Appointment and terms of office. R. O. p. 88. General powers. Subordinates. R. O. p. 89. SECTION 1. There shall be a board, to be known as the Boston Water Board, and to consist of three members, one of whom shall be appointed annually by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen, who shall hold office for three years from the first Monday in May in the year of his appointment. The clerk of said board shall not be a member thereof. SECT. 2. The said board shall have and exercise all the powers, so far as such powers can be legally delegated by the city council, which were granted to the city by, or are held by, the city under chapter one hundred and sixty-seven of the statutes of the commonwealth of the year eighteen hundred and forty-six, chapter one hundred and seventy-seven of the said statutes of the year eighteen hundred and seventytwo, chapter one hundred and five of the said statutes of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and by or under any and all statutes in addition to either of the before-named chapters, subject, however, to the authority of the city council from time to time, by ordinances, orders, or resolutions, to instruct said board and to change and limit their powers. SECT. 3. There shall be allowed to the said water board as subordinates the following officers: One clerk of the board, One assistant clerk, One executive clerk, One superintendent and one assistant superintendent for each of the three divisions, viz., the Eastern, Western, and Mystic divisions. lease property. SECT. 4. The said board may, subject to the approval of Power to sell or the mayor, sell or lease such of the property connected with R. O. p. 89. the water-works, or with the Mystic-valley sewer, as they deem expedient, and all necessary deeds and leases shall be executed by the mayor and countersigned by the chairman of said board. Accounts and R. O. p. 89. SECT. 5. The account of the revenue and expenses of the contracts of Mystic water-works shall be kept separate and distinct from Mystic waterthe other accounts of the water department; and the excess, works. if any, of such revenue over such expenses, including interest on debts incurred on account of said work, shall be paid to the sinking-fund commissioners for the redemption of any bonds given to secure such debts. All existing contracts for the supply of water from said works to other cities and towns shall continue in force, and shall not be modified or annulled except by an order of said board, approved by the city council. purchases esti made. SECT. 6. No contract or purchase which is estimated to Contracts or involve an expenditure of more than ten thousand dollars, mated to exceed. except a contract for the laying of pipe, shall be made by the $10,000, how said board, until they have advertised, as hereinafter pro- R. O. pp. 89, 90. vided, for sealed proposals therefor. When advertisements for such proposals are made, plans and specifications of the work to be done, and schedules of the materials or supplies to be furnished, shall be placed on file in such office as may be designated by said board, and shall at all times during office hours be open to public inspection. The advertisement shall in all cases be inserted not less than five times in each of three newspapers published in the city, and it may be inserted also, if said board deem it expedient, in newspapers of other cities or towns, and the last publication shall be at least one week before the time fixed for opening the proposals. Each proposal shall conform to the specifications and requirements of the advertisement, shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope directed to said board, and shall be accompanied by a bond to the city, with sufficient sureties, in such sum, not less than five hundred dollars, as said board may specify in their advertisement, and conditioned to be void if the party making the proposal shall, in case of the acceptance of his bid, sign and deliver to said board, within the time required in their advertisement, a contract for the performance of the subject-matter of his proposal, and if he shall also, at the time of the delivery of such contract, give a further bond, with satisfactory sureties, for the performance of such contract. But, instead of the before-mentioned bond to accompany a proposal, a deposit of money or other collateral, satisfactory to said board, may be made as security for the signing and delivery of the contract and of the bond for the performance thereof. For the performance of the contract a bond with sureties shall in all cases be required Members of board, etc., not R. O. p. 90. when the contract is signed and delivered. All proposals shall be publicly opened at the hour and place designated in the advertisement, and the said board may reject any or all bids which are offered, and it shall be their duty to reject the bids of irresponsible parties. SECT. 7. No member of the said board, and no person to be interested appointed to office or employed by virtue of this chapter, in contracts, etc. shall, except by express vote of the city council, be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract, bargain, sale, or agreement, in relation to the water-works or to any matter or thing connected therewith, wherein the city is interested, and any and all contracts, bargains, sales, or agreements made in violation of this section shall be utterly void as to the city. Pay-rolls, how made up, etc. R. O. p. 90. Annual report. Meters, provi. sions concerning use of. R. O. p. 91. Restrictions on supplying water in unaccepted SECT. 8. The pay-rolls of the clerks, inspectors, and laborers in the water department shall be made up under the direction of the said board, and certified by their chair man. SECT. 9. The said board shall annually, in January, present to the city council a report made up to and including the last day of the preceding year, and containing a full and comprehensive statement of their acts during the preceding year and of the condition of the water-works at the time of the report, together with such other information or suggestions as they may deem proper; and they shall, at the same time, transmit to the city council reports from the city engineer and the water-registrar. SECT. 10. The said board shall in any case have power to ascertain by meters the quantity of water used; and the proprietors or occupants of any hotel, tavern, boardinghouse, or other establishment using large quantities of water, shall also have authority to place within their premises, at their own expense, a sufficient water meter, to be approved by the water-registrar, for the purpose of measuring the quantity of water used by them. The charge for the use of water when measured by meter shall be made out quarterly by the water-registrar; and all bills for such use shall be paid within ten days after they are presented for