Water Department
Who Maintains my Service Line?
This is a question that we hear often. The answer to this
question is determined by City Code Section 16-33 and Ordinance 1131 which was established by City Council.
In Kendallville, the Ordinances explain that the City of
Kendallville will maintain the main water lines that run down
the streets in front of your homes. The pipe sizes range from
four (4) inches in diameter to twelve (12) inches in diameter.
The city will also maintain the water meters and radio read
transmitters unless the meter has been abused by force, neglect
or freezing. In these cases, the new metering device(s) will be
installed at the owner’s expense (Section 16-137). The meter
must be available to the water department for repair and
maintenance upon request. (16-22)
When a business or resident builds a facility and requests city
water, they are fully responsible for all installation costs.
They must get permission through the permitting process to tap
into our main lines and place a corporation stop or other
approved tap in the city’s large main (Section 16-34), (Section
16-66), (Section 16-91). A corporation stop is an underground
valve tapped into the water main and would have the capability
of being turned on and off at the main line. When services are
over 4 inches in diameter, a “tee” may be installed with an
underground gate valve and an accessible valve box. At this
point, the customer would arrange to have approved underground
pipe (Section 16-41) ran from the corporation stop to another
underground valve somewhere in front of the home or business. If
a large gate valve is used, the second valve will not be
required.
This second valve would have a curb box mounted on top of it to
allow access to the underground valve. The curb box resembles a
pipe that starts at the top of the valve and extends vertically
to the surface. A lid is then placed on the pipe-like structure
to prevent dirt and debris from entering the curb box assembly
and blocking the top of the valve.
Another line is then installed from the second valve to the
inside of the home or business. The second valve and curb box
assembly enables the Water Department employees to access the
valve in the case that an owner chooses to be disconnected, or
in the case that the owner needs to have the water turned off
for plumbing repairs or in the case of non-payment of a water
bill. All underground work is to be inspected by the Water
Department before any fill can be added (Section 16-36).
After the plumbing has been approved by the Building and the
Water Departments, a meter will be installed to monitor water
usage (Section 16-122) The City pays 2/3 of the cost of the
meter and radio transmitter while the customer pays the
remaining 1/3 (Section 16-124). This fee is collected in the
permitting process. The radio transmitter allows the Water
Department employee to read the meter without entering the home.
City code (Section 16-32) states that this valve may not be
accessed without permission from the Superintendent of the Water
Department. This protects the City from having water turned on
in a non-paying or non-metered situation.
If the water line is 1 inch in diameter or less, the customer
will be included in the service line insurance plan and charged
the applicable fee and will qualify for maintenance as defined
in Ordinance 1131. This ordinance allows the water department to maintain the
corporation stop, the curb valve stop, all the water line
between these two valves, the curb box, the curb box rod and the
curb box lid. The customer is responsible for the upkeep of the
remainder of the service line, starting at but not including the
curb box and valve, and all plumbing to and including the
household plumbing. The customer’s section must be maintained so
that it is accessible and working at all times at the owner’s
expense (Section 16-33).
If the line is larger than 1 inch, the home or business owner
does not qualify for the service line insurance and will not
be charged the applicable fee. In this case, the owner is
responsible for the entire service line. This includes the
corporation stop or other tapping device, all water line, all
valves, boxes, rods, lids and any other apparatus attached to
the service line other than the water meter. (Section 16-33).
If you have any further questions about this subject, feel
free to contact the Superintendent of the
Kendallville Water Department.
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