(a) No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb public or private sanitary or combined sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a permit from the City.
(b) No permit to connect to or tap a public sewer shall be issued unless a permit is also obtained as delineated in this section, if applicable.
(c) No permit shall be issued to connect a house sewer to a public sewer if the connection of any portion thereof is in, under or on a lot not owned by the person whose house is to be connected and if no recorded easement exists authorizing the connection on such lot.
(d) No permit to connect to or tap a public sewer shall be issued if the sewage to be discharged would, in the opinion of the Superintendent of the Waste Water Treatment Plant, overload any public sewer.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, and before a permit is issued to connect any house, building or structure to the City's sanitary sewer system, any extension thereof outside the corporate boundaries of the City, and/or any County or Township sewer which discharges into the City of Ashtabula waste water treatment plant, a fee shall be paid as follows:
(1) For any 1-4 family residence, $500 per tap.
(2) For any residential structure containing more than 4 units and any commercial or industrial property, a fee based upon the diameter of the water line or pipe serving or to be serving the structure in question where it enters the water meter, as follows:
A. 2-inch diameter or less - $1,500 per tap
B. Over 2 inches but smaller than 4 inches - $3,500 per tap
C. 4 inches and larger, but smaller than 6 inches - $6,000 per tap
D. 6 inches and larger, but smaller than 8 inches - $12,000 per tap
E. 8 inches and larger - $25,000 per tap
(g) Existing structures of any kind which have been vacant and without incoming water service for one (1) year or more, prior to being reoccupied shall be subject to an administrative review and, if in the opinion of the City Manager or designee it is necessary, an inspection to determine whether the existing tap is functional and sufficient for the intended use of the structure. The fee for such administrative review or inspection shall be $300 per tap.
(h) Modifications of Existing Commercial or Industrial Building. If due to modification or change of use of an existing commercial or industrial building there is an increase in water service line size, a tap-in fee calculated as the difference between that fee which would be chargeable for the old or existing service line size, and that fee which would be chargeable for the new or larger service line size, as such fees are set forth in sub-paragraphs (e)(2)(A) through (e)(2)(E), above, shall be assessed and paid prior to issuance of building or zoning permits for such modified structure.
(i) Main Avenue and Bridge Street 2nd Story or Higher Residential. No sanitary sewer connection or tap-in fee shall be assessed against any person, corporation or legal entity applying for a sanitary sewer connection permit for 2nd-story or higher dwelling units within existing structures located on Main Avenue, from the intersection of Main Avenue and West 58th Street through the intersection of Main Avenue and Lake Avenue; and on Bridge Street, from the intersection of Bridge Street and Lake Avenue through the intersection of Bridge Street and Goodwill/Morton Drive.
(j) All sanitary sewer connection applications and fees shall be received by the City or its agent prior to the issuance of any necessary building and/or zoning permits. All sanitary sewer connection permits shall expire twelve calendar months after issuance if the tap is not completed in accordance with the application; provided, such limitation shall not apply to the construction of any sanitary sewer laterals or connections under approved plans and specifications when work there under has begun and has been carried on with reasonable continuity within twelve calendar months of the date of the original approval.
(k) City departments shall not be required to pay any of the fees provided in this section.
(l) Council may, for good cause, remit or reduce any fee prescribed by this section.
(m) When, in the opinion of the City Manager, it is necessary to connect a house connection sewer to a public sewer to a point where no connection facility has been provided, application for the public sewer tap shall be submitted and a separate fee for each tap shall be paid by the applicant before the permit is issued for the construction of the house connection sewer, as delineated in the Plumbing Code.
(n) All tapping of public sewers shall be made by City employees, or by a licensed sewer contractor, in the presence and to the satisfaction of an inspector acting under the authority of the City Manager. Sewer tappers shall be licensed by the City in accordance with the Plumbing Code.
(o) Every connection to a public sewer shall comply with the following:
(1) All house connection sewers shall be made with pipe of cast iron, vitrified clay or other material in accordance with City of Ashtabula standards, approved as to grade and quality by the City.;
(2) The pipe shall be laid in a straight alignment and at a uniform slope, and shall have a fall of not less than one foot in fifty feet unless, in the opinion of the City Engineer or the City Manager's designee may grant the necessary change;
(3) The pipe shall be at least four feet below curb grade and where it crosses the property line at least four feet below the established grade o and
(4) The line of the connection sewer pipe shall be at right angles from the wye branch in the public sewer unless, in the opinion of the City Engineer or the City Manager's designee, circumstances warrant a change from this procedure, in which case the City Engineer or the City Manager's designee may grant the necessary change.
(p) No more than one lot shall be connected to any one house connection sewer.
(q) No person shall connect any cesspool, seepage pit or septic tank to any public sewer or to any house sewer or house connection sewer.
(r) A wye or tee saddle shall be installed in tapped public sewers by cutting a properly proportioned hole in the public sewer and fitting the saddle snugly in place. Heavy galvanized asphalt painted iron wire of not less than twelve gauge shall be bound around the main line pipe and the flange of the saddle. Wye saddles shall be placed in the side of the main line sewer pipe with the wye branch so pointed as to direct flow from the house connection sewer downstream at approximately a forty-five degree angle with the public sewer, and tilted upward at approximately forty-five degree angle with the public sewer, and tilted upward at approximately forty-five degrees from the horizontal. Tee saddles shall be used only for the construction of chimney pipes and shall be installed vertically in the soffit of the public sewer.
(s) No person shall connect a house connection or industrial waste connection sewer to a public sewer, except through a wye branch, without written permission to do so from the City Manager.
(t) The City Manager may disconnect any house connection sewer installed or maintained in violation of the provisions of this section. Reconnection of a disconnected sewer shall be made only upon issuance of a permit as provided in Section 933.07. Before the permit is issued, the applicant shall reimburse the City for the cost of the disconnection.
(u) 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 drains shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(v) There shall be two types of building sewer permits:
(1) For residential and commercial service; and
(2) For services to establishments discharging industrial wastes.
In either case, the owner, or his agent shall make application on a special form to be obtained from the City. The application for permit shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the City Manager. A separate tap permit shall be obtained for each building to be connected to the sewer system. A permit and inspection fee as set by ordinance for each sewer permit shall be paid to the City at the time the application is filed.
(w) No person shall be allowed to connect or remain connected to a septic tank if City sewerage is available within a reasonable distance, as specified by the City Manager. The City Manager shall notify persons presently connected to septic tanks to apply for a permit to connect to the City sewerage system. Permit for connection shall be as in accordance with Section 933.07.
(Ord. 2016-50. Passed 3-21-2016.)