payment, or the water-registrar shall, after a summons and notice as provided in section fourteen, cut off the supply. SECT. 11. When application is made to the said board, by parties who have built, or who intend to build, upon an unaccepted street, for an extension of the water-pipes in such R. O. pp. 91, 92. street, or for the use of water from pipes already laid, the streets. said board shall refuse such application, unless, upon an examination of the premises by the city engineer, it is found that the street is properly graded at a level of at least eighteen feet above mean low water, and that the cellars and yards are filled, with material satisfactory to said board, to a level of at least twelve feet above mean low water. sold to parties SECT. 12. The water furnished by the city shall not be Water not to be sold or delivered to parties out of the limits of the city, out of city, exunless by special vote of the said board. cept. R. O. p. 92. SECT. 13. The annual rates for the use of water shall be Annual rates, payable to the city collector, in advance, on the first day of when payable. January in each year, and all charges for specific supplies, or for fractional parts of a year, shall be payable before the water is let on. when water rates are over SECT. 14. In every case of the non-payment of a water-rate Proceedings for sixty days after it is due, the city collector shall serve a summons at the premises for which such rate is due, and due. unless said rate is paid within three days thereafter, together R. O. p. 92. with twenty-five cents for said summons, the said registrar shall be notified by the city collector and shall cause the supply to be cut off from said premises; and it shall not be let on again until the amount due, together with twenty-five cents for the summons and two dollars for the shutting off and letting on, is paid; but, in case of a change in the occupants of such premises, the water may be turned on without the payment of the amount due from an occupant who has left. In cases of specific supplies, or when the water has been let on for a fractional part of a year, the summons may be served and the water cut off immediately. The foregoing provisions shall apply when two or more parties take water through the same service-pipe, although one or more may have paid the proportion due from him or them. relative to use SECT. 15. The following regulations shall be printed on Regulations every bill for a water-rate, and shall be considered a part of of water. the contract with every person who takes water furnished by R. O. pp. 92, 93. the city, and every such person shall be considered, by Ord. 1884, ch. 16. taking such water, to express his assent to be bound by said regulations, and when any one of them is violated, the water shall be cut off from the building or place where such violation occurred, although two or more parties may receive the water through the same pipe, and it shall not be let on again except by the order of the said board and on the payment of two dollars; and in case of any such violation the said board shall have the right to declare any payment for water made by the person committing such violation to be forfeited. The said regulations are as follows: takers to keep repair, etc. 1. All persons taking the water shall, at their own expense, keep the service-pipes within their premises, includ-service-pipes in ing any area beneath the sidewalk, in good repair and protected from frost, and shall be liable for all damages which result from their failure so to do. to prevent waste, etc. pipes, etc., in 2. They shall prevent all unnecessary waste of water, and shall not conceal the purposes for which it is used. 3. No alteration in the pipes or fixtures inserted by the city shall be made except by persons authorized by the not to be altered Boston water board, and the water registrar and persons so except, etc. serted by city be entered to examine, etc. premises may authorized shall be allowed to enter the premises supplied for the purpose of examining the apparatus, the quantity of water used, and the manner of its use, and of ascertaining whether there is unnecessary waste. supplied to other water not to be 4. No water shall, unless by special permission, be supplied to parties not entitled to the use of it under the city ordinances. parties. use of handhose restricted. pipes and fixtures to be ap. proved. Defective pipes or waste of wa- Use of hose in stables restrict Ord. 1884, ch. 3 and 21. 5. The use of hand-hose shall be restricted to such hours as the water board may order. 6. All distributing pipes and water-fixtures introduced into the premises of a water-taker shall be subject to the approval of the Boston water board or of their duly appointed agents; and no change affecting the flow of the water shall be made in service-pipes or water-fixtures, unless such change is approved by the said board or by their duly appointed agents. SECT. 16. An owner or occupant of premises in which water furnished by the city is used, who fails to keep his service-pipes and fixtures in good order, and neglects to repair the same within three days after they have, from any cause, become defective, or who neglects to shut off the water after using it, so that it runs to waste, shall be liable to a penalty of two dollars; and if such penalty is not paid within two days from the time when the person incurring it receives notice that he is liable thereto, the water shall be cut off from his premises, and shall not be let on again until the waste is stopped and the penalty paid, together with an additional sum of two dollars for cutting off and letting on the water; and in case of a second offence during the same year a penalty of four dollars shall be imposed, and if it is not paid within two days, as aforesaid, the water shall be cut off and shall not be let on again until the cause of complaint is removed and the penalty paid, together with two dollars for cutting off and letting on the water; and in case of a third offence the water shall be cut off and shall not be let on again except by a vote of the said board and the payment of such penalty, not exceeding ten dollars, as the said board may impose. SECT. 17. No hose shall be used in a stable for washing ed, etc.; penalty. horses or carriages or for any purpose, except the extinguishR. O. pp. 93, 94. ing of fires, without special permission from the Boston water board, under a penalty of ten dollars for each offence; and if such penalty is incurred and is not paid within two days after demand for the same, made at such stable, the water shall be cut off from such stable, and shall not be let on again until such penalty is paid, together with the additional sum of two dollars for cutting off and letting on the water. The provisions of this section shall not apply to stables in which recording meters are placed to measure the water used. |