(a) No person shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged into the sewer system or stormwater system, including, but not limited to, any natural watercourse within the City of Cleveland, any pollutants, wastewater, materials, or substances that are not permitted by an NPDES, or are the following types of discharges, which are deemed to be unacceptable by the Commissioner, and thus prohibited, under this chapter:
(1) Constitute a hazard to life and limb of personnel engaged in inspection, maintenance, or operation of the system or to persons who may come in contact with discharges from the sewer system;
(2) Constitutes or creates a substantial potential or actual hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment if improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed;
(3) Contain properties which may be detrimental to the functional integrity or operation of sewers or pumping stations, or which are in any way deleterious to any part of the sewer system including stormwater system;
(4) Produce excessive odors or in any other way constitute or create a public nuisance;
(5) Be in violation of any rule or regulation for sewer use or for the prevention or control of water pollution adopted by the NEORSD, Cuyahoga County or any other agency responsible for sewers, the stormwater system, pumping stations, or other system components into which the wastewater is discharged;
(6) Cause the City to incur unreasonable expense in its handling or treatment;
(7) Be of such a volume or be discharged at such a rate as to exceed the capacity of any part of the sewer system;
(8) Directly or indirectly cause water pollution in violation of any permit conditions or State or Federal regulations;
(9) Contain concentrations of any toxic or deleterious material or substance that are prohibited or are in excess of limits set by other provisions of this chapter; or
(10) Constitutes a discharge of sanitary sewage to a stormwater sewer or a public right-of-way or on to a neighboring property.
(b) No person shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged into the sewer system or stormwater system, including, but not limited to any natural watercourse in the City of Cleveland, the following types of discharges, which are deemed by the Commissioner to be unacceptable, and thus prohibited, under this chapter:
(1) Liquids, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be sufficient, either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the sewerage facilities or to the operation of the system. Materials of this nature include, but are not limited to, hazardous materials or substances, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides;
Discharges of this nature must be monitored to ensure that the Lower Explosive Limit (L.E.L.) of the explosion hazard meter located at the point of discharge into the sewer system is never exceeded by five percent (5%) in any two (2) successive readings or by ten percent (10%) in any single reading;
(2) Gaseous, liquid or solid substances which when discharged into the sewer system or local stormwater system, including, but not limited to any watercourse in the City of Cleveland, may alone or by interaction with other substances interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to human beings or animals, inhibit aquatic life, create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters or the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant or create a hazard as defined in the Federal Clean Water Act;
(3) Construction materials, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, asphalt, plastic, wood, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshing, grass clippings, wastepaper, or any solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or of otherwise interfering with the proper operation of the sewer system;
(4) Water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) mg/l or which contains substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between one degree Centigrade (1°C) and sixty-five degrees Centigrade (65°C) at the point of discharge into the system;
(5) Water, waste or steam with a temperature in excess of sixty-five degrees Centigrade (65°C) (one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°F));
(6) Water or waste having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 10.0 or which may cause corrosion or deterioration of the system. Materials of this nature include, but are not limited to, acids, alkalies, sulfides, concentrated chloride and fluoride compounds and substances which will react with water to form acidic products;
(7) Water or waste containing total cyanide in excess of five (5) mg/l or containing "readily releasable cyanide" (cyanide released at a temperature of sixty-five degrees Centigrade (65°C) (one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°F)) and pH of 2.5) in excess of two (2) mg/l;
(8) Radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration that they violate regulations or orders issued by the authority having control over their use and/or may cause damage or hazards to the sewer system, human beings or animals;
(9) Solids, liquids, or gases which, either alone or by interaction with other substances in the sewer system, are capable of producing objectionable odors or colors or which may otherwise constitute or create a public nuisance;
(10) Garbage that has not been ground or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under flow conditions normally prevailing in the sewer system with no particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch in any dimension;
(11) Wastewater flow rates which exceed the design capacity of any component of the sewer system; or
(12) Water which increases the hydraulic load on the sewer system, including but not limited to cooling, storm, surface, subsurface, drainage, swimming pool or other relatively unpolluted water.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any agreement or arrangement between the City or the NEORSD and any user of the sewer system in which the user may deposit unacceptable discharges into the system for special treatment subject to applicable payments or surcharges over and above any surcharges for transportation to and treatment in the NEORSD system.
(e) No person shall discharge stormwater, surface water, or ground water to a public right-of-way or on to a neighboring property in violation of Section 541.08 or in a manner that creates a flooding or safety hazard, or public nuisance.
(Ord. No. 609-17. Passed 6-4-18, eff. 6-5-18)