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The Board was presented with a copy of the
Water Use Rules and Regulations for the Northeast Water System
as approved by the Water Advisory Board on January 28, 2010.
Mr. Musallam stated that it is required by the Ohio EPA to be in
place before the system becomes operational.
Mr. Musallam went through and hit the
highlights of each chapter of the document. He explained that
the water supply system is under the operation of the county,
with him being the certified water operator. This includes all
treatment facilities, water mains, pump stations, storage
facilities and appurtenances of the public water supply systems,
except for public and private water mains and services not
maintained by the County. The Effective Date is considered to
be when the rules and regulations are adopted by the Board of
Commissioners. He discussed the penalties and what is
considered violation of the rules and regulations. He explained
that Chapter 3 outlines what is guaranteed by the county and
what is not and also the permit requirements for making changes
such as, uncovering, making connection with, opening into,
using, altering or disturbing any public water main or
appurtenances thereto.
Commissioner Short asked what was used to
draw up this document. Mr. Musallam stated that it is pursuant
to the ORC and samples from other regional water areas that have
been in place and used for a long period of time. He further
stated that this version in from of them is the 3rd
and final draft that went before the Water Advisory Board.
All water services shall be metered and all
primary meters will be of the radio read type meter. If a meter
is taken out of service for any reason the property owner will
be billed at a rate based on the prior months usage.
Rules and regulations regarding backflow
prevention, hydrants and fire protection are outlined and will
cover the existing infrastructure in Metamora.
Contractor approval will be handled similar
to the Elmira/Burlington Sewer System. Any work performed to
the public portion of the water supply system will be completed
by a contractor approved with the county. Any work performed on
private property may be completed by the property owner or its
contractor, or by a county-approved contractor. Work performed
by the property owner or its contractor must still follow the
rules and regulations as adopted. Mr. Musallam noted that one of
the requirements of the contractor to construct or repair any
portion of the system under the jurisdiction of the county shall
have proven ability and 5 years of documented related
experience. Commissioner Genter stated that is a hard
requirement to meet. He stated that their past experience,
demonstrated work and referrals should be taken into account
even if they do not have 5 years of experience. Mr. Musallam
stated that this has been done in the past and those that would
fall into that category will be considered.
Mr. Musallam went through turn offs that
require notice and those that do not. Among both are
non-payment, unauthorized cross connections or interconnections,
failure to repair leaks within 48 hours, misuse, abuse, or
illegal usage, tampering, theft of water or failure to abide by
the rules and regulations.
He stated that the meters will be read on
or around of the 1st of the month and bills will be
due on the 15th. A late fee will be assessed of 10%
if not paid on time. Unless an automatic deduct has been
arranged, the payments will come directly to his office. Bill
monitoring will also be handled by his office. Commissioner
Genter asked who is collecting the sewer charges for Metamora.
He stated that they will be collecting for Metamora for water
and sewer and will disburse the sewer portion back to the
village. Commissioner Short asked who will be doing the
reading, Mr. Musallam stated that Swancreek will be doing the
readings for the whole system as they have the equipment to do
so. Commissioner Short then asked who is handling the billing.
Mr. Musallam stated that his office will handle the billing for
the new system. Swancreek will continue to do their own. The
Board asked why we are doing the billing, and why Swancreek
cannot. Mr. Musallam stated that is something that they can
look at. He stated that doing it in-house would save
administration fees. Also, Swancreek cannot act on the county’s
behalf when it comes to late payments and disconnections. The
Board stated there will be further discussions on this.
Mr. Musallam stated that delinquent
accounts will need to be certified by the Board to the County
Auditor to be placed on property taxes. He stated that in the
event that delinquent accounts are certified for collections, a
$150 administration fee will be added to offset the costs of
collection. The Board noted that this is another matter that
would require further discussion.
Property owners may privately install or
upgrade water main extensions but prior to making any
improvements or repairs, the property owner shall notify the
county to verify compliance with the County’s Backflow
Prevention and Cross-Connection Control requirements and proper
EPA approval. It is further required that all specs listed in
the Rules and Regulations are followed to ensure the proper
installation of the private distribution system to protect the
system from leaks, contaminations and unnecessary damage.
A public water main may be extended as a
private project with private planning, funding and construction
through petition and all costs will be the responsibility of the
petitioner.
Commissioner Short asked if taps are being
installed as the system is being put in. Mr. Musallam stated
that they are not but he can talk with property owners once they
are out of the Swancreek district to see if they want a tap.
Commissioner Short stated that he did not understand why the
taps would not be put in while they are in the process. He then
inquired about tap fees. Mr. Musallam stated that right now
(the Water Advisory Board) is discussing the same fee structure
as they did in Lyons, which is $1,000 for a single family
dwelling and $2,000 for a non-single family dwelling.
Commissioner Short asked how that dwelling is determined. Mr.
Musallam stated that it is done by application of the property
owner. He stated that a draft schedule of fees and charges will
go back before the Water Advisory Board on Wednesday. He will
then come back before the Board of Commissioners with a
recommendation.
Mr. Musallam then updated the Board on the
project itself, stating that the contractor broke ground on
Tuesday and installed about 3K feet in Swancreek Twp on 20A.
The contractor is working at about 750-800 linear feet of
pipeline per day which is typical of the kind of area they are
in with traffic, driveways, etc. When they are in a more open
area, it can be expected to do about 3K linear feet/day. The
contractor is repairing tiles along the way.
The Board thanked Mr. Musallam for coming
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