2019-015 Adopting Revised & Consolidated Water Conservation Drought Contingency Plan

Home Browse Search

water contract entered into or renewed after adoption of the Plan, including contract extensions, that in case of a shortage of water resulting from drought, the water to be distributed shall be divided in accordance with Section 11.039 of the Texas Water Code. Sec. 34-160 Enforcement (a) No person will knowingly or intentionally allow the use of water from the City of Paris for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provision of this Plan, or in an amount in excess of that permitted by the drought response stage in effect at the time pursuant to action taken by City Manager or designee, in accordance with provisions of this Plan. (b) That any person violating any provision of this ordinance shall be guilty of a Misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 1- 6 of Chapter One of the City of Paris Code of Ordinances, and each and every day's continuance of any violation of the above -enumerated sections shall constitute and be deemed a separate offense. If a person is convicted of three or more distinct violations of this Article, the City Manager shall, upon due notice to the customer, be authorized to discontinue water service to the premises where such violations occur. Services discontinued under such circumstances will be restored only upon payment of a re -connection charge, hereby established at $50.00, and any other costs incurred by the City of Paris in discontinuing service. In addition, suitable assurance must be given to the City Manager that the same action will not be repeated while the Plan is in effect. Compliance with this Article may also be sought through injunctive relief in a court of appropriate jurisdiction, and the City Attorney is hereby authorized to seek such relief on behalf of the City. (c) Any person, including a person classified as a water customer of the City of Paris in apparent control of the property where a violation occurs or originates will be presumed to be the violator, and proof that the violation occurred on the person's property will constitute a rebuttable presumption that the person in apparent control of the property committed the violation, but any such person will have the right to show that he/she did not commit the violation. Parents will be presumed to be responsible for violations of their minor children and proof that a violation, committed by a child, occurred on property within the parents' control will constitute a rebuttable presumption that the parent committed the violation, but any such parent may be excused if they prove they had previously directed the child not to use the water as it was used in violation of this Article and that the parent could not have reasonably known of the violation. (d) Any employee of the City of Paris, police officer, or other employee designated by the City Manager, may issue a citation to a person he/she reasonably believes to be in violation of this Article. The citation will be prepared in duplicate and will contain the name and address of the alleged violator, if known, the offense charged, and will direct the violator to appear in the City of Paris Municipal Court on the date shown on the citation for which the date will not be less than three (3) days nor more than thirty (30) days from the date the citation was issued. Page 13 of 19