The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the following requirements:
(A) The minimum size of a building sewer shall be four inches.
(B) The minimum depth of a building sewer shall be 18 inches.
(C) Four-inch building sewers shall be laid on a grade greater than one-eighth inch per foot. Larger building sewers shall be laid on a grade that will produce a velocity when flowing full of at least two feet per second.
(D) Slope and alignment of all building sewers shall be neat and regular.
(E) Building sewers shall be constructed only of concrete or clay sewer pipe using rubber or neoprene compression joints of approved type; cast iron soil pipe with leaded or compression joints; polyvinyl chloride pipe with solvent welded or with rubber compression joints of approved type; or such other materials of equal or superior quality as may be approved by the Superintendent. Under no circumstances will cement mortar joints be acceptable.
(F) A cleanout shall be located five feet outside of the building, one as it taps onto the utility lateral and one at each change of direction of the building sewer which is greater than 45 degrees. Additional cleanouts shall be placed not more than 75 feet apart at horizontal building sewers of four-inch nominal diameter and not more than 100 feet apart, for larger pipes, and a cleanout shall be located at the property line, where the service line connects to the city’s main sewer and/or city tap. Cleanouts shall be extended to or above the finished grade level directly above the place where the cleanout is installed. A “T” (tee) “Y” (wye) sweep and one-eighth bend shall be used for the cleanout base. Cleanouts shall not be smaller than four inches on a four-inch pipe.
(G) Connections of building sewers to the public sewer system shall be made at the appropriate 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 installing a tee-saddle or tee-insert of a type approved by the Superintendent. All such connections shall be made gas-tight and watertight.
(H) The building sewer may be brought into the building below the basement floor when gravity flow from the building to the sanitary sewer is at a grade of one-eighth inch per foot or more if possible. In cases where basement or floor levels are lower than the ground elevation at the point of connection to the sewer, adequate precautions by installation 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 such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer at the expense of the owner.
(I) The method to be used in excavating, place of pipe, jointing, testing, backfilling the trench, or other activities in the construction of a building sewer which have not been described above 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 Federal Manual of Practice No. 9. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Superintendent before installation.
(J) An installed building sewer shall be gas tight and water tight.
(Ord. 610.1-07-08-13, passed 7-8-2013)