(A) Requirements for proper wastewater disposal.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the service area of the city any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
(2) It shall be unlawful to discharge to any waters of the state within the service area of the city any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this chapter.
(3) Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.
(4) Except as provided in division (A)(6) below, the owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the service area in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer, is hereby required to do one of the following two things, at the owner's option:
(a) At the owner's expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect the facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within 60 days after date of official notice to do so; provided that, the public sewer is within 500 feet of the property line over public access;
(b) Pay a sewer service availability charge to be set by the City Council from time to time. However, the owner may exercise this option if, and only if, the house, building, or property is connected to and served by an operating private sewage disposal system that meets the requirements of § 18-203(B)(4), and is operated and maintained in accordance with § 18-203(B)(5).
(5) The owner of a manufacturing facility may discharge wastewater to the waters of the state; provided that, he or she obtains an NPDES permit and meets all requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act, the NPDES permit, and any other applicable local, state or federal statutes and regulations.
(6) Where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of division (A)(4) above, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the provisions of § 18-203 of this chapter.
(B) Physical connection to public sewer.
(1) No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the city as required by § 18-205 of this chapter.
(2) All cost and expenses incident to the installation, connection and inspection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(3) A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of another or an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway. The building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
(4) Old building sewers may be used in connection with the new buildings only when they are found, on inspection and tested by the city personnel, to meet all requirements of this chapter. All others must be sealed to the specifications of this chapter.
(5) Building sewers shall conform to the following requirements:
(a) Minimum size pipe: four inches;
(b) Minimum depth: 18 inches;
(c) Four-inch building sewer laid on a grade greater than one-eighth inch per foot (larger building sewer shall be laid on grade to produce two feet/velocity);
(d) Slope and alignment of all building sewer shall be neat and regular;
(e) Building material shall be constructed only of:
1. PVC (Schedule 35 or better);
2. Concrete or clay sewer pipe using rubber or neoprene compression joints of approved type;
3. Cast iron soil pipe with compression joints; or
4. ABS composite sewer pipe with solvent welded or rubber compression joints of approved type. NOTE: PVC material should be solvent welded or with rubber compression joints. Under no circumstances will cement mortar joints be approvable.
(f) A cleanout (four-inch minimum or same size of pipe) shall be located five feet outside the building, one as it taps onto the public lateral and one at each change of direction of the building sewer which is greater than 45 degrees. Additional cleanouts shall be not more than 75 feet apart for four-inch diameter pipe and no more than 100 feet apart for larger pipes. Cleanouts shall be extended to or above ground level. A "Y" (wye) and one-eighth bend shall be used for the cleanout base. Minimum cleanout size is four inches and must be inspected for approval;
(g) Connections of building sewers to the public sewer system shall be made with the appropriate existing wye or tee branch using compression-type couplings or collar-type rubber joint with corrosion resisting or stainless steel bands. Where existing wye or tee branches are not available, connections of building services shall be made by either removing a length of pipe and replacing it with a wye or tee fitting or cutting a clean opening in the existing public sewer and installing a tee-saddle or tee-insert of a type approved by the city inspector. All the connections shall be made gas-tight and water-tight;
(h) The building sewer may be brought into the building below the basement floor when gravity flow from the building to the public sewer is at a grade of one-eighth inch per foot or more if possible. In cases where the basement or floor levels are lower than the ground elevation at the point of connection to the sewer, adequate precautions by the installing of check valves or other backflow prevention devices to protect against flooding shall be provided by the owner. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by the building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer at the expense of the owner;
(i) The methods to be used in excavating, placing of pipe, jointing, testing, backfilling the trench or other activities in the construction of a building sewer which have not been described in this instruction sheet shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations of the city or to the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and Water Pollution Control Federation Manual of Practice No. 9. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the authorized personnel before installation;
(j) All installed building sewer shall be gas-tight and watertight and shall be tested by owner before covering with soil; and
(k) All newly constructed building sewers shall be constructed to prevent any surface waters from entering the POTW. Existing building sewers not conforming to sewer construction requirements shall be brought into compliance by the user at the user's expense by the compliance date specified by the City Manager.
(6) All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the city.
(7) The city shall be responsible for making taps to existing public sewers and for extending service lines to the property line of a customer who desires to receive sewer service. The customer will be responsible for connecting to the city's sewer at the property line and extending the building sewer into the building.
