For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AMMONIA or NH3. All nitrogen in water, wastewater, or other liquid waste present in the form ammonia (NH3) or other ammonium ion (NH4+).
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20ºC, 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, and 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, through and including a suitable septic tank to the public sewer.
EASEMENT. An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others including, but not limited to, right of access to the property’s septic tank for the purposes of cleaning and inspection.
FLOATABLE OIL. Oil, fat, or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of floatable fat if it is properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with the collection system.
GARBAGE. The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and serving of foods.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. The wastewater from industrial processes, trade, or business, as distinct from domestic sanitary wastes.
MAY. The action referred to is permissive. (See SHALL.)
NATURAL OUTLET. Any outlet, including storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or groundwater.
NORMAL DOMESTIC WASTES. Sanitary wastes which do not exceed 225 mg/l BOD or 225 mg/l S.S. in strength.
NPDES PERMIT. A permit obtained from the state by the town to discharge treated wastewaters of the town into a watercourse.
PERSON. Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, or group.
pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution. Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of 7 and a hydrogen ion concentration of 10-7.
PHOSPHORUS or P. The chemical element phosphorus.
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 common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.
SANITARY SEWER. A sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions together with minor quantities of ground, storm, and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally.
SEWAGE. The spent water of a community. The preferred term is WASTEWATER.
SEWER. A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater.
SEWER SUPERVISOR. The Supervisor of wastewater facilities of the town or his or her authorized deputy, agent, or representative.
SHALL. The action referred to is mandatory. (See MAY.)
SLUG. Any discharge of water or wastewater 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 and shall adversely affect the collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment works.
STORM DRAIN. A drain for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any source.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS (S.S.). Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is in suspension in water, wastewater, or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater and referred to as NONFILTERABLE RESIDUE.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES. Concentrations of a pollutant or combination of pollutants defined in standards issued pursuant to § 307 of the Clean Water Act (as amended).
UNPOLLUTED WATER. Water of quality equal to, or better than, the effluent criteria in effect, or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
WASTEWATER. The spent water of a community. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions.
WASTEWATER FACILITIES. The structures, equipment, and processes required to collect, carry away, and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS. An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes, and sludge. Sometimes used as synonymous with WASTE TREATMENT PLANT, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT or WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANT.
WATERCOURSE. A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
(2005 Code, § 53.001) (Ord. G-92-04, passed 6-15-1992)