(A) 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 written permit from the City Administrator.
(B) All disposal by any person into the sewer system is unlawful except those discharges in compliance with federal standards promulgated pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act and more stringent state and local standards.
(C) There shall be 2 classes of building sewer permits: for residential wastewater service; and for commercial, institutional/governmental, or industrial wastewater service. In either case, the owner or his or her agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the city. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the City Administrator. A permit and inspection fee of $1,000 for a residential or commercial building sewer permit shall be paid to the city at the time the application is filed. The industry, as a condition of permit authorization, must provide information describing its wastewater constituents, characteristics, and type of activity.
(D) A building sewer permit will only be issued and a sewer connection shall only be allowed if it can be demonstrated that the downstream sewerage facilities, including sewers, pump stations and wastewater treatment facilities, have sufficient reserve capacity to adequately and efficiently handle the additional anticipated waste load.
(E) All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection 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.
(F) A separate and independent service sewer shall be provided for every building, except where 1 building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be connected to the rear of the building through an adjoining alley, court, yard, or driveway, the service from the front building may be extended to the rear building and considered as 1 service sewer.
(G) Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the City Administrator, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
(H) (1) (a) The building sewer used to connect single-family dwellings shall have a minimum diameter of 4 inches, and the building sewer used to connect multiple-family dwellings and commercial buildings with the public sanitary sewer shall conform to the Illinois State Plumbing Code, and shall be laid on a uniform grade of not less than 1/8 inch per foot. All joints shall be made gastight and watertight, and joining material and the methods for sealing joints shall meet the approval of the Building Inspector. All service sewer pipe shall be laid in a straight line whenever possible and where deflection from a straight line of more than 3 inches per foot is necessary, curved pipe shall be used.
(b) It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any service line of any material other than the following:
1. Extra-strength clay pipe in accordance with ASTM Designation C200-65T;
2. Extra heavy cast iron soil pipe or ductile iron pipe;
3. Plastic pipe:
a. Polyvinyl chloride pipe: shall conform to ASTM D1785, Schedule 40 or CS272, Type II, with wall thickness not less than 0.25 inch in the 6-inch diameter.
b. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) pipe: conform to CS270 or PS18 with wall thickness not less than 0.25 inch in the 6-inch diameter. ASTM C-2751, 4" SDR 23.5, 611 SDR .35.
c. Fittings: fittings shall be the same plastic material as the pipe.
4. Building plumbing drains shall be connected with a sealed connection to the building sewer. No open jointed field tile shall be used for a connection to the public sanitary sewer.
(2) The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, place of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the city.
(3) In the absence of code provision or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the American Society of Testing Materials, Water Pollution Control Federation Manual of Practice No. 9, and Standard Specifications for Water and Sewer Main Construction in Illinois shall apply.
(I) Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an evaluation below the basement floor. 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 a means which is approved in accordance with division (B) of this section and discharged to the building sewer. Effective January 26, 2009, gravity drain of basement plumbing fixtures and drains shall be prohibited in new construction. Basement fixtures and drains shall be installed to drain by a sewage ejector system that is in compliance with city plumbing and sewer standards in effect at the time of installation.
(J) No person(s) shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(K) (1) The connection of the service into the public sewer shall be made at the “Y” branch, if one is available at a suitable location. If no properly located “Y” branch is available, the owner shall at his or her expense install a “Y” saddle in the public sewer at these locations specified by the Building Inspector. Public sewers shall not be tapped below the centerline thereof.
(2) The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Codes, or other applicable rules and regulations of the city, or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the American Society of Testing Materials, Water Pollution Control Federation Manual of Practice No. 9, and Standard Specifications for Water and Sewer Main Construction in Illinois. All these connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the City Administrator before installation.
(L) The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the City Administrator when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the City Administrator or his or her representative. No backfill shall be placed until the work has been inspected.
(M) 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.
(N) All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the service 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 service sewer.
(O) (1) Following the original installation of the service sewer at the property owner’s expense, the city shall accept responsibility for maintenance of that exterior portion of the service sewer located within public right-of-way. Said exterior maintenance to include but not limited to repair/replacement of cracked/broken pipe and pavement removal and replacement incidental to said maintenance.
(2) Following the original installation of the service sewer at the property owner’s expense, the property owner shall accept responsibility for maintenance of the interior portion of the service sewer from the building to the public sewer main. Said interior maintenance to include but not limited to cleaning and root removal. The property owner shall also accept responsibility for maintenance of the exterior portion of the service sewer from the building to the property line.
(3) When the city receives a complaint from a person or corporation that his, her, or their sewer is clogged, that person or corporation shall be required to have a licensed plumber make a determination as to where the stoppage is located. The city shall not be responsible for the cost of making such a determination. If it is determined that the trouble is on the exterior of the pipe (such as a broken joint, cracked pipe) on the property of the person or corporation, then it is the obligation of the person or corporation to have the sewer repaired at his, her, or its expense. If it is determined that the trouble is on the interior of the pipe (such as blockage, roots) anywhere between the building of the person or corporation being served and the city sewer main, then it is the obligation of the person or corporation to have the sewer repaired at his, her, or its expense. If it is determined that the stoppage is located at a point between the property line and the public sewer on the exterior of the pipe (such as a broken joint, cracked pipe), then the city shall make the necessary repairs at no cost to the property owner. If any excavation of the service sewer is required, the owner shall install cleanouts at his or her expense. One cleanout shall be installed within 5 feet of the structure being serviced, and a second cleanout shall be installed at the property or right-of-way line. The second cleanout shall not be required if the service line discharges directly into a manhole.
(4) If the city excavates the sewer within the public right-of-way and finds that the trouble is on the property of the person or corporation, the property owner shall reimburse the city for the work and materials expended. If the city excavates the sewer within the public right-of-way and determines that the trouble within the public right-of-way was caused by the negligent use of the sewer, the city shall make the necessary repairs and the property owner shall reimburse the city for the work and materials. The property owner and city shall agree upon this procedure and corresponding liability before the city begins the work of excavating the sewer.
(Am. Ord. 2009-03, passed 1-12-2009; Am. Ord. 2009-06, passed 1-26-2009; Am. Ord. 2023-08, passed 2-13-2023)