Article 3. Sewer Use Regulations
15-301 Definitions.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
(Ord. 269, Art. 1)
15-302 Unlawful deposits.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the city or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
(Ord. 269, Art. 2)
15-303 Prohibited discharges.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the city, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any sewage or other polluted wastes, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.
(Ord. 269, Art. 2)
15-304 Privys, septic tanks.
Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.
(Ord. 269, Art. 2)
15-305 Connection required.
The owner of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, or recreation situated within the city and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located, or in the future be located, a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city, is hereby required at his or her expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly to the public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article within 90 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that a public sewer is within 200 feet of the structure to be served by the sewer.
(Ord. 429, Sec. 1)
15-306 Private disposal system.
Where a public sanitary or combined sewer is not available under the provisions of section 15-305, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the provisions of this article.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-307 Same; permit.
Before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the superintendent. The application for such permit shall be made on a form furnished by the city, which the applicant shall supplement with duplicate plans, specifications, and other information as are deemed necessary by the superintendent. A permit and inspection fee of $200 shall be paid to the city at the time the application is filed.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3; Code 2019)
15-308 Same; inspection.
A permit for a private sewage disposal system shall not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction of the superintendent. He or she shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the superintendent when the work is ready for final inspection and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made within 24 hours of the receipt of notice by the superintendent.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-309 Same; specifications.
The type, capacities, location and layout of a private sewage disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the county health officer. No permit shall be issued for any private sewage disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than 20,000 square feet. No septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-310 Same; connection to public sewer.
At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private sewage disposal system, as provided in section 15-309, a direct connection shall be made to the public within 60 days in compliance with this article, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private sewage disposal facilities shall be abandoned and filled with clean backrun gravel or dirt.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-311 Same; operation.
The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the city.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-312 Same; requirements of health officer.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the health officer.
(Ord. 269, Art. 3)
15-313 Connections, permits.
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the superintendent.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-314 Same; application and connection fee.
The owner or his or her agent shall make application for connection to sanitary sewer on a special form furnished by the city. The permit application shall be supplemented with duplicated plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the superintendent. Prior to and as a condition to any permit being issued, the owner or his or her agent shall be obligated to pay or shall have otherwise already paid to the city the following:
(Ord. 514, Sec. 1; Code 2004)
15-315 Expenses, damage.
All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-316 Sewer for each building.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court yard, or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-317 Old building sewers.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found on examination and test by the superintendent, to meet all requirements of this article.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-318 Specifications.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the city.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-319 Elevation.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-320 Downspouts, drains, sump pumps.
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, interior and exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, sump pumps, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(Ord. 411, Sec. 6)
15-321 Connection standards.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sanitary sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code and other applicable rules and regulations of the city. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the superintendent before installation. Unless otherwise approved by the city council no connection to the city main shall be made except at a point immediately adjacent to an owner’s property. Connections will not be permitted from private service lines which extend across properties owned by third persons without properly recorded easements for such lines and without the specific consent of the governing body and only in those instances when the use of such line will not interfere with or hinder future development. No such connection shall be permitted which requires a larger than a four inch unassisted service line.
(Ord. 429, Sec. 2)
15-322 Same; inspection.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the superintendent when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the superintendent or a designated representative.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-323 Barricades, lights.
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the city.
(Ord. 269, Art. 4)
15-324 Sanitary sewers.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, including interior and exterior foundation drains, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-325 Storm sewers.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the superintendent. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged on approval of the superintendent to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-326 Prohibited discharges.
The violation of the foregoing section by any person or entity shall constitute a public offense and upon conviction thereof may be punished by the imposition of a fine not exceeding $1,000 and by incarceration in the county jail for a period of time not to exceed 30 days. In addition thereto or in lieu of the commencement of a criminal prosecution in the municipal court, any person found to be in violation of the foregoing section shall be liable to the city for any and all costs incurred by the city or damages suffered by the city including the cost of additional operation and maintenance. Upon the discovery of a violation of the foregoing section, the city shall have the right to immediately disconnect the sewer connection giving rise to such violation.
(Ord. 412, Sec. 1)
15-327 Same; prohibited at discretion of superintendent.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely in the opinion of the superintendent that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his or her opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the superintendent will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials or construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:
(3) Control the quantities and rates of discharge of such waters or wastes.
Plans, specifications and any other pertinent information relating to proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the superintendent and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until the approvals are obtained in writing.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-328 Same; procedure.
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in section 15-327 and which in the judgment of the superintendent, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise create a hazard to life to constitute a public nuisance, the superintendent may:
If the superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the superintendent and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-329 Interceptors.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the superintendent and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-330 Preliminary treatment.
Where preliminary treatment for flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his or her expense.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-331 Manholes.
When required by the superintendent, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the superintendent. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his or her expense and shall be maintained by him or her so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-332 Testing.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this article shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater,” published by the American Public Health Association and shall be determined at the control manhole provided or upon suitable samples taken at the control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a 24 hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24 hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH’s are determined from periodic grab samples.)
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-333 Industrial waste.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefore, by the industrial concern.
(Ord. 269, Art. 5)
15-334 Damaging sewers.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is part of the sewage works.
(Ord. 269, Art. 6)
15-335 Right of entry.
The superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article. The superintendent or his or her representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.
(Ord. 269, Art. 7)
15-336 Same; damage, liability.
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in section 15-335 above, the superintendent or duly authorized employees of the city shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the city employees and the city shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by city employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required in section 15-331.
(Ord. 269, Art. 7)
15-337 Easement.
The superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the city holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works lying within the easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on the easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.
(Ord. 269, Art. 7)
15-338 Violations.
(Ord. 269, Art. 8)
15-339 Introduction of surface water; remediation.
(Ord. 530; Code 2019)