewage, process fluids, chemicals, wastes or any other substance that would be objectionable.  Contamination may be a threat to life or health, or may cause an aesthetic deterioration, color, taste or odor.

(i)    Cross Connection:  Any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which contains potable water of the public water supply system, and the second, water of unknown or questionable safety, or steam, gases, chemicals, or substances whereby there may be the backflow of the second system to the public water supply system.  No physical cross connection shall be permitted between a public water supply system and an auxiliary water supply system.

(j)    Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Devices:  Any device recognized by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and approved for use.  The following devices are recognized cross connection control and backflow prevention devices:

(1)   Air Gap:  Considered to be a cross connection control device as the result of unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet supplying water to a tank, plumbing fixture or other device and the overflow level rim of the receptacle. The gap must be two pipe diameters but in no instance less than one inch.

(2)   Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Preventer:  A device containing two specifically designed, soft-seated, independently acting check valves with a reduced pressure zone (with relief valve) between the two checks and with shut-off valves before and after the device.

(3)   Double Check Valve Assembly:  A device containing two soft-seated independently acting check valves in series with shut-off valves before and after the device.

(4)   Pressure Vacuum Breaker:  A device which must be installed a minimum of 12 inches above the highest point of usage.  This device is not designed for use under constant pressure.  A shut-off valve must be located ahead of the vacuum breaker device.

(k)   Degree of Hazard:  An evaluation of the potential risk to public health and the adverse effect of the hazardous upon anyone using the water.

(l)    Health Hazard:  Any condition, device, or practice in the public water supply system which could create or may create a danger to the health and well- being of anyone using the water or allowing contamination of the water.

(m)  Individual Water Supplies:  Any water supply other than the public water supply which is operated on a private basis outside the control or authorization of the city.  Individual water supplies include irrigation wells, cisterns, storage tanks, and various other privately owned or operated systems.

(n)   Public Water System:  The water supply source distribution system and appurtenances to the service meter operated by a public utility which supplies potable water to the consumers’ water systems.

(o)   Public Water Supply System:  The public water system and consumer’s water system.

(p)   Service Connection:  the terminal end of the service line from the public water system.  If a meter is installed at the end of the service, the service connection means the downstream end of the meter.

(q)   Water System-Consumer’s:  All service pipe, all distribution piping and all appurtenances beyond the service meter of the public water system.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

The consumer’s premises shall be open at all reasonable times to the city or its authorized representative, or the conduction of surveys and inspections of water use practices within the consumer’s premises to determine whether there are actual or potential cross connections in the consumer’s water system.  On request by the city, the consumer shall furnish requested information on water use practices within his or her premises and in the consumer’s water system.  The consumer shall, at the request of the city, conduct periodic surveys of water use practices on the premises of the consumer’s water system to determine whether there are actual or potential cross control connections.  The consumer shall, upon request of the city, provide the results of the survey to the city. 

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   An approved backflow prevention device shall be installed on each service line to a consumer’s water system servicing premises where, in the judgment of the city or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, actual or potential cross connections exist.  The type and degree of protection required shall be commensurate with the degree of hazard and/or type of contamination that may enter the public water supply system.

(b)   An approved air gap separation or reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device shall be installed at the service connection or within any premises where, in the judgment of the city or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the nature and extent of activities on the premises, or the materials used in connection with the activities, or materials stored on the premises, would present a health hazard or contamination of the public water supply system from cross connection. This includes, but is not limited to the following situations:

(1)   Premises having an auxiliary water supply, unless the quality of the auxiliary supply is acceptable to and authorized by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment;

(2)   Premises having internal plumbing arrangements which make it impractical to ascertain whether or not cross connections exist;

(3)   Premises where entry is restricted so that inspection for cross connections cannot be made with sufficient frequency or on sufficiently short notice to assure that cross connections do not exist;

(4)   Premises having a repeated history of cross connections being established or re-established;

(5)   Premises, which due to the nature of the enterprise therein, are subject to recurring modification or expansion;

(6)   Premises on which any substance is handled under pressure so as to permit entry into the public water supply system, or where a cross connection cold reasonably be expected to occur.  This shall include the handling of process waters and cooling waters;

(7)   Premises where toxic or hazardous materials are handled.

