 |
Bylaws of the West
Boylston Water District
|
 |
BY LAWS
ADOPTED MARCH 3,1953
Of the
WEST BOYLSTON WATER DISTRICT
OF
WEST BOYLSTON
(Preliminary)
The West Boylston Water District of West Boylston, in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts was established by the acceptance of Chapter 352
of the Acts of 1933. The Act sets forth the corporate Powers and duties of the
District. The following By-Laws are Supplementary to the Act.
ARTICLE I
MEETINGS
SECTION 1.
The Annual District Meeting shall be held in May
starting at 7:30 P.M. Any adjournment of this meeting shall be to a subsequent
Monday at 6:30 P.M. prior to the first day of June.
SECTION
2. Special Meetings of the District may be
called by a majority of the Board of Water Commissioners, or on petition of
ten or more legal voters therein.
SECTION
3. Warrants for all District meetings shall be
posted in two or more places and at the place of meeting seven days, at least,
before the time of meeting.
SECTION
4. Twenty or more legal voters shall
constitute a quorum for action under any warrant; provided that a number of less
than a quorum may vote an adjournment.
ARTICLE ll
PROCEDURE
SECTION 1. The
moderator shall exercise all the powers and duties of moderators in towns and
shall conduct the meetings in a manner consistent with the practice in the town
which comprises the District.
SECTION 2. If the
Moderator, or the Meeting by Vote, so orders, only legal voters shall be
admitted to a defined portion of the place of meeting, and the checklists shall
be used in the enforcement of such order.
SECTION 3. The
rules of parliamentary practice shall govern the meeting in all cases to which
they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the General
Laws and these By-Laws
ARTICLE III
OFFICERS
SECTION
1. The Officers of the District shall be elected by ballot at the Annual
Meeting. They shall include a Moderator for the term of one year and a Clerk
for a term of one year. Commissioners of the West Boylston Water District shall
be elected by ballot at the Town of West Boylston Annual town election. Said
officers of the Water District shall appear on the same ballot as the elected
officers of the Town of West Boylston.
SECTION
2. Any vacancy occurring in an elected position of the Water District may
be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by said District at any legal
meeting called for that purpose.
ARTICLE IV
FINANCES
SECTION 1. The
financial year shall end June Thirtieth.
SECTION 2. At
Special Meetings a two-thirds vote shall be required to appropriate money for
any purpose.
SECTION 3. The
Treasurer shall pay money from the District treasury only by bank check and by
authority of a warrant approved by the Board of Water Commissioners.
ARTICLE V
REPORTS
AND RECORDS
SECTION I. The
annual reports of the District shall be issued in printed form by the Board of
Water Commissioners. This document shall contain, in addition to the reports
required by law; such further information as is designated in the following
sections of this article, and other matters, which the Board of Water
Commissioners shall consider of interest to the District.
SECTION
2. The District Clerk shall, within one week after the final
adjournment, of any District Meeting, submit to the Board of Water Commissioners
and the Moderator, a copy of the official record of such meetings. These
records shall be published in the Annual report issued by the Board of Water
Commissioners.
SECTION
3. The Treasurer shall, in his annual report, furnish a balance sheet
showing the assets and liabilities of the District and detailed schedules of
receipts and expenditures.
SECTION
4. The essential features of the audit report made by the State Division
of Accounts shall be published in the Annual Report of the Board of Water
Commissioners.
SECTION
5. All reports, plans, documents, letters, and papers relating to the
affairs of the District shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be in the
custody or control of the Board of Water Commissioners.
SECTION
6:
WATER USE
RESTRICTION BYLAW
Section
6-1. Authority
This bylaw is adopted by the
West Boylston Water District under its police powers to protect public health
and welfare and its powers under chapter 352 p the Acts of 1933 as amended and
M.G.L. c. 40, SS21 et seq. This bylaw also implements the Water
District’s authority under M.G.L. c. 40. S41A, conditioned upon a declaration of
water supply emergency issued by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Section
6- 2. Purpose
The purpose of this bylaw is
to protect, preserve and maintain the public health, safety and welfare whenever
there is in force a State of Water Supply Conservation of State Water Supply
Emergency as defined herein by providing for enforcement of any duly imposed
restrictions, requirements, provisions or conditions imposed by the West
Boylston Water District or by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Section
6-3. Definitions
For purposes of this bylaw,
the following words and phrases shall have the meaning set forth herein:
Outdoor watering
shall mean any residential, municipal, industrial, or commercial watering of
decorative lawns, trees and shrubbery.
Person
shall mean any individual, corporation,
trust, partnership or association, or other entity and any officer, employee
group or agent of such person.
State
of Water Supply Emergency shall mean a
State of Water Supply Emergency declared by the Department of Environmental
Protection under M.G.L. c. 21G, S15-17.
State
of Water Supply Conservation shall mean
a State of Water Supply Conservation declared by the Board of Commissioners of
the West Boylston Water District, pursuant to section 4 of this bylaw.
Water Users or Water
Consumers shall mean all public and
private users of the West Boylston Water District water system, irrespective of
any person’s responsibility for billing purposes for water used at any
particular facility.
Section
6. 4. Declaration of a State of Water Supply Conservation
The Water District, through
its Board of Water Commissioners, may declare a State of Water Supply
Conservation upon a determination by a majority vote of the Board that a
shortage of water exists of such a degree that conservation measures are
appropriate to ensure an adequate supply of water to all water consumers. Public
notice of a State of Water Conservation shall be given under section 6 of this
bylaw before it may be enforced.
