Legal Documents of Gatlinburg
Code of Gatlinburg
Title 13 Property Maintenance Regulations
Chapter 1 Miscellaneous
13-107 : Use of water from wells, etc. prohibited generally.
- Every dwelling house, tenement, or other building must be supplied with city water, provided there is a water main in the front, rear, or on either side of such premises.
- It shall be unlawful for any person located on any premises where there is provided a water main in front, rear, or on either side of such premises, to use water from wells or springs if such premises are open to the general public, or the general public is invited upon said premises.
- It shall be hereafter unlawful for any person to dig wells upon any premises where there is a water main in front, rear, or on either side of such premises; provided, however, wells may be used for the purpose of being a source of supply for water-based heat pump systems, watering lawns, or agricultural uses but not for human consumption. All pipes carrying well water shall be color coded and marked 'non-potable water'. Said wells are in no way to be connected or cross-connected to the potable water system, unless isolated by the use of an approved air-gap system. Water obtained from any such well may not be discharged into the sanitary sewer system without approval of the City of Gatlinburg.
- The city manager of the City of Gatlinburg is hereby empowered and directed to have the Tennessee Department of Health inspect and examine all springs and wells which he has reason to believe are polluted, unhealthy, unsanitary and carrying in their waters the germs of infectious and contagious diseases, and also to make or have made an analysis of the waters thereof for the purpose of ascertaining their sanitary condition.
- If, as a result of such examination, inspection and analysis, as provided in paragraph 4 of this section, the city manager or the Tennessee Department of Health ascertains that any spring or well is unsanitary, unhealthy, and infected with the germs of contagious and infectious diseases, the city manager shall at once condemn such spring or well as a public nuisance, and shall post a notice on or near thereto stating that such source of water supply has been condemned as unsanitary and dangerous to health, and shall at once serve written notice upon the owner of such well or spring, if he be a resident of the city, to abate such nuisance within ten (10) days by permanently closing such well or spring and so abating it as to render the taking of water therefrom impossible. If the owner thereof resides outside of the city, the said city manager shall give him such notice in writing as above provided by registered mail, and should the owner thereof be unknown and his identify cannot be established by diligent inquiry, a suitable notice shall be published for ten (10) days in a newspaper in the city, requiring the unknown owner of such spring or well to so close and obstruct such spring or well and abate such nuisance within ten (10) days from date of the last publication of such notice.
-
If any owner of a spring or well shall fail to comply with a notice provided for in paragraph 5 of this section within ten (10) days from the receipt thereof by closing and obstructing same and abating such nuisance to the public health, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
If any owner shall fail to close and obstruct such well or spring and abate such nuisance after the expiration of ten (10) days from the receipt of such aforesaid notice or the making of said publication for an unknown owner, it shall then be the duty of the chief of police upon the request of the city manager to abate, obstruct and close up such well or spring so as to prevent persons from obtaining and using water therefrom, and the cost and expense of closing shall be chargeable to the owner of such well or spring and shall be payable to the city on demand.
- The words "polluted", "unhealthy", "unsanitary", and "infected", as used in paragraph 4 to 6 of this section apply only and solely to the use of the waters in question for human consumption. Nothing in the provisions of paragraph 4 to 6 shall be held to prohibit their use for domestic or commercial uses.
- Every pool, pond, or other place within the limits of the city which shall be offensive or dangerous to health is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, and may be abated at the cost of the offender, unless renovated, cleansed, or purified within three days of notification from the city manager. (1976 Code, § 8-413)
Officials at Date of Last Codification:
Mayor - Mike Werner
Vice Mayor - Mark McCown
Commissioner - Ryan DeSear
Commissioner - Chad Reagan
Commissioner - Kirby Smith
City Manager - Cindy Cameron Ogle
City Attorney - Ronald E. Sharp