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~/ <br />Elk River -~= <br />Municipal Utilities <br />1.3069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Phone: 763.441.2020 <br />Elk River, MN 55330-0430 Fax: 763.441.8099 <br />September 4, 2007 <br />To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission <br />Jerry Takle <br />Jerry Gumphrey <br />Jim Tralle <br />From: Bryan Adams <br />Subject: Abandoned Water Services <br />As homes are demolished or moved from a site, the abandoned water service continues to be a <br />problem. Our current policy, Section 114 contained in the Water Rules, is attached for your <br />reference. Recently we have had a number of houses demolished on either major streets or <br />streets that were recently rebuilt and the county or city will not issue street disruption permits to <br />allow the owner to disconnect the water service. The county or city feelings are they do not want <br />the new street cut and damaged to remove a water service that may never leak. Our position is <br />we do not like stub water lines that may cause contamination problems. But the major concern is <br />finding the correct or unknowing property owner and having them fix a leak if and when one <br />develops. <br />Our current policy allows the property owner to post a bond but many property owners do not <br />svant the hassle of the long term bond. One solution suggested by the City Engineers is to have <br />the affected property owners pay Elk River Municipal Utilities to take on the liability to remove <br />the water service when it develops a leak. Depending upon the location and street of a potential <br />service leak, disconnection costs would be in the $3,000 to $7,000 range with the majority of the <br />costs in street repairs. <br />Proposed language changes to our policy are as follows. <br />Delete second, third and fourth paragraphs of the policy and replace with... <br />In the case where local unit of government will not issue a street disruption permit <br />to allow the proper abandonment of water service, property owner shall pay Elk <br />River Municipal Utilities the estimated costs to properly abandon water service <br />along with GPS coordinates of the abandoned water stop. The Elk River Municipal <br />Utilities will then assume all future liability to properly abandon water services and <br />shall do so in case of service line leaks. Estimated cost shall be determined by <br />