Section
6. 5. Restricted Water Uses
A
declaration of a State of Water Supply Conservation shall include one or more of
the following restrictions, conditions or requirements limiting the use of water
as necessary to protect the water supply. The applicable restrictions,
conditions or requirements shall be included in the public notice required under
section 6.
a) Odd/Even
Day Outdoor Water Usage: Outdoor
watering by water users with odd numbered addresses is restricted to odd
numbered days. Outdoor watering by water users with even numbered addresses is
restricted to even numbered days.
b) Outdoor
Watering Ban: Outdoor watering is
prohibited
c) Outdoor
Water Usage Hours: Outdoor watering is
permitted only during periods of low demand, to be specified in the declaration
of a State of Water Supply Conservation and public notice thereof.
d) Filling
Swimming Pools: Filling swimming pools
is prohibited.
e) Automatic
Sprinkler Use: The use of automatic
sprinkler systems is prohibited.
f) Any
other restriction on water usage the District finds necessary.
Section 6-6. Public Notification of Water Supply Conservation: Notification of
DEP
Notification of any provision,
restriction, requirement or condition imposed by the West Boylston Water
District as part of a State of Water Supply Conservation shall be published in a
newspaper of general circulation within the West Boylston Water District or by
such other means reasonably calculated to reach and inform all users of water of
the State of Water Supply Conservation. Any restrictions imposed under section 5
shall not be effective until such notification is provided. Notification of the
State of Water Supply conservation shall also be simultaneously provided to the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Section
6-7. Termination of a State of Water Supply Conservation: Notice
A State of Water Supply
Conservation may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board of Water
Commissioners, upon a determination that the water supply shortage no longer
exists. Public notification of the termination of a State of Water Supply
Conservation shall be given in the same manner required by section 6.
Section 6- 8. State of Water Supply
Emergency; Compliance with DEP Orders.
Upon notification to the
public that a declaration of a State of Water Supply Emergency has been issued
by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, no person shall
violate any provision, restriction, requirement, or condition of any order
approved or issued by the Department intended to bring about an end to the State
of Emergency.
Section
6-9. Penalties
The West Boylston Water
District Superintendent may enforce this bylaw. Any person violating this by-law
(ordinance) shall be liable to the Water District in the amount of $50.00 for
the first violation and $100.00 for each subsequent violation. Fines shall be
recovered by indictment, or on complaint before the District Court, or by
non-criminal disposition in accordance with section 21D of chapter 40 of the
general laws or any other authority of the District.
Section
6-10. Severability
The invalidity of any portion
or provision of this bylaw shall not invalidate any other portion or provision
thereof.
WEST BOYLSTON DROUGHT MANAGEMENT PLAN
Adopted November 19, 2002
Being prepared for water
shortages caused by drought or extreme circumstances is an important component
of West Boylston’s Water Resources Management Program. This plan sets what
levels of dry or drought conditions indicate a water supply shortage or
emergency and establishes the prudent response for each level. The Drought
Management Plan may be implemented for municipally supplied water to conserve a
naturally stressed water supply during a drought or to replenish water supplies
diminished by peak demand in non–drought years.
WATER USE
RESTRICTIONS
These restrictions allow
the Board of Commissioners to limit consumption through increasingly severe
restrictions based on indicators that correspond to the specific drought
stages for West Boylston’s water supply.
OUTDOOR
WATER USE RESTRICTIONS
Even number
houses may use water outdoors on even numbered days.
Odd number
houses may use water outdoors on odd numbered days.
No outdoor
water use on Mondays to allow system to replenish.
No lawn
watering between 7am – 7pm.
GRADUATED DROUGHT RESTRICTION MEASURES
Graduated water
use restrictions will be implemented to correspond with the severity of the
drought stage to assure a sufficient and predictable response to excessive
water use and drought conditions.
Restrictions
for DROUGHT ADVISORY
Voluntary
conservation, on an alternate day schedule, for outdoor water use for
irrigation of lawns and gardens, car washing and sprinklers. No swimming
pool filling from municipal water supply.
Restrictions
for DROUGHT WATCH*
Mandatory
water conservation, on an alternate
day schedule, for outdoor water use for irrigation of lawns and gardens, car
washing and sprinklers. Use of sprinklers is limited to two (2) hours per
each scheduled watering day. No swimming pool filling from municipal water
supply.
Restriction
for DROUGHT WARNING*
Mandatory
water conservation, on an alternate
day schedule for outdoor water use. No watering of lawn and no outdoor
sprinklers allowed. Manual watering of gardens and trees with hose or
watering can allowed. Car washing allowed.
Restrictions
for DROUGHT EMERGENCY*
Mandatory ban
on all outdoor water use:
Sprinklers, car washing, swimming pool filling and lawn and garden
irrigation.
*Residents may
request a two-week watering permit from the District for new lawns.
*Residents may
request a one-day watering permit from the District for specific activities
(pressure washing.)
*Residents may request permission from the District to top off their swimming
pools.
ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be
amended only at an Annual Meeting of the District by a majority of the legal
voters present and voting upon an article in the warrant for that purpose.
AMENDED: May 20, 1999
AMENDED: May 30, 2000
AMENDED: May 28, 2003
|
Water District Bylaws