An ordinance to regulate and control the construction, installation, extension, service connection, and operation of public water and sewer mains and public water and sewer service within the Township of _________; to prescribe procedures for securing such public water or sewer service and the rates and charges for the same and to provide penalties for the violation of such ordinance regulations.

The Township of ________, ________ County, Michigan ordains:

Section 1: Title
This ordinance shall be known and hereafter cited as the ________ Township Public Water and Sewer Service Ordinance.

Section 2: Procedure
A. Application. Any person, firm or corporation desiring public water or sewer service shall file an application with the Township Clerk, containing the name and address of the applicant; a description of the land or premises to be serviced; the nature of the use anticipated for the water and the nature and/or type of waste to be discharged; the size of the water service connection pipes desired; the distance, if known, that the property is located from any existing public water or sewer main; the anticipated number of connections from the property contemplated in the foreseeable future; and whether the applicant wishes to pay cash for the necessary water and/or sewer main extension or wishes to be included in a special assessment district for the payment of such cost over a limited period of years, together with interest and the administrative costs. The application may take the form of a petition if several different persons are jointly interested in a particular project.

B. Special Assessment District. In the event an applicant desires to proceed by installment payments and sufficient similar interest is disclosed on the application or petition by those property owners abutting the proposed water or sewer main, special assessment proceedings shall be instituted under the Public Improvements Act, Public Act 188 of 1954, as amended, (MCL 41.721, et seq.) to accomplish the requested project and if successful, the necessary system will be installed by the Township following the completion of such proceedings and the obtaining of the necessary funds.

C. Cash Deposit.
1. In the event an applicant desires to deposit with the Township the total cost of the necessary project to furnish the requested water or sewer service, as determined by the Township Board, the applicant may do so under a contract with the Township, whereby the Township will supervise and/or construct the installation, in accordance with the Township’s design standards.

2. Any such contract may provide for reimbursement to the applicant of a portion of the project cost from connection charges collected by the Township from those connecting to the water or sewer main, who did not contribute to the initial cost thereof and are not the successors in title to any such contributor. Any such reimbursement shall be limited to a period of seven years following the completion of the project requested and any connections made thereafter shall not require any refund to the applicant. The amount of the connection charge shall be in the discretion of the Township Board but shall approximate the amount a connector would have paid on a benefit assessment basis, had his property been included in a water or sewer special assessment district created for the purpose of financing the project. The term “connection charge” as used in this ordinance pertains to a charge for the privilege of connecting premises to a water or sewer main and does not pertain to the construction cost of such connection.

3. The amount of refund, if any, to an applicant, per connection charge collected by the Township shall be specified in the contract with the applicant and shall be based upon a portion of the total project cost, computed on the cost per lineal foot of main installed; provided, however, that the total refund shall never be greater than the total cost of the project charged to the applicant.

4. No service connection nor main extension shall be allowed until the full charge has been paid to the Township in such an amount as is determined for each project by the Township Board and the plumbing to be connected has been fully inspected and approved by the Township as in compliance with the plumbing codes of the Township. Such charges may be changed from time to time by the Township Board to reflect changes in construction costs and to maintain a fairly uniform charge between different current projects and special assessment districts.

The Township reserves the right to install any required service connection or main extension, to subcontract the same to any private licensed contractor, or to permit the owner or owner’s contractor to construct the same, provided that in such latter event, an inspection and supervision fee shall be paid by the applicant to the Township.

