The subdivider shall provide the subdivision with sanitary sewage facilities in accordance with one of the following systems as detailed:
A. Public sewage collection system. The owner/developer shall connect the subdivision to the public sanitary sewer system if the property to be developed can be served by the public sanitary sewer system and is approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety. Service laterals shall be installed between the street sewer main and the property line before the street is paved.
B. Privately owned sewage treatment system. Where it is not possible to connect the subdivision sanitary sewer system to a city sewer, the subdivider may construct a local treatment system consisting of the necessary house laterals, service mains, lift stations, and interceptors required to conduct the subdivision's sanitary sewage to a single treatment facility.
C. Individual lot sewage disposal system. Where alternatives A. and B. above are not practical, the Commission may permit the owner/subdivider to install on each lot of the subdivision an individual sewage system consisting of a septic tank, tile, absorption fields and associated plumbing.
The individual disposal system shall not be permitted where soil conditions exist which would prevent percolation of effluent and/or subject groundwater to contamination.
The minimum area required for an individual sewage disposal system shall be one acre or more in order to accommodate an alternative filter field should the primary filter field become inoperable. Refer also to § 4.03A., Steep Slope, of this ordinance for further information relative to this type of sewage disposal system. Refer also to Whitley County Ordinance 0-93-08 “An Ordinance Regulating Private Sewage Disposal Systems in Whitley County, Indiana” recorded in 1993 under number 93-5-244.
The owner of the lot having a reserved space for a filter field shall inform the buyer of such reserved land, and that the integrity of that reserved land shall not be diminished by the use of that land for other than the stated purpose designated unless the property owner acquires access to a city or community sanitary sewer system. This information shall be written and form a part of any legal transaction with regards to the land.
D. Approving authority for sanitary sewers. The Board of Public Works and Safety and the Whitley County Health Department and/or the Whitley County Health Officer are the approval authority for determination of minimum requirements for the establishment and construction of facilities for the disposal of sewage in a sanitary manner. Upon completion of the sanitary sewer installation, two copies of the plans for such system, as built, shall be filed with the City Engineer or appropriate authority. All sources of approval including approval by the Indiana State Board of Health shall be verified in writing.
All aspects of proper sewage disposal are under the Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
E. Associated regulations for sanitary sewers. Columbia City Regulation § 51.05, Sewage Disposal Regulated, and § 51.06, Private Disposal Facilities Permitted, as amended, and by reference, are a part of this ordinance. Reference is also made to Indiana State Department of Health Rule 410 I.A.C. 6-8.1 Residential Sewage Disposal Systems.
F. Preparation of sanitary sewer plans. The plans for sanitary sewer facilities shall be provided by the owner/developer and approved by the appropriate state agency who shall verify that the plans conform to the appropriate state, county and local specifications. Two copies of the as-built plans shall be provided by the owner/developer and filed with the Board of Public Works and Safety.
G. Location and size for a residential sewer.
1. The residential septic system shall be located at least 50 feet from any water supply well or subsurface pump suction line.
2. In no case shall sewers be located closer than ten feet to drilled and driven water supply wells or subsurface pump suction lines.
3. Water lines and sewers shall not be laid in the same trench. A horizontal separation of ten feet shall be maintained between water lines and sewers. Where crossings are necessary, a minimum of 18 inches vertical clearance must be maintained.
4. Reference is made to Indiana State Board of Health Paragraph 410 I.A.C. 6-8.1-36 Location and Size for more details on this subject.
(1980 Code, Ch. 154, § 4.06) (Ord. 2001-4, passed 3-27-2001)