Title 34 — Public Utilities.

The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall have the power to lay water mains and water pipes and to erect fireplugs and hydrants wherever the same may be in his judgment necessary for the public safety, comfort, or health.

The operations of the Water Department of the District of Columbia shall be under the direction of the Engineer’s Office of the District, subject to the control of the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

Full power is given to the Mayor of the District of Columbia to supply the inhabitants of the District with the Potomac water from the aqueduct mains or pipes laid in the streets and avenues by the United States; and to the Council of the District of Columbia to make all laws and…

The fiscal year of the Water Department of the District of Columbia shall conform to the regular fiscal year of the general government; the rates shall be levied and collected at least once every 12 months, or whenever practicable in the judgment of the Council of the District of…

All rates for water and water service hereby established shall be payable at least once semiannually. When the computation of the amount of any bill for any of such services results in a fraction of one-half cent or more, the next highest amount not containing a fraction shall be…

(a) Any person who desires a statement of the account of any water and sanitary sewer service charge to the date of the acquisition of any real property shall make a written request to the Department of Public Works (“Department”) on or before the date of the acquisition, except …

Water main taxes and water rents shall be uniform in said District.

The Department of Environmental Services shall perform such duties connected with the Water Department of the District as may be proper and necessary, under the direction of the Mayor of the District of Columbia. He shall give bonds for the faithful performance of his duty in the…

In all cases where a water main has heretofore been or may hereafter be laid in a public street or way, and in order to secure the laying of such main the cost or a part thereof has been paid to the District of Columbia prior to the laying of said main by any person or corporatio…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to cause all water rents erroneously paid after March 3, 1905, in the District of Columbia to be refunded in the manner prescribed by law for the refunding of erroneously paid taxes; provided, that application for refund …

The Mayor of the District of Columbia has authority to provide for the collection of water rates, in advance or otherwise, from the owner or occupants of all buildings or establishments using the water; and to provide for stopping the supply of water to any dwelling or establishm…

The water rates levied in the District of Columbia shall never be a source of revenue other than as a means of keeping up to said District a supply of water but shall constitute a fund exclusively for the maintenance, management, and repair of the system of water distribution.

Repealed Repealed.

All water rents derived from the Washington Aqueduct shall be paid into the General Fund of the District of Columbia as established by the Revenue Funds Availability Act of 1975 [D.C. Law 1-42].

Except as provided in §§ 34-2401.16 and 34-2401.17 no portion of the water conveyed or to be conveyed through or by means of the Washington Aqueduct, or any appurtenance thereof, shall be diverted to the supply or use of any building, premises or establishment located outside of …

For the protection of the health of the residents of the District of Columbia and the employees of the United States government residing in Maryland near the District of Columbia boundary, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, upon the request of the Washington Suburban Sanitary…

The Secretary of the Army is hereby authorized, in his discretion and subject to the approval of the Chief of Engineers, upon the request of the board of supervisors of Arlington County, Virginia, to permit the delivery of water from the federal water supply pumping station at th…

As used in § 34-2401.17, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Mayor” means the Mayor of the District of Columbia. (2) “District of Columbia water system” or “water system” means any and all of the facilities used or to be used for the supply of raw or partly purified water…

The Secretary of the Army is hereby authorized to acquire by purchase or condemnation all necessary lands, easements, and rights-of-way for pipelines within the District of Columbia to connect the force main of said pumping station with the water main in Arlington County as herei…

The unlawful tapping of any water pipe laid down in the District by authority of the United States is a misdemeanor and an indictable offense; and any person convicted of such offense in the criminal court of the District shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $500, or to impri…

It is the special duty of the Chief of Engineers to bring to the notice of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, or to the grand jury, any infraction of § 34-2401.20.

Every person who maliciously breaks, injures, defaces, or destroys any main or pipe, bend, branch, valve, hydrant, service pipe, or any other fixture used for the distribution of water throughout the streets and avenues, or for its introduction into the houses, tenements, or buil…

No greater number of main pipes of the Washington Aqueduct shall be laid at the expense of the United States than are sufficient to furnish the public buildings, offices, and grounds with the necessary supply of water. The cost of any main pipe, for the supply of water to the inh…

No person, unless by consent of the Chief of Engineers, shall tap or open the mains or pipes laid or hereafter to be laid by the United States, under a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500.

