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The Florida Statutes

The 2023 Florida Statutes (including Special Session C)

Title XI
COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Chapter 153
WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS
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F.S. 153.02
153.02 Definitions.As used in this part the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless some other meaning is plainly indicated:
(1) The word “county” shall mean any of the several counties of the state operating under the authority granted by this chapter.
(2) The term “county commission” or the word “commission” shall mean the board of county commissioners of any county operating under the powers granted by this chapter.
(3) The term “water system” shall mean and shall include any plant, wells, pipes, tanks, reservoirs, system, facility, or property used or useful or having the present capacity for future use in connection with the obtaining and supplying water and alternative water supplies, including, but not limited to, reclaimed water and water from aquifer storage and recovery and desalination systems, for human consumption, fire protection, irrigation, consumption by business, or consumption by industry, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition shall embrace all necessary appurtenances and equipment and shall include all property, rights, easements and franchises relating to any such system and deemed necessary or convenient for the operation thereof.
(4) The term “water system improvements” shall include all water pipes or lines, valves, meters, and other water-supplying equipment within the county other than such equipment as constitute a part of the water supply system and shall embrace water mains and laterals for the carrying of water to the premises connected therewith and for carrying such water from some part of the water supply system.
(5) The term “sewage disposal system” shall mean and shall include any plant, system, facility, or property used or useful or having the present capacity for future use in connection with the collection, treatment, purification, or disposal of sewage, or reuse of wastewater, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition shall embrace treatment plants, pumping stations, intercepting sewers, pressure lines, mains, and all necessary appurtenances and equipment and shall include all property, rights, easements, and franchises relating to any such system and deemed necessary or convenient for the operation thereof.
(6) The term “sewer improvements” shall include all sanitary sewers within the county other than such mains and lines as constitute a part of a sewage disposal system, and shall embrace sewer mains and laterals for the reception of sewage from premises connected therewith and for carrying such sewage to some part of the sewage disposal system or for the distribution of reclaimed sewage for reuse.
(7) The word “facility” shall mean such water systems, sewage disposal systems, water system improvements and/or sewer improvements or additions thereto as are defined by this chapter.
(8) The word “cost” as applied to a water supply system or extensions or additions thereto or to water supply improvements or to a sewage disposal system or extensions or additions thereto or to sewer improvements shall include the cost of construction or reconstruction, the cost of all labor, materials, machinery and equipment, the cost of all lands, property, rights, easements and franchises acquired, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for 1 year after completion of construction, cost of plans and specifications, surveys of estimates of costs and of revenues, cost of engineering and legal services, and all other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of such construction or reconstruction, administrative expense and such other expense as may be necessary or incident to the financing herein authorized. Any obligation or expense heretofore or hereafter incurred by the county in connection with any of the foregoing terms of cost may be regarded as a part of such cost and reimbursed to the county out of the proceeds of bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter.
(9) The term “water revenue bonds” shall mean special obligations of the county which are payable solely from water service charges and which shall in no way pledge the property, credit, or general tax revenue of the county.
(10) The term “sewer revenue bonds” shall mean special obligations of the county which are payable solely from sewer service charges and which in no way pledge the property, credit, or general tax revenue of the county.
(11) The term “general obligation bonds” shall mean general obligations of the county which are payable from unlimited ad valorem taxes or from such taxes and additionally secured by a pledge of water service charges or sewer service charges or special assessments, or all of them.
(12) The word “bonds” shall include water revenue bonds, sewer revenue bonds, and general obligation bonds.
(13) The word “sewage” shall include any substance that contains any of the waste products, excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals as well as such other wastes as normally emanate from dwelling houses.
History.s. 2, ch. 29837, 1955; s. 3, ch. 93-51; s. 2, ch. 95-323.