(8) No persons shall make connections of the roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, area-way drains, basement drains or other source of surface runoff or ground water to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer. The property owner shall be responsible for disconnecting and capping off all prohibited connections to the POTW.
(9) All cafés, restaurants, motels, hotels or other commercial food preparation establishments shall install a grease trap on the kitchen waste line; provided however, all existing cafés, restaurants, motels, hotels or other commercial food preparation establishments shall be required to construct a grease trap (at the owner's expense) within 90 days after notification by the city, if and when the City Manager determines that a grease problem exists which is capable of causing damage or operational problems to structures or equipment in the city's sewer system, or if the is otherwise required by city ordinance, state or federal law. The city shall retain the right to inspect and approve installation of the grease trap facility. The grease trap must precede the septic tank on the kitchen waste line if a septic tank is used. The grease trap must be designed in accordance with current engineering standards and shall be easily accessible for cleaning. Grease traps shall be maintained by the owner or operator of the facility so as to prevent a stoppage of the city sewer. If the city employees are required to clean out the city sewer lines as a result of a stoppage resulting from a clogged grease trap, the property owner or operator shall be required to pay the costs of the city labor and materials required to clean out the sewer lines.
(C) Inspection of connection.
(1) The sewer connection and all building sewers from the building to the public sewer main line shall be inspected by the city inspector before the underground portion is covered.
(2) The applicant for discharge shall notify the city at 484-6257 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, when the installation is ready for inspection before the underground portion is covered with soil.
(D) Maintenance of building sewers. Each individual property owner or user of the POTW shall be entirely responsible for the inspection and maintenance of the building sewer located on private property to assure that no prohibited connections exist and that the sewer line has no surface water leakage due to deteriorated joints or pipes. Authorized city inspectors will conduct follow-up inspections. The city shall be responsible for the maintenance of collector lines only up to the point where the property owners service line connects to the POTW. Where problems are located by authorized sewer inspection crews, the City Manager shall notify the property owner, in writing, of the problems found in the sewer line. The property owner shall be given a compliance schedule to make repairs to the sewer line or replace it where necessary. Where corrections have not been made according to the requirements, the city shall proceed with enforcement measures according to the Enforcement Response Guide and Fine Schedule (Appendix B).
(E) Right to enter and inspect private sewer lines. The City Manager or his or her authorized representative shall have free and unobstructed access to any part of the premises where house drains or other drains connected with or draining into the POTW are laid for the purpose of examining the construction, condition and method of use of the same, upon cause of reasonable suspicion that there may be inadequate facilities, the facilities present may not be properly functioning, there is an improper discharge or known sources of surface water inflow exist. If the entry is refused, the sewer service or water service may be disconnected upon reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
(F) Right to repair/replace or disconnect private sewer lines. Where the property owners have been given written notification and a compliance schedule to make repairs or replace the sewer line where it is needed, and owner fails to meet the compliance schedule, the city shall have the right to contract a licensed plumber to make the repairs or replace the service line at a reasonable cost and the cost plus fine shall be added to the customer's water/sewer bill.
(G) Demolished or burned buildings. When a building is demolished and/or burned, it shall be the responsibility of the owner to have the sewer service line plugged securely so that surface water will not enter the sewer. The property owner or his or her representative shall notify the City Manager of such a plug and the city inspector will make an inspection prior to covering any work. If the a line is to be reused, it must first undergo inspection by the City Manager or inspector and be in conformity with existing standards.
(H) Enforcement and abatement, fines and penalty costs.
(1) Notification of violation. Whenever the Superintendent finds that any property owner has violated or is violating this chapter, the City Manager will serve upon the user written notice of the violation and proposed enforcement action. This will be the first step in the Enforcement Response Guide and Fine Schedule (Appendix B). Within ten days of the receipt date of this notice, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted to the City Manager. Submission of this plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation.
(2) Show cause hearing. Within five days of the receipt of a notice of violation and proposed enforcement action, the property owner may request, in writing, a hearing before the City Council to show cause why a proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Within ten days of the request for a hearing, the City Manager shall serve notice on the property owner specifying the time and place for the hearing and a request that the property owner show cause why this proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the meeting shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) at least ten days prior to the hearing.
(1989 Code, § 18-202)