For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND. The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter.
BUILDING DRAIN. The part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste or other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (one and one-half meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER. The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
COMBINED SEWER. A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
GARBAGE. Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
HEAVY COMMERCIAL OR HEAVY INSTITUTIONAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any commercial or institutional contributor whose discharge may exceed 15,000 gallons per month, but whose discharge can reasonably be expected to be of normal or less than normal strength.
HEAVY INDUSTRIAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any industrial contributor whose discharge may be of greater than normal strength or may exceed 15,000 gallons per month.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
LIGHT COMMERCIAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any contributor to the city’s treatment works whose premises are used for commercial retail trade or office purposes and whose discharge to the wastewater system can reasonably be expected to be less than 15,000 gallons per month.
LIGHT INDUSTRIAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any contributor whose premises are used for industrial or manufacturing purposes, who discharges no process, product cleaning or cooling water to the wastewater system and whose discharge can reasonably be expected to be of normal or less than normal strength and less than 15,000 gallons per month.
LIGHT INSTITUTIONAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any city office, school, library and the like, whose discharge can reasonably be expected to be less than 15,000 gallons per month.
MAY. The act referred to is permissive.
NATURAL OUTLET. Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTEWATER. Wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than 165 mg/l and a suspended solids concentration of not more than 170 mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the sewage works to achieve the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
PERSON. Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE. The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER. A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and is controlled by public authority.
REPLACEMENT. Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE includes REPLACEMENT.
RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR. Any contributor to the city’s treatment works whose lot, parcel of real estate or building is used primarily or essentially for single-family domestic dwelling purposes. Rooming or boarding house will be considered to be RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS only if the area rented out comprises less than 40% of the total usable area of the dwelling. Apartment units, trailers and other multiple dwelling units shall be billed as individual residential units.
SANITARY SEWER. A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
SEWAGE. A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments together with such ground, surface and storm waters as may be present.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT. Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
SEWAGE WORKS. All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
SEWER. A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SHALL. The act referred to is mandatory.
SLUG. Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.
STORM SEWER. A sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
SUPERINTENDENT. The Superintendent of the Board of Public Works of the city, or his or her authorized deputy, agent or representative.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids, and are removable by laboratory filtering.
TRAP. A fitting or device so constructed as to prevent the passage of air or gas through a pipe without materially affecting the flow of sewage or waste through it.
TREATMENT WORKS.
(1) Any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of city sewage, domestic sewage or liquid industrial wastes.
(2) These include intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions improvement, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment (including land for composting sludge, temporary storage of such compost and land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems before land application); or any other method or system of preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of city waste or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
USEFUL LIFE. The estimated period during which a treatment works will be operated.
USER CHARGE. The portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of the wastewater treatment works.
WATER METER. A water volume measuring and recording device, furnished and/or installed by the city or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the city.
WATERCOURSE. A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
(1976 Code, § 3-202) (Ord. 1036, passed 6-17-1991; Ord. 1379, passed 6-6-2005)