(c)   The following types of facilities fall into one or more of the categories or premises where an approved air gap separation or reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device may be required by the city or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to protect the public water supply and must be installed at these facilities unless all hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions have been eliminated or corrected by other methods to the satisfaction of the city or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment:

(1)   Agricultural chemical facilities;

(2)   Auxiliary water supply systems wells;

(3)   Boilers;

(4)   Bulk water loading facilities;

(5)   Car washing facilities;

(6)   Chemical manufacturing, processing, compounding or treatment plants;

(7)   Chill water systems;

(8)   Cooling towers;

(9)   Feedlots;

(10) Fire protection systems;

(11) Hazardous waste storage and disposal sites;

(12) Hospitals, mortuaries, clinics or others as discovered by sanitary surveys;

(13) Irrigation and sprinkler systems;

(14) Laundries and dirty cleaning facilities;

(15) Meat processing facilities;

(16) Metal manufacturing, cleaning, processing and fabrication plants;

(17) Metal manufacturing, cleaning, processing and fabrication plants;

(18) Oil and gas production, refining, storage or transmission properties;

(19) Plating plants;

(20) Power plants;

(21) Research and analytical laboratories;

(22) Sewage and storm drainage facilities - pumping substation and treatment plants;

(23) Veterinary clinics.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   An approved pressure vacuum breaker or reduced pressure principle backflow preventor shall be installed on all new law irrigation sprinkler systems.

(b)   All lawn sprinkler systems that have no backflow protection shall be so protected within 90 days from the date of the enactment of this section or prior to usage, whichever is later.

(c)   All lawn sprinkler systems with improper backflow protection shall be retrofitted with proper protection at the time any repairs, changes or improvements are made to the system.

(Ord. 110-1991-055; Sec. 1)

(a)   Any backflow prevention device required by this section shall be a model or construction approved by the city or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

(1)   Air gap separation to be approved shall be at least twice the diameter of the supply pipe, measured vertically above the top rim of the vessel, but in no case less than one inch.

(2)   Double check valve assemblies or reduced pressure principle backflow prevention devices to be authorized for use must appear on the current list of approved backflow prevention devices established by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, unless the device was installed at the time this article was passed and provided such device complies with the required inspection and maintenance.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   Backflow prevention devices required by this section shall be installed at a location and in a manner approved by the city.  All devices shall be installed at the expense of the consumer, unless the city agrees otherwise, and must comply with all standards and applications as provided in the most current addition of the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Conference of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.

(b)   Backflow prevention devices installed at the service connection shall be located on the consumer’s side of the water meter, as close to the meter as is reasonably practical, and prior to any connection.

(c)   Backflow prevention devices shall be conveniently accessible for maintenance and testing, protected from freezing, and where no part of the device will be submerged or subject to flooding by any fluid.  All devices shall be installed according to manufacturers’ recommendations.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   The consumer is required by this section to inspect, test, and overhaul backflow prevention devices in accordance with the following schedule or more often as determined by the city.

(1)   Air gap separations shall be inspected at the time of installation and at least monthly.

(2)   Double check valve assemblies shall be inspected and tested for tightness at the time of installation and at least every 12 months thereafter.  They shall be dismantled, inspected internally, cleared, and repaired whenever needed and/or testing reports failure.

(3)   Reduced pressure principle backflow prevention devices shall be inspected and tested for tightness at the time of inspection and at least every 12 months thereafter.  They shall be dismantled, inspected internally, cleaned, and repaired whenever needed and/or testing reports failure.

(b)   Inspections, tests and overhauls of backflow prevention devices shall be made at the expense of the consumer and shall be performed by an approved tester.

(c)   Whenever backflow prevention devices required by this policy are found to be defective, they shall be repaired or replaced without delay at the expense of the consumer.

(d)   The consumer must maintain a complete record of each backflow prevention device from purchase to retirement.  This shall include a comprehensive listing that includes a record of all tests, inspections, and repairs.  All records of inspections, tests, repairs, and overhauls shall be provided within 30 days to the city.

(e)   All backflow prevention devices shall have a tag showing the date of the last inspection, test, overhaul or other maintenance.

(f)   Backflow prevention devices shall not be bypassed, made inoperative, removed, or otherwise made ineffective without specific authorization by the city.

(Ord. 110-2004-067, Sec. 1; Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1; Code 2007)

(a)   The city may deny or discontinue the water service to any premises or any consumer wherein any backflow prevention device required by this policy is not installed, tested, and maintained in a manner acceptable to the city, or if it is found that the backflow prevention device has been removed or bypassed, or if an unprotected cross connection exists.

(b)   Water service to such premises shall not be restored until the consumer is in compliance with this cross connection ordinance to the satisfaction of the city.

(Ord. 110-1991-055, Sec. 1)

(a)   All water furnished to customers shall be metered.

(b)   Meters shall be located between the sidewalk or property line and curbing when the main is in the street, and on private property within three feet of the alley line when the main is in the alley.  In the business district the meters may be installed in the basement at a location specified by the city.

(c)   The city’s responsibility stops at the property line.

(Code 1990)

It shall be unlawful for any person to break the seal of any meter, to alter the register or mechanism of any meter, or to make any outlet or connection in any manner so that water supplied by the city may be used or wasted without being metered. 

(Code 1990)

Any service disconnected for nonpayment of delinquent bill shall be reconnected only upon payment of the delinquent bill, interest penalty thereon, an additional meter deposit of $10.00 and the reconnection charge of $20.00. 

