It shall be the duty of the property owner to maintain clean and free from obstruction any private drain, house sewer or other sewer structure up to the point where it connects to the city-owned sewer and to make any necessary repairs to the private drain, house sewer or sewer structure, except as indicated in Section 11-16-020.
If the property owner violates this section, the commissioner shall notify the owner in writing of his duty to maintain or repair the private drain house sewer or sewer structure. The notification shall be sent via certified mail and shall contain the following information: (i) a statement describing the maintenance or repairs to be made; (ii) the number of days allowed for compliance with this section; (iii) the penalty for noncompliance; and (iv) the date the notification was sent.
If the maintenance or repairs described in the notification are not completed within five days after the notification is sent, the commissioner shall cause the maintenance or repairs to be done at the owner's expense. The owner shall pay the city in full for any costs and expenses which the city incurs in connection with the performance of that work; provided, however, that (1) if the damage necessitating any maintenance or repair was caused by a utility company, the utility company shall be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by the city in connection with the performance of that work; and (2) the owner shall not be liable to the city for any damage to any private drain, house sewer or sewer structure caused by the city or its employees or agents in the performance of city business.
(Added Coun. J. 2-6-02, p. 78883, § 1)