5. Any contract with an applicant shall contain, in addition to the foregoing, the following:

a. A description of the district within which extensions or connections may be made to the system, entitling the applicant to a refund of a portion of his initial project cost.

b. A map disclosing the design of the system and the location of the mains, valves, fittings, and all other accessories thereto which are to be installed.

c. A description of the area, if any, within which no connection charges are to be made by the Township and no refunds are to be made to the applicant.

d. The amount and condition of any performance bond that shall be required in the event the installation is to be made by any one other than the Township, which shall be 150% of the total cost of the installation and shall be conditioned upon the completion of the installation in a proper and workman-like manner in accordance with the plans and specifications of the Township and the furnishing of satisfactory evidence of the fact the project is free to present and future liens of contractors, subcontractors and material men.

e. The amount and condition of any public liability and property damage insurance that shall be required to insure the Township in the event the installation is to be made by any one other than the Township, which shall be not less than $300,000 and $500,000 respectively.

f. The amount, if any, to be paid the Township for administrative, legal and engineering cost or for the value of the availability of the water or sewer service to which the property of the applicant is to be connected.

Section 3: Regulations
A. Sewer and Water Rates. No free public sewer and water service shall be allowed and all those properties connected to a public water or sewer system shall be subject to the payment of such water and/or sewer rates and charges as shall be determined by the Township Board.

B. Termination of Service. The Township shall have the right to terminate any water or sewer service to any premises within the Township when any delinquency exists with respect to any sewer or water payments due under this ordinance or otherwise, or where any premises does not comply with all the plumbing codes of the Township and with any and all restrictions and limitations on the use of the particular water or sewer service imposed by the Township Board.

C. Service Deposit. The Township or its authorized agent shall have the right to require an initial deposit from any owner or tenant who applies for water or sewer service, as security for the payment of the rates and charges for such service, and to apply the same against such rates and charges if and when it deems it advisable. Such deposit or portion thereof not applied shall be refunded to the depositor upon the voluntary termination of service by the depositor and his subsequent applicant for such refund, provided no delinquency then exists.

D. Lien Rights. All delinquent rates and charges for water and/or sewer service shall constitute a lien upon the premises served which shall be subject to foreclosure in the same manner as mechanics’ liens for non-payment, or after six months’ delinquency, may be certified to the Supervisor and assessing officer of the Township annually, on or before March 1st of each year and entered by him/her upon the next tax roll against the property served, for collection in the same manner as the collection of taxes.

E. Turn On. No person other than an authorized employee of the Township shall turn on or off any water service to any public or private premises at the curb box connection of said premises to the water main.

F. Water Meters. All premises connected to a public water or sewer system shall be equipped with a public water meter, so located that all water entering the premises shall pass through such meter and be measured as to volume consumed for periodic computation of water and/or sewer charges.

G. Surplus Funds. Any surplus funds collected from water or sewer service or from capital improvements or extensions thereto shall be deposited into a water and sewer improvement revolving fund of the Township for use in further extending, improving, repairing, relocating and/or financing the public water and/or sewer systems of the Township.

H. Unreasonable Burden of Sewage. In the event any sewage discharged into the system imposes an unreasonable or additional burden upon the sewer system or the public primary or secondary treatment plants treating such sewage above that imposed by the average sewage entering such treatment plants, the Township shall have the option to impose an additional charge for such treatment against such customer to defray the additional cost of such treatment and any damage caused thereby; to require the customer to pretreat such sewage in such manner as the Township may order before the same enters the public system; and to terminate sewer service to any premises which fails to comply with the foregoing.

I. Time Element. Any premises abutting a public sewer main, requiring sewage disposal service, shall be connected to the abutting sewer system within five (5) years following the installation of said system or at such earlier time as the private sewage disposal system serving the premises requires replacement, a new tile field, new dry well, or new septic tank. Waste water and sewage disposal facilities in all buildings hereafter constructed shall be connected to the public sewer system if sewer mains are located in the abutting street at the boundaries of the site at the time of construction. New plats and subdivisions shall be developed with public water and/or sewer mains at the time of street construction if public water and/or sewer service is available at or near the boundaries of the plat or subdivision. The Township Board shall have the right to determine whether the service is sufficiently near to require such public service main installation.

J. Cross Connections. No cross connections between any private water system and the Township water system shall be allowed and no plumbing shall, at any time, be connected to the public system, which is in any manner connected or a part of any private system.

