Article 5. Sewers of California Water Code >> Division 13. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 5.

A district may acquire, construct, operate, and furnish facilities and services, within or without the district, for the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage, waste, and storm water and may contract with any persons, firms, public or private corporations or public agencies or other users concerning facilities and services for said purposes. The district may only furnish such services outside the district by means of facilities designed primarily to serve inside the district. Before a district may so furnish such services without the district and within the boundaries of another district or a municipality which has the same or similar powers, including a California water district, with respect to such facilities and services, it shall secure the consent of the governing body of such other district or municipality to do so. This section, to the extent it relates to service outside the district, shall only apply in the case of California water districts where two California water districts are contiguous to each other.

The district may prescribe, revise, and collect rates or other charges for the services and facilities furnished pursuant to this article.

The district may provide that such rates or other charges may be collected with the water rates of the district and that all rates shall be billed upon the same bill and collected as one item, and that in the event of failure to pay the whole or any part thereof, the district may discontinue any and all service for which such bill is rendered, but this provision shall not be construed to prohibit the collection of rates or charges by the district in any other lawful manner.

Upon providing a sewer system in any area of the district, the district may declare the further maintenance or use of cesspools, septic tanks, or other local means of sewage disposal in such area to be a public nuisance and may require all buildings used by human beings to be connected with the sewer system within such period, not less than 120 days from the completion of the sewer system, as may be prescribed by the district; provided that such buildings to be connected are within 150 feet of the system.

A district may not exercise any of the powers granted a district by this article unless the board first submits to the voters of the district at an election a proposition as to whether or not the powers may be exercised by the district and a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in favor of the proposition. Such proposition may be submitted at, or at an election consolidated with, the election at which a proposition to issue bonds of the district, or for an improvement district therein, for the purposes specified in this article is submitted. A proposition to issue bonds of the district, or for an improvement district therein, for the purposes specified in this article which has been submitted at, or at an election consolidated with, an election under this section before the effective date of the amendment of this section enacted at the 1964 First Extraordinary Session of the Legislature is hereby ratified and confirmed and any bonds authorized at said election may be issued as legal obligations of the district or improvement district. Only one election need be held to authorize a district to exercise any of the powers granted by this article or any later amendments thereof.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 35504, a district may exercise the powers granted a district by this article after a hearing by the board on the question of whether or not the district shall exercise any or all the powers granted by this article. Notice of such hearing shall be given in the manner specified in Section 36254. At the time of the hearing, the board shall hear all interested persons and receive any written protests by any owner of property within the district. Protests shall be made in the manner provided in Section 36255. The board shall not exercise any of the powers granted by this article if a majority written protest is filed against the exercise of such powers. Whether or not a majority protest is made shall be determined in the manner provided in Section 36256.

If 75 percent or more of the territory of one or more county sanitation districts is located within the boundaries of a California water district situated in one county, the board of supervisors of the county, or the governing body of the county sanitation district or districts, may, if the board of directors of the California water district gives its consent in writing, delegate the powers and functions of the governing bodies of the county sanitation districts to the board of directors of the California water district, which shall thereafter perform such powers and functions.

In order to carry out the powers and purposes granted under this article a district may exercise or use any of the powers or procedures otherwise granted to a district under this division to the extent such powers or procedures may be made applicable.

The powers or procedures referred to in Section 35506 shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: bonds pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 35950) of Part 6, Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 36150) of Part 6 and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 36300) of Part 6; warrants pursuant to Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 36400) of Part 6; formation of improvement districts and bonds therefor pursuant to Chapter 4.9 (commencing with Section 36410) of Part 6 and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 36450) of Part 6; eminent domain pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 35625) of Part 5; and contracts with other agencies pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 35850) of Part 5.

The powers or procedures referred to in Section 35506 shall include all powers or procedures either necessary, useful or desirable to carry out the powers and purposes of this article.

In the event that the boundaries of any district, which is authorized to exercise the powers granted by this article, are altered pursuant to the District Reorganization Act of 1965, Division 1 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 6 of the Government Code, such powers may continue to be exercised only within that portion of the district originally authorized to exercise such powers, when provided by terms and conditions adopted pursuant to Section 56470 of the Government Code.