(a) All water and water services furnished from the District water supply system through any connection thereto for direct use by the government of the United States or any department, independent establishment, or agency thereof, situated in the District, except water and water …

If a department, independent establishment, or agency of the United States which uses water and water services from the District of Columbia water supply system has not installed a suitable meter at each point of Federal connection to the system to control and record the use of w…

(a) The Mayor is authorized to contract with the United States, any state in the Potomac River basin, any agency or political subdivision thereof, and any other competent state or local authority, with respect to the payment by the District to the United States, either directly o…

Appropriations are hereby authorized for the acquisition, by gift, dedication, exchange, purchase, or condemnation, of land or rights in or on land or easements therein for the Washington Aqueduct by the Chief of Engineers, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, or his designate…

In order to prevent unnecessary waste of Potomac water, and in order to more fully enforce the laws in relation to the distribution of the same, the Chief of Engineers is authorized, after giving notice, to shut off the water when such notice shall be disregarded from any places …

The use of Potomac water for mechanical and manufacturing purposes, or for private fountains, street and pavement washers, shall be allowed only when, in the opinion of the Chief of Engineers, it will not be detrimental to the general distribution of water in the District of Colu…

(a) The supply of water to all manufacturing establishments, hotels, livery stables, and other commercial buildings, shall be determined by meters erected and maintained at the expense of the consumer. (b) The bill for water meter service, including a charge for any repair made b…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized and directed, whenever in his judgment the same may be necessary for the public safety, health, comfort, or convenience, to construct water mains and service sewers in any street, avenue, road, or alley in the District of Columb…

For laying or constructing water mains in the District of Columbia assessments shall be levied at the rate of $3 per linear front foot against all lots or land abutting upon that part of the street, avenue, road, or alley in which a water main shall be laid, and that for laying o…

The Assessor of the District of Columbia shall give notices as herein provided of the levying of assessments for water mains and service sewers. Assessments shall be levied within 60 days after the completion of the main or service sewer, and the owner or owners affected by such …

Assessments for water mains and service sewers shall be payable in 3 equal installments, the 1st of which shall be due and payable without interest within 30 days from date of service of notice or of the last publication of notice as the case may be, the second within 1 year, and…

Property in the County of Washington, not subdivided into blocks or lots, or both, shall not be assessed for water mains or service sewers until subdivided; provided, that where houses are built on any unsubdivided land and connection is made with a water main or service sewer, a…

The Assessor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized and directed in cases where water-main assessments, or assessments for service sewers, may be quashed, canceled, set aside, or declared void by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, or may otherwise be cancel…

All sums received by the Collector of Taxes under the provisions of this subchapter on account of assessments levied for the construction of service sewers shall be credited to the appropriation under which the sewer was constructed for the fiscal year in which such sums shall be…

A service sewer within the meaning of the provisions of this subchapter shall be a sewer with which connection may be directly made for the purpose of providing sewerage facilities to abutting property, and such sewers shall be so indicated on the records of the Sewer Division of…

(a) The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized to provide for the collection of water charges, in advance or otherwise, from the owner or occupant of any building, establishment, or other place furnished water or water service by the District, and to shut off the water s…

(a)(1) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, if an owner of real property fails to pay District water and sanitary sewer service charges in full accordance with § 34-2407.01, for all bills rendered which remain unsatisfied for 60 days or more the Mayor ma…

The remedies set forth in §§ 34-2407.01, 34-2407.02, and 34-2413.10 [repealed] are hereby declared to be cumulative and not exclusive.

To aid in the erection, maintenance, and efficiency of fireplugs, a special annual tax may be levied on all buildings in the City of Washington within 500 feet of any main water pipe, into which, or the premises connected therewith, the water has not been introduced, and the owne…

The fireplug tax shall be levied with reference to the value of the building so taxed, and shall not be more than $5 nor less than $1 per year.

Whenever the water is introduced, in conformity with law, into any building or premises, the fireplug tax thereon shall cease.

Whenever water is discontinued from any building or premises into which it has been introduced, such building shall be subject to the fireplug tax from the date of the discontinuance of the water.

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term “private fire hydrant” means a hydrant which is not owned by the District of Columbia. The term “private fire hydrant” does not include any private water distribution system connecting the private fire hydrant to the public water syst…

The Mayor shall not approve any permit or related plan that authorizes the installation of a private fire hydrant without an agreement, to be recorded in the land records of the Recorder of Deeds, establishing the entity or person, and successors thereof, responsible for the main…

(a) The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority shall have a right of access to inspect, maintain, repair, or replace any private fire hydrant, including the connected water distribution system, in the District of Columbia. (b) If the identified owner of a private fire hyd…

(a) The Mayor and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority shall have a right of access for the inspection of any private fire hydrant in the District of Columbia to determine operational ability and compliance with applicable standards. The Mayor and the District of Co…