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must be recognized that the rules and regulations of water utilities can never be made strictly uniform, since they must reflect local conditions as well as the historical background of the utility. Nevertheless, a greater degree of uniformity than now exists is generally agreed to be desirable. In the event of a dispute between the utility and a customer, the prestige of the Association behind a regulation would carry considerable weight, and it might not seem so unreasonable to a customer if he knew that other cities enforced the same conditions. Moreover, industries with branches in many places, and individuals who move from one locality to another, should find all utility rules and regulations roughly similar, just as they do traffic rules. Otherwise, they may properly be excused if they unwittingly violate them. The authors do not claim to be experts on this subject, but they have had a good deal to do with compiling the rules and regulations for their respective organizations and have studied the more general problems in preparing this discussion. It is believed that the broad principles set forth herein are correct and should guide those responsible for preparing the regulations for their own communities. Criticism will, of course, be welcomed. At the outset, there is an objection to calling these regulations "Rules and Regulations." These two terms are practically synonymous, and there is no reason for using both. Free people do not like an excessive suggestion of

The author prepared this portion of the regulations in accordance with established AWWA policy (2) and the regulations of the East Bay Municipal Utility Dist., which contain a similar prohibition against ground-wire connections, although the rule has never been actively enforced. Therefore, the numerous objections which were promptly registered came as a surprise. Since that time, the matter has been further investigated and the author is now even more thoroughly convinced that the prohibition is essential in the regulations of every water supply utility. The difficulty with Section 24 stems largely from the fact that it is directly contrary to the requirements of the National Electrical Code, the Electrical Safety Orders of the state of California, Division of Industrial Safety, and probably most city electrical codes. Section 2612 of the National Electrical Code states