(A) The city shall clean, maintain and repair all sewer main lines and the portion of service lines located in the city right-of-way.
(B) A private property owner shall clean, maintain and repair privately owned sewer service lines.
(C) Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be installed as referred to in § 52.05(H).
(D) In the event of a plugged sewer service line, the following procedures will be followed.
(1) The city shall be notified of the blockage and city personnel will be dispatched to investigate the problem.
(2) City personnel will check the main line upstream and downstream of the blockage to ensure that the sewer main line is not blocked or plugged.
(3) If the sewer main line is blocked, city personnel shall clean the line and return it to normal operations and check private service lines to ensure they are operating properly and are in good working condition.
(4) If the private service line is blocked, city personnel will contact and notify the resident or business and the property owner of the problem or possible defects in the line.
(5) City personnel shall clean the private service line if the private service line blockage is caused by a main line blockage. City personnel will request written authorization from the property owner granting access to the property and waiving the city and its personnel from any damages. Work will be performed at an existing sewer cleanout located on the exterior of the building.
(6) If no cleanout exists, city personnel shall not enter into property owner’s building to perform cleaning work on private sewer service lines.
(7) If the main line is found to be clear and the private sewer service line is plugged, the property owner shall contact a sewer line cleaning business (plumber and the like) for assistance. City personnel may provide names and phone numbers of sewer cleaning businesses in the area, however, they will refrain from making recommendations.
(8) If the sewer line cleaning business and city personnel determine that the blockage is located in the city right-of-way, the city will reimburse the property owner for the city’s portion of the cost.
(9) In cases of extreme emergencies and a sewer cleaning business cannot respond, city personnel may, with prior written authorization from the property owner, clean and remove blockage of the private sewer service line. The property owner will be billed accordingly for these services.
(10) (a) As referred to in § 52.03(J), special equipment may be required to limit the damage caused by a sewer backup or blockage.
(b) The city may require a sewer cleanout and a backwater valve be installed on a private sewer service line as defined in the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code requirements, being O.A.R. 918- 750-0110 et seq.
(11) (a) City personnel shall not discuss fault or liability with the property owner. If property damage occurs, city personnel shall document details and procedures and contact city’s insurance carrier for further instructions.
(b) Also, city personnel shall abide by the Department of Environmental Quality notification requirements.
(Prior Code, § 52.08) (Ord. 407, passed 11-13-2007)