(Code 2007)

(a)   All non-owners of residential real estate (tenants of apartments, mobile home owners, and renters) shall be assessed a $50.00 deposit.

(b)   Security deposits for commercial and industrial accounts shall be established by the city clerk and shall be held as security for payment of all charges. Such security deposits may be set at any reasonable amount based on prior experience but shall not exceed $5,000.00.

(c)   In lieu of a cash security deposit the city clerk is authorized to accept surety bonds, with such sureties as are acceptable, payable to the city clerk, in an amount not less than the applicable cash security deposit established by the city clerk.

(d)   Commercial and industrial security deposits may be refunded after five years of continual service if the account has been kept current and has not been assessed delinquent penalties for late payments.

(e)   The city will pay at least the minimum rate of interest as established under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-822 to the customer on the security deposit at least once each year. Payment may be in the form of a credit to the customer account or actual cash or check refund as determined by the city clerk.

The city reserves the right to interrupt water service for the purpose of making repairs or extensions to water lines or equipment.

(Code 1990)

It shall be a violation of this article for any unauthorized person to:

(a)   Perform any work upon the pipes or appurtenances of the city’s waterworks system beyond a private property line unless such person is employed by the city contracted by the city or duly authorized by the city;

(b)   Make any connections with any extension of the supply pipes of any consumer without written permission to do so having been first obtained from the city;

(c)   Remove, handle or otherwise molest or disturb any meter, meter lid, cutoff, or any other appurtenances to the water system of the city;

(Code 1990)

Water users shall prevent unnecessary waste of water and shall keep sprinklers, hydrants, faucets and all apparatus, including the service line leading from the property to the meter in good condition at their expense.

(Code 1990)

The city reserves the right to restrict or prohibit the use of water and to specify the purposes for which it may be used whenever the governing body determines the public exigency so requires. 

(Code 1990)

Whenever the governing body determines that water use must be restricted or prohibited, it shall forthwith issue a proclamation of emergency through the news media and use other appropriate methods of making public the proclamation. 

(Code 1990)

In the event a proclamation of emergency is issued, water usage will be restricted or prohibited first for uses in the following priority:

(a)   Water lawns, gardens, trees, shrubs, plants and water outside dwellings for such purposes as car, boat, or trailer washing or washing exterior of dwellings;

(b)   Industrial uses of water, including but not limited to car wash operations and packing plant operations;

(c)   Business use, other than industrial;

(d)   Home uses other than those set forth in subsection (a).

(Code 1990)

Authorized employees of the city may enter upon any premises at reasonable hours for the purpose of reading the meter or servicing or inspecting meters or water lines. 

(Code 1990)

The rates per month for the use of water from the City waterwork system shall be as follows for customers within the City:

(a)   For the first 3,000 gallons purchased per month through any meter - $10.00.

(b)   For all water purchased above the first 3,000 gallons - $4.10 per 1,000 gallons.

(c)   For all water meters serving more than one dwelling unit, a multiple use metering charge shall apply.  The multiple use metering charge shall be assigned to all apartment buildings, mobile home parks, senior housing, or special care facilities, dormitories and homes containing rented apartments or rooms occupied by someone other than the primary occupants of the residence.  Multiple use metering charges shall be as follows:

(1)   Facilities with three or less multiple living units - $13.75 per meter.

(2)   Facilities with more than three but less than ten multiple living units - $37.50 per meter.

(3)   Facilities with ten or more multiple living units - $60.00 per meter.

(Ord. 110-2023-073)

All water bills for the previous month’s water service shall be paid on or before the 12th day of the month following the service.  For any billing not paid when due a late charge of 10 percent will be added to the bill.

(Ord. 150-1984-011, Sec. 6; Ord. 110-1987-048, Sec. 3; Code 1990)

Water service shall be terminated for nonpayment of service fees or charges as provided in sections 15 102:104. 

(Code 1990)

No person owning or occupying premises connected to the municipal water system shall use or allow to be used during a fire any water from the water system except for the purpose of extinguishing the fire.

(Code 1990)

Rates for the use of City water extended to rural water districts and other rural customers as follows:

(a)   Rural water districts and other rural customers will be billed a minimum charge of $52.50 for the first 10,000 gallons purchased through any single or master meter.

(b)   For all water purchased above the first 10,000 gallons a rate of $4.75 per each 1,000 gallons will be charged.

(Ord. 110-2023-073)

The monthly charges as set forth in section 15-225 above shall be payable on the 1st day of each month and shall be delinquent after the 12th day of each month.  Accounts are payable at the office of the city clerk in the city building. 

(Ord. 110-1988-050, Sec. 2)

An account which remains delinquent on the 15th day of each month shall be deemed in default and water service to such account shall be discontinued. No such discontinued service shall be restored unless the account is first paid in full, together with an additional meter deposit of $10.00 and a reconnection fee of $20.00. 

(Ord. 110-1988-050, Sec. 3; Code 2007)