§ 17-38. Water emergency management.

(a)

Level 0 . During Level 0, the following voluntary water conservation practices shall be imposed upon customers:

(1)

Household water should be reutilized to the greatest extent possible for watering.

(2)

Faucets should not be left running while shaving, brushing teeth, or washing dishes.

(3)

The use of flow restrictions and other water saving devices is encouraged.

(4)

Any practice listed in this subsection (a) may be modified or additional restrictions added at the discretion of the city manager after consultation with the director of public works and other city staff.

(b)

Declaration of water emergency. The city manager or his designee after consultation with appropriate city staff shall be authorized to declare that a water emergency exists. Depending on the severity of the emergency; voluntary (Level I), or mandatory (Levels II, III or IV) staged water use restrictions as described in subsection (b) of this section shall be imposed upon customers.

(c)

Staged water use restrictions .

(1)

Level I . At this stage of water use restrictions, the goal is to reduce water usage by three percent (3%) to five percent (5%) (or more) from the amount that would otherwise be expected, as defined in the "Low Inflow Protocol for the Catawba River Basin" at section "Stage 1 Actions 3. b" (which is incorporated herein by reference). During a declared Level I water emergency, the following voluntary water conservation practices shall be encouraged for the public water system served by the city:

a.

Planting of new ornamental plants and seeding of lawns should be deferred until the water emergency situation no longer exists.

b.

Household water should be reutilized to the greatest possible extent for watering.

c.

Use of water for wash down of outside areas such as driveways or parking lots should be limited.

d.

Faucets should not be left running while shaving, brushing teeth, or washing dishes.

e.

The use of clothes washing machines and dishwashers should be limited if possible and these units should be operated with full loads when used.

f.

Washing of cars or other vehicles should be limited to the two (2) days per week designated by the city manager in the declaration of water emergency. Hoses should not be left running while washing vehicles.

g.

The use of flow restrictions and other water saving devices is encouraged.

h.

Filling of pools shall be deferred or limited to hours between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

i.

Showers should be used for bathing and the length of showers should be limited.

j.

Any practice listed in this subsection (c)(1) may be modified or additional restrictions added at the discretion of the city manager after consultation with the director of public works and other city staff.

(2)

Level II . At this stage of water use restrictions, the goal is to reduce water usage by five percent (5%) to ten percent (10%) (or more) from the amount that would otherwise be expected, as defined in the "Low Inflow Protocol for the Catawba River Basin" at section "Stage 1 Actions 3. b." (which is incorporated herein by reference). During a declared Level II water emergency, outdoor irrigation shall be allowed two (2) days per week as set forth in any order of the city manager or director of public works. Businesses whose stock in trade is live plants, including nurseries and retail garden centers are exempt from this provision. The following mandatory water use restrictions shall also be in effect for the public water system served by the city:

a.

All voluntary practices listed in subsection (c)(1) (Level 1 in section (c)(1) above) of this section shall be mandatory, except for c.1.a, c.1.b, c.1.d and c.1.i. of (c)(1) Level 1 above, which are strongly encouraged.

b.

Watering and irrigation of lawn, ornamental plants, and gardens and shall occur only between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the two (2) days each week designated by the city manager in the declaration of water emergency. The use of hand-held watering containers is permitted on any day without restrictions. Businesses whose stock in trade is live plants, including nurseries and retail garden centers are exempt from this provision.

c.

Use of water for wash down of outside areas is prohibited except for pressure washing businesses with an appropriate privilege licenses.

d.

Residential washing of cars and other vehicles is prohibited. Commercial washing facilities, including those providing handheld washing nozzles may continue normal operation. However, the facility owner/operator shall ensure that water is not wasted.

e.

The use of water for wash down of public buildings, sidewalks and street washing activities should be limited except as required for safety and/or regulatory compliance.

f.

Newly constructed or drained pools shall be filled by permit only. Fill permits shall be issued by the director of public works, his or her designee, or the backflow administrator and issuance of the permits may be curtailed depending on the severity of the situation.

g.

Any practice listed in this subsection (c)(2) may be modified or additional restrictions added at the discretion of the city manager after his consultation with the director of public works and other city staff.

(3)

Level III . At this stage of water use restrictions, the goal is to reduce water usage by ten percent (10%) to twenty percent (20%) (or more) from the amount that would otherwise be expected, as defined in the "Low Inflow Protocol for the Catawba River Basin" at section "Stage 1 Actions 3. b." (which is incorporated herein by reference). During a declared Level III water emergency, in addition to all Level II mandatory water restrictions, the following mandatory water use restrictions shall be in effect for the public water system served by the city:

a.

