No person may occupy, or let to another for occupancy, any dwelling or dwelling unit which does not comply with all of the following.
(A) Sump pumps.
(1) Purpose. The discharge of water from roofs, surfaces, ground water sump pumps, footing tile, swimming pools, or other flow of precipitation into the city system results in flooding and overloading of the sanitary sewer system. When this water is discharged into the sanitary sewer system, it is treated at the sewage treatment plant, resulting in very large and needless expenditures. The City Council, therefore, finds it in the best interest of the city to prohibit such discharges.
(2) Discharge prohibited. No water from any roof, surface, ground water sump pump, footing tile, swimming pool, or other flow of storm water shall be discharged into the sanitary sewer system. Dwellings and other buildings and structures which require, because of infiltration of water into basements, crawl spaces, and the like, a sump pump discharge system, may have a permanently installed discharge line which shall not at any time discharge water into the sanitary sewer system. A permanent installation shall be one which provides for year round discharge capability to either the outside of the dwelling, building, or structure, or is connected to city storm sewer or discharge through the curb and gutter to the street. Inside piping shall be rigid pipe with fixed joints, PVC, or equivalent.
(3) Disconnection. Before December 31, 1999, any person, firm, or corporation having a roof surface, ground water sump pump, footing tile, or swimming pool now connected and/or discharging into the sanitary sewer system shall be disconnected from the sanitary sewer and redirected in an effective, professional manner. Unless inspected prior to then, they may have 45 days to make the disconnection.
(4) Inspection. Every person owning improved real estate that discharges into the city’s sanitary sewer system shall allow an employee of the city or a designated representative of the city to inspect the buildings to confirm that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge into the sanitary sewer system. In lieu of having the city inspect his, her, or their property, any person may furnish a certificate from a licensed plumber certifying that his, her, or their property is in compliance with this chapter.
(5) Correction period; reinspection. Properties which fail during the first inspection shall be re-inspected within 45 days to allow corrections to be completed. If property fails the re-inspection, the $100 per month surcharge shall be imposed on every sewer bill until compliance is achieved.
(6) Future inspections. Each sump pump or sump pump basket installation identified will be re-inspected periodically.
(7) New construction. All new dwellings with sumps for which a building permit is issued after adoption of this chapter, shall have a pump and shall be piped to the outside of the dwelling, in accordance with this chapter, before a certificate of occupancy is issued.
(8) Surcharge. A surcharge of $100 per month is hereby imposed on every sewer bill mailed, after a 30-day grace period following inspection or confirmed attempt at inspection, to property owners who are not in compliance with this chapter or who have refused to allow their property to be inspected to determine if there is compliance. All properties found during periodic re-inspection to have violated this chapter will be subject to the $100 per month surcharge for all months between the two most recent inspections.
(9) Winter discharge. The City Manager’s office is authorized to issue a permit to allow a property owner to discharge surface water into the sanitary sewer system. The permit shall authorize such discharge only from November 15 to March 15 and a property owner is required to meet at least one of the following criteria in order to obtain a permit.
(a) The freezing of the surface water discharge from the sump pump or footing drain is causing a dangerous condition, such as ice buildup or flooding, on either public or private property.
(b) The property owner has demonstrated that there is a danger that the sump pump discharge pipes will freeze up and result in either failure or damage to the sump pump unit or cause basement flooding.
(c) The water being discharged from the sump pump or footing drain cannot be readily discharged into a storm drain or other acceptable drainage system.
(B) Manual and automatic check valves. Check valves if necessary to prevent sewer back-flow. Prior to the closing of the sale of a dwelling, the seller shall request that a sanitary sewer line to the main street line be inspected for manual and automatic check valves. If the Compliance Officer determines that both manual and automatic check valves are necessary to prevent back-flow, the situation must be corrected before the dwelling is considered in compliance to be sold.
(Prior Code, § 150.093) (Ord. 08-003, passed 4-22-2008)