Section 9-708 - Water service pipes or sewer connections; abandonment of cesspools, drains, and privies. - Maryland Statutes

§ 9-708. Water service pipes or sewer connections; abandonment of cesspools, drains, and privies.
 

(a)  Municipal authority to provide connection between system and property and to oversee hookup.- A municipal authority shall: 

(1) Construct and provide at its own expense for any water main or sanitary sewer constructed or established under Part II of this subtitle, a water service pipe or sewer connection that extends from the water main or sewer to the property line of each lot that abuts on a street or right-of-way in which the water main or sewer is laid; and 

(2) When the municipal authority declares that a water main or sewer is complete and ready for use, notify each owner of abutting property that the owner shall: 

(i) Connect all spigots or hydrants, toilets, and waste drains with the water main or sewer, within a reasonable time as determined by the municipal authority; and 

(ii) Install adequate spigots or hydrants, toilets and waste drains if: 

1. There are no fixtures or drains; or 

2. The municipal authority believes that the existing fixtures or drains are improper or inadequate. 

(b)  Abandonment of cesspools, drains, and privies.- To prevent any use of or any injury to the public health, each owner of property that is connected with a sewer shall abandon, close, and leave, in the manner that the municipal authority directs, any: 

(1) Cesspool; 

(2) Drain; 

(3) Privy; or 

(4) Well that is determined by the municipal authority to be polluted or a menace to health. 

(c)  Special provisions for Frederick County.-  

(1) After notice from the municipal authority, if a property owner in Frederick County fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the municipal authority may: 

(i) Have any necessary connections made; 

(ii) Cause any cesspool, drains, or privy to be closed and abandoned; and 

(iii) Charge the property owner with the cost of the connection or closing or both. 

(2) For purposes of this subsection, the costs: 

(i) Are a lien against the affected property until paid; and 

(ii) May be collected in the same manner as county or municipal taxes. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 43, §§ 414, 415; 1982, ch. 240, § 2.]