Watering and irrigation of lawns, ornamental plants, and gardens shall occur only between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the one day each week designated by the city manager in the declaration of water emergency. Businesses whose stock in trade is live plants, including nurseries and retail garden centers are exempt from this provision.

b.

Recreational use of potable water including filling of pools is prohibited.

c.

Hydrant flushing and testing programs are prohibited, except to maintain public health, water quality or other special circumstances.

d.

Any practice listed in this subsection (c)(3) may be modified or additional restrictions added at the discretion of the city manager after consultation with the director of public works and other city staff.

(4)

Level IV . At this stage of water use restrictions, the goal is to reduce water usage by twenty percent (20%) to thirty percent (30%) (or more) from the amount that would otherwise be expected, as defined in the "Low Inflow Protocol for the Catawba River Basin" at section "Stage 1 Actions 3. b." (which is incorporated herein by reference). During a declared Level IV water emergency, in addition to all Level II and Level III restrictions, the following mandatory water use restrictions shall be in effect for the public water system served by the city:

a.

All use of water out of doors for any purposes other than maintenance of public safety is prohibited.

b.

Non-residential water customers and construction activities utilizing five thousand (5,000) or more gallons of water per day are required to reduce daily water usage through whatever means is available to the target percentages listed above. The director of public works or her or his designee shall determine compliance with the daily usage reduction targets. Variances to this restriction may be granted to designated public health facilities including, but not limited to, hospitals and nursing homes.

c.

Any practice listed in this subsection (c)(4) may be modified or additional restrictions added at the discretion of the city manager after consultation with the director of public works and other city staff.

(d)

Noncompliance of water emergency management section .

(1)

Penalties . Any person violating the mandatory provisions of this section shall be issued a civil citation pursuant to section 1-14 of the Kannapolis City Code having a penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for residential customer violations and three hundred dollars ($300.00) for commercial or industrial customer violations. There shall be no warning citations. Each occurrence of a violation of this section shall be considered a separate violation. The penalty assessed against a water customer shall be added to the water bill and shall be paid in the same manner as the water bill. Lack of knowledge of water restrictions or inability to pay the penalty fees is not relevant to a customer's liability for violating this section. Failure to pay all or any portion of a water bill, including any penalty assessed pursuant to this section, in a timely manner, may result in termination of water service. The provisions of this section may also be enforced by actions for abatement or injunction.

(2)

Discontinuance of service . Pursuant to the provisions of N.C. General Statute 162A-88 and this section, water service may be temporarily discontinued for willful disregard of this section. All applicable penalty fees may be applied in the event of service suspensions. In the event of continued gross noncompliance with this section, removal of the meter and service will be deemed proper and service will be discontinued. Connection fees and deposits will be forfeited.

(3)

Utility fees . In addition to or instead of the penalties listed in subsection (c)(1) above, mandatory utility fees shall be assessed for violations of mandatory water restrictions established under this section. These fees are adopted in the annual budget ordinance, fees and charges schedule.

(4)

Adoption and enforcement of section provisions . Municipal customers, water corporations or company compliance municipalities, water corporations or companies purchasing water from the city shall adopt and enforce this entire section as a condition of continuing existing water sales agreements. Upon declaration of a water emergency, such municipalities and companies shall enforce the appropriate water use restrictions for the level of declared emergency. Water service to such municipalities and companies shall be terminated for not enforcing the provisions of this section.

(Ord. of 4-24-89, §§ I, II; Ord. of 7-24-2000, Art. II; Ord. of 9-25-2000, Art. II; Ord. of 2-13-2001, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 2001-72, §§ 1—3, 3-19-01; Ord. of 3-26-01, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 2001-105, § 1, 9-10-01; Ord. of 12-10-01, § 1; Ord. No. 2000-47, 9-11-00; Ord. No. 2001-67, §§ 1, 2, 2-13-01; Ord. of 8-26-02; Ord. No. 2003-05, § 1, 1-27-03; Ord. No. 2007-36, § 1, 8-27-07; Ord. No. 2007-38, § 1, 9-10-07; Ord. No. 2009-33, § 1, 9-14-09; Ord. No. 2016-04 , § 1, 3-28-16)