CEDAR HILLS — Residents in Cedar Hills who are illegally hooked up to the pressurized irrigation system have a chance to come clean — no questions asked.
But they have to do so before the end of the month.
Starting Sept. 1, the city will fine people $500 for taking advantage of the new system without paying for it. Those fined will also have to start paying for the monthly usage.
"Basically, we had a lot of people hooking up without being inspected or being billed properly," said Rebecca Hoffman, assistant to the public works director. "This lets them hook up with no questions asked."
Currently, everyone in Cedar Hills pays a flat base rate of $9.95. Water use costs $29.84 per acre foot per month.
Hoffman said around 60 percent of the city's residents have not been paying the usage fee. The system was completed in 2003.
"It's not the money so much as the fact that water is like gold. We want to make sure we're accounting for all of it," she said.
"Right now, we have 35 to 40 percent who are properly hooked on."
Residents who have hooked up without notifying the city may have done so without realizing their mistake, Hoffman said, but they have had to dig four to seven feet down and physically connect to the system.
In some instances, they may have assumed their developer paid for the hook-up and subsequent charges, she said.
Whatever the story, the residents who fail to take advantage of "Amnesty Month" will be subject to the $500 fine if technicians who will start checking hook-ups lot by lot in September find an illegal connection.
Hoffman said people are responding to the city's amnesty offer and coming in at the rate of 15 to 25 homeowners per day.
Those interested in getting properly inspected can contact city staff at the public works building at the intersection of the Canyon Highway and Cedar Ridge Drive or go online to www.cedarhihlls.org/departments/water/pi.shtml.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com