K. Water Service Connections.
1. General. Where, in the determination of the Township Board, public water service is reasonably available to a particular building in which water service is required, no new private wells shall be drilled to provide such water supply and such buildings shall be connected to the public water system, either at the time of construction, when the existing private well, if any, requires re-drilling, or at any time, in the determination of the Township Board or the _______ County Health Department, a health hazard exists or is fairly imminent from the existing water supply.

2. Size and Installation. All water service connections from the public transmission main to the required water meter shall be not less than one and one-quarter (1¼) inches in size and shall be installed by the Township which public highways exist and/or are disturbed by the construction and shall be installed at the expense of the property owner, computed to the center of the abutting highway. All such water service connections required by any customer to be in excess of one-quarter (1¼) inches in size shall be installed and furnished by said Township at the full expense of the customer requiring the same.

3. Under-Road Connections. In all residential subdivision developments hereafter commenced or extended where, in the determination of the Township Board, public water service is reasonably available and therefore required, one service connection not less than one-quarter (1¼) inches in size shall be installed under the abutting right-of-way to the center of each lot or building site fronting on the opposite side of such right-of-way and terminating in the right-of-way, not more than seven (7) feet from the property line.

4. Use of Fire Hydrants. No fire hydrant shall be used for any purpose other than fire protection without the prior approval of the Township.

L. Plans and Permits. No public water or sewer main construction shall be commenced until all plans and specifications have been submitted to and approved by the Township and all required state, county and municipal permits have been obtained.

M. County Health Department Certificate. No public water mains shall be made or become operational until the water flowing therefrom has been certified as safe and free of any harmful contamination by the county health department and a written certificate attesting thereto is on file with the Township.

N. Preliminary Deposit. All applications for public water or sewer service other than by petition for a special assessment district, requiring preliminary engineering analysis, review, and plans, shall be accompanied by a cash deposit with the Township in such amount as shall be determined by the Township Board to be sufficient to cover the foregoing engineering work necessary to develop preliminary cost estimates for the proposed project.

O. Printed Regulations. The Township Board shall adopt and prepare for distribution to interested parties, separate rules and regulations governing the details of application, service connections, extensions, financing of improvements, and rates and charges for both public water and public sewer service and shall have the authority to modify, enlarge, and amend the same from time to time to meet changing conditions and circumstances and to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the Township.

P. Water and Sewer Authority Board. The Township Board shall act as a Water and Sewer Authority Board for the Township until such time as it wishes to delegate such duties and position to a separate appointed board or commission, with authority in either to decide all questions which might arise in the interpretation, enforcement, and application of the within ordinance and to grant variances from the requirements thereof where, in its opinion, the health, safety, and general welfare of the Township would not be thereby impaired and the spirit and purposes of the within ordinance would continue to be served.

Section 4: Penalty
Any violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall constitute a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $100 and/or imprisonment in the county jail for up to 90 days. Each day that a violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense. The foregoing fines and penalties shall be in addition to the right of termination of public water and/or sewer service to a violator and the right to obtain injunctive relief in a court of law.

Note: This ordinance is written to be enforced as a criminal misdemeanor. If your Township intends to enforce this ordinance as a civil infraction, the penalty provision will need to be revised. Please consult your local attorney, or contact Michigan Townships Association for sample civil infraction penalty provisions and enforcement guidelines.

Section 5: Saving Clause
In any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this ordinance shall be held invalid for any reason, the same shall not affect the validity of any of the other provisions of this ordinance, which shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 6: Effective Date
This ordinance shall take immediate effect. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict are hereby repealed.

The purpose of this sample ordinance is to provide a suggested guideline for the types of items that should be included within an ordinance. Certainly, no sample ordinance should be used unless, after careful review, it is the professional judgment of your legal counsel that using the sample will accomplish the particular objectives and intentions of your Township. Although these sample ordinances are the result of much thought and effort, neither the authors nor the Michigan Townships Association assumes any responsibility for the results of using these samples word-for-word in individual cases.