The Assessor of the District of Columbia shall give notices as herein provided of the levying of assessments for water mains and service sewers. Assessments shall be levied within 60 days after the completion of the main or service sewer, and the owner or owners affected by such assessments shall be notified that the same have been levied by a notice which shall be served upon the owner of the lot or parcel of land if he or she be a resident of the District of Columbia, and his or her residence be known. If the owner be a nonresident or his or her residence be unknown, the notice shall be served on his or her agent or tenant. The service of such notice, where the owner or his or her agent or tenant resides in the District of Columbia, shall be personal or by leaving the same with some person of suitable age, either a member of his family or in his employ, at the residence or place of business of such owner, agent, or tenant; and return of such service, stating the manner thereof, shall be made in writing under oath and filed in the office of the Assessor of the District of Columbia. If there be no agent or tenant known to said Assessor, and the owner or owners be not residents of the District of Columbia, or if the owner be a resident of the District of Columbia and cannot be found therein, and no person of suitable age as aforesaid can be found at his or her residence or place of business, notice shall be given by advertisement once a week for 3 successive weeks in some daily newspaper published in said District, and in said publication of said notice each several piece of property shall be described in a separate paragraph, and the cost of such advertisement shall be added to the amount of said assessment and collected in the same manner that said assessment is collected.