Title
Consideration of and action on an ordinance amending Section 18-507 of the Code of Ordinances for the fees associated with the cross-connection (backflow) control program.
Body
Summary: The City is required by the State to maintain a cross-connection or backflow program in which certain commercial entities are required to have backflow preventers installed and tested on an annual basis. These preventers are necessary to protect the drinking water by preventing contaminants from reverse flowing into drinking water piping from plumbing fixtures or water utilizing equipment. While most modern plumbing fixtures have built-in backflow prevention, there are numerous commercial and industrial processes that require additional protection. On September 4, 2018, the City Council adopted Ordinance 4007 and added Section 18-507: Cross connection control program to the Code of Ordinances, including a sub-section on cross-connection control fees.
Ordinance 4007 provided for enforcement measures and added (1) a registration fee of $35.00 for each commercial backflow prevention assembly device, to be billed through the water bill; (2) an annual registration fee of $75.00 for TCEQ registered backflow testers to show proof of their current state license in accordance with current TCEQ regulations; and (3) a $40 processing fee for any business to which City water service is discontinued because of violations of this ordinance.
This ordinance needs to be revised to more accurately describe the administration and/or amount of certain of these cross-connection control fees as follows:
(1) The registration fee of $35.00 will not be billed through the water bill but will be handled in the same way as the payment for any other permit fee. The reference “to be billed through the water bill” is inaccurate and needs to be removed.
(2) The Appendix B - Schedule of Fees, Rates and Charges already cites fees related to discontinuation of service, specifically $35.00 for reconnection of service during regular business hours and $60.00 for reconnection of service outside regular business hours. The reference to “a processing fee of $40.00” for City water service that has been discontinued should be changed to correctly reference a “reconnection fee” and because these fees are subject to change should reference Appendix B - Schedule of Fees for the then current fees, rates and charges related to reconnection of service. Section 18-507(e) Enforcement, now reads as follows:
“City water service to any premises may be discontinued and assessed a reconnection fee if a backflow prevention assembly is not installed, tested, or maintained as required by these regulations, or if it is found that a backflow prevention assembly has been removed or bypassed, or if any unprotected cross-connection or other structural or health hazard, including violations of these regulations, exists. Such fee shall be in accordance with Appendix B - Schedule of Fees, Rates and Charges, Section 106-28(b) for reconnection of service during regular business hours or at times other than regular business hours.”
The attached ordinance reflects these changes to Section 18-507 of the Code of Ordinances for the fees associated with the cross-connection (backflow) control program, including the phrase “structural or health hazard, including violations of these regulations, exists”, which was inadvertently left out of Section 18-507(e) Enforcement in Ordinance 4007.
Fiscal/Budgetary Impact:
N/A.
Recommended action
Review and adopt the ordinance changing Section 18-507 of the Code of Ordinances for certain of the fees associated with the cross-connection (backflow) control program.