(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 a written permit from the city.
(B) All disposal by a person into the sewer system is unlawful except those discharges in compliance with federal standards promulgated pursuant to the Federal Act and more stringent state and local standards.
(C) (1) There shall be two 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.
(2) The permit application shall be supplemented by any plan, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the city. A permit fee of $750 and an inspection fee of $50 for a residential or commercial unit 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 building sewer shall be provided for every building, except that where one building stands at the rear of another or an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building.
(G) Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and tested by the city, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
(H) 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 requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations of the city. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the latest edition 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 elevation 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 by the city, and discharged to the building sewer.
(J) No person(s) shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, area-way drains, or other sources of surface runoff or ground water to a building sewer of building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(K) The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code, or other applicable rules and regulations of the city, or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the latest edition of the American Society of Testing Materials, Water Pollution Control Federal 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 before installation.
(L) The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify at least 24 hours in advance the City Water and Sewer Superintendent 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 or its representative.
(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, parkway and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the city.
(N) (1) The city will accept responsibility for the maintenance of the sewer mains only and will not maintain any part of the sanitary sewer service line from its connection point on the sewer main to the customer’s residence or building.
(2) In the case of a complaint of a sewer backup or other sewer related problem, the customer shall immediately contact the city and advise the city of the nature and location of the problem. The customer shall allow the city the opportunity to inspect the sewer problem prior to having it repaired and the city will determine whether or not the sewer main is the cause of the sewer backup or sewer problem, and if the sewer main is responsible for the backup or sewer problem, the city will repair the sewer main. In the event the customer does not contact the city or allow the city to inspect the sewer problem, the city shall not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by the customer.
(3) If a sewer backup is a result of a problem in the service line, it is the customer’s responsibility to repair the problem, and if the source of the problem lies under the city’s right-of-way, the customer is required to repair the sanitary sewer service at his or her expense in accordance with this section. The city shall, however, be responsible only for the transport of the excavated material, backfill and street surface restoration.
(1986 Code, § 20-142) (Ord. 1997-17, passed 5-5-1997; Ord. 2003-22, passed 10-6-2003) Penalty, see § 53.99