(a) Definitions.
(1) "User charge" means the charge assessed users of the sewage system to recover the cost of operation, maintenance, and replacement of the sewage collection and sewage treatment system, and the cost of rendering bills and collecting sewer service charge.
(2) "Operation and maintenance costs" means the costs incurred in the act of keeping all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage, in a good state of repair and functioning properly including the replacement of said facilities when necessary.
(3) "Replacement" means expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.
(4) "Debt service" means the funds used for the retirement of and interest on bonds and/or notes authorized and issued by the Village of New London, Ohio to construct sewage system facilities.
(5) "Sewer service charge" means the total charge levied against users of the sewage system for sewer service. The charge shall include user charges plus the cost of debt service.
(6) “Residential" means a principal family residence or habitation classified as a single family, multifamily or apartment dwelling that discharges domestic sanitary wastewater having characteristics of 250 milligrams per liter biochemical demand and 200 milligrams per liter suspended solids into the public wastewater treatment system, works, and facility.
(7) "Commercial" means retail or wholesale business establishments that discharge wastewater into the public wastewater treatment system, works and facility.
(8) "Industrial" includes users discharging waste resulting from manufacturing activities involving the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substance into other products. These activities occur in establishments usually described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and material handling equipment.
(9) "Institutional/governmental" means hospitals, nursing homes, schools, city, county state or federal buildings or facilities that discharge wastewater into the public wastewater treatment system, works, and facility.
(b) Sewer Service Charge. All users discharging waste to the sewage collection system shall be billed for wastewater treatment service including governmental or institutional users such as schools, municipal utilities, or other public buildings shall be billed at the following rates (There shall be no free service):
RATE PER MONTH | ||
Inside Village | Outside Village | |
First 2,000 gallons per month | $44.10/month | $55.12/month |
Over 2,000 gallons per month | $8.32/1,000 gallons | $10.41/1,000 gallons |
Minimum Charge Per Month | $44.10 | $55.12 |
(1) Annual review of charges.
A. The sewer service charge and user charges shall be reviewed annually by the Village in order to determine whether or not they are sufficient to defray the fixed charges, amortization costs, and annual cost of operation and maintenance of the sewerage system. If the difference between the total annual revenue derived and the total annual cost is sufficient to justify an increase or decrease in the sewer service charge or user charges, the Village will adjust the rates as required. The purpose of the annual review is also to maintain a proportional user charge.
B. Each user to be notified at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate and that portion of the sewer service charges which is attributable to OM&R costs of wastewater treatment services.
(2) Charges/fees. All users will be billed monthly along with the water service bill, and the charges/fees will be based upon the water usage. Bills for the sewer service that are not paid within fifteen days of the invoice shall be subject to a ten percent (10%) penalty.
(3) Appeals. All customers shall have the right to appeal bills rendered for sewer service charges. In the event that a billing dispute cannot be resolved by the Village Administrator, it shall become the responsibility of Council to resolve such dispute.
(4) Monthly sewer charge. The monthly sewer charge for non-metered residential customers or residential customers that have Village sewer service, but not water service, will be based on an estimated usage of 4,000 gallons per month. Estimated usage for all other non-metered sewer customers will be established by the Village Administrator.
(5) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing sections, for museums which operate within the Village but do not operate a food service, in lieu of other sewer service charges otherwise due under this section, the quarterly rates for sewer service shall be as follows, based on the volume of water registered:
For 0 to 1,000 Gallons | ½ the normal minimum charge |
For 1,001 Gallons and above | the normal rate |
For purposes of this section, "museum" means any public or private nonprofit institution that is open to the public and that is permanently organized for the sole purpose of acquiring, conserving, studying, and exhibiting a collection of paintings and/or other works of art, and/or of objects of history or natural history, and/or of mechanical, scientific and/or philosophical inventions, instruments, models and/or designs; provided, however, that it does not include libraries, reading rooms, private residences, or any other use which may be affiliated with the operation of a museum.
(c) Surcharges.
(1) The following terms as used herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them as shown:
A. "Normal domestic sewage" means sewage which when analyzed shows by weight a daily average of not more than 200 milligrams per liter suspended solids and not more than 250 milligrams per liter biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
B. "Suspended solids" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
C. "BOD" (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter, under standard laboratory procedure, in five days at 20 degrees centigrade, expressed in milligrams per liter by weight.
(2) Sewage or industrial waste above normal sewage strength, but acceptable for discharge into the sanitary sewerage system shall be subject to a surcharge. The surcharge shall be determined on the basis of either or both of two constituents of water or wastes:
A. Total suspended solids, and/or
B. Five day BOD at 20 degrees centigrade and as herein provided.
(3) When either or both the total suspended solids and the BOD of a water or wastes accepted for admission to the system exceeds the values of their constituents for normal sewage, the excess concentration in either or both, as the case may be, shall be subject to a surcharge as follows:
A. Pounds of excess suspended solids per day X $0.438/lb = suspended solids surcharge.
B. Pounds of excess BOD per day X $0.351/lb = BOD surcharge.
(4) In addition to the surcharge, the user will pay the charges as defined in subsection (b) hereof.
(5) The pounds of BOD per day and/or pounds of suspended solids per day above the concentrations previously described for normal strength sewage that are discharged to the sewerage system, shall be determined by the Village or their authorized representative.
(6) In addition to a surcharge on BOD and suspended solids, the Village shall have the right to surcharge any user for the discharge of any other pollutant into the sewage system.
(Ord. 2023-19. Passed 9-25-23.)