ARTICLE III. USER FEES

Sec. 24-20. Definition of terms.

In addition to the definitions contained in section 24-1, the following definitions shall apply:

   Annual wastewater budget shall mean the amount budgeted in any one (1) fiscal year by the city and county for the total operation, maintenance, repair and replacement cost of the joint wastewater system.

   Average discharge volume shall mean total wastewater discharge for a residential user class divided by the number of users in the class.

   Average user fee shall mean a user fee based upon the average discharge volume of a residential user class.

   BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) shall mean the organic material in domestic or industrial wastewaters measured by the oxygen utilized over a period of five (5) days at twenty degrees Celsius (200C), determined by procedures in "Standard Methods."

   Building drain shall mean that 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 (5) feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

   Building sewer shall mean a sewer connecting a drain to a public sewer or other place of disposal. Also called "house connection" and "industrial connection sewer."

   COD (chemical oxygen demand) shall mean the chemically oxidizable material in wastewater as represented by the reduction of chromate ion, measured in accordance with "Standard Methods."

   Domestic wastewater shall mean water-carried wastes produced by noncommercial and nonindustrial activities which result from normal human living processes.

   Effluent shall mean the liquid outflow of any facility used to treat, convey or retain wastewater.

   Engineering estimate shall mean an estimate by the city engineering staff using the best available data, judgment and experience.

   House connection sewer shall mean a sewer connecting a building drain to a public sewer for the purpose of conveying domestic wastewater. Also called "building sewer."

   Industrial connection sewer shall mean a sewer connecting a building sewer or building waste drainage system to the public sewer for the purpose of conveying industrial wastewater.

   Industrial wastewater shall mean all wastewater of the community except domestic wastewater and uncontaminated water; it includes all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional, commercial, agricultural or other operation where the wastewater discharged contains significant quantities of waste of nonhuman origin.

   Inspector shall mean a person authorized by the director to inspect wastewater generation, conveyance, processing and disposal facilities.

   Joint wastewater system shall mean the combined sewerage systems and waste treatment works of the city and county.

   Mayor and council means the governing body of the city.

   Milligrams per liter (mg/l) shall mean the same as parts per million by weight.

   Parts per million (ppm) shall mean a weight-to-weight ratio; the parts per million value multiplied by the factor 8.345 shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.

   pH is defined as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration expressed in moles per liter. Determined by procedures in "Standard Methods."

   Pretreatment shall mean the treatment of wastewater from a source before introduction into the wastewater system.

Private water company shall refer to a company, irrigation district or water cooperative that provides water to users.

   Private well shall mean a water well not owned by the city, or a private water company.

   Public sewer shall mean a common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.

   Radioactive material is defined as material containing chemical elements that spontaneously change their atomic structure by emitting any particles, rays or energy forms.

   Residential user shall mean one discharging domestic wastewater from a dwelling unit and includes, but is not limited to, persons residing in single-family dwellings, apartments, condominiums, townhouses and mobile homes regardless of whether the mobile home is located on a separate residential lot or within a mobile home park.

   Residential user class refers to a grouping of residential users having similar per unit monthly discharge quantities and residing in the same type of dwelling unit.

   Sanitary sewer is defined as a sewer for conveyance of sewage or industrial wastes, and into which there is no intentional admission of stormwaters, surfacewaters and groundwaters or unpolluted industrial wastes.

   Solid waste shall mean waste normally considered suitable for disposal at sanitary landfills.

   Standard Methods refers to the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation.

   Storm sewer shall mean a sewer that carries stormwater, surfacewater and groundwater drainage but excludes sewage and industrial wastes.

   Stormwater runoff shall mean rainfall that is drained into the storm sewers.

   Strength is defined as the relative difficulty of treatment of wastewater, expressed in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solids.

   Suspended solids refers to solids that float on or are suspended in water, sewage or industrial wastes, and which are removable by a laboratory filtration device. Quantitative determination of suspended solids shall be made by procedures in "Standard Methods."

   User shall mean one who discharges wastewater to the joint wastewater system.

   User class shall mean a grouping of users having similar discharge strength, conducting a similar business, or living in the same dwelling unit type.

   User fee shall mean the basic monthly charge levied on users of the public sewer system.

   Wastewater is defined as liquid discharge resulting from the use of water for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes.

   Watercourse is defined as a natural or artificial channel in which water flows continuously or intermittently.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 2, 9275; Ord. No. 4527, §§ 1--3, 6-28-76; Ord. No. 4594, § 7, 11-22-76)

Sec. 24-21. User fees.

   (a)   A monthly fee shall be levied and collected from all users for the service of sewage collection, treatment and disposal provided through the joint wastewater system. User fees shall be calculated according to the following formula:

Monthly User Fee (A × Volume) + (B × COD) (C × SS)
Where:
Volume =	Monthly sewage discharge or the best engineering estimate thereof.
COD =	Monthly discharge of chemical oxygen demand or the best engineering estimate thereof.
SS =	Monthly discharge of suspended solids or the best engineering estimate thereof.
A =	Unit cost of flow volume based upon the adopted annual wastewater budget and the total volume discharge by all users.
B =	Unit cost of COD based upon the adopted annual wastewater budget and the total annual quantity of COD contributed by all users.
C =	Unit cost of suspended solids based upon the adopted annual wastewater budget and the total annual quantity of suspended solids contributed by all users.

 

   (b)   The monthly volume of discharge for residential users shall be presumed to be ninety (90) percent of the average water use as reflected by the billings for the months of December, January and February. If metered water use data is not available for a residential user, the discharge shall be estimated from the average residential class. The volume of discharge for all commercial and industrial users shall be presumed to be ninety-five (95) percent of the average water use as reflected by the billings for the months of December, January and February.

   (c)   The quantities of COD and suspended solids used in the user fee formula may be established by engineering estimation, by short-term sampling and analysis extrapolated to a yearly total, or by extensive sampling and analysis by the user or the city. The director shall set the standards for sampling and analysis.

   (d)   Where data of flow volume, quantities or COD or suspended solids are reported to the city by the user and form the basis for the user's fee, such data shall be subject to city verification. If subsequent measurements or other investigations reveal that such user is discharging a volume of flow, COD or suspended solids significantly in excess of that reported to the city, the director may assess such user according to the data obtained by the city retroactive to the time of the user's latest report together with any applicable delinquent charges, penalties and interest as provided in section 24-32. Prior to revising a user fee pursuant to this subsection, the city shall obtain at least two (2) twenty-four-hour samples and flow measurements.

   (e)   The per-unit cost factors A, B and C in the user fee formula shall be established each fiscal year prior to the beginning of the fiscal year for the joint wastewater system according to the following method:

   (1)   After adoption of an annual wastewater budget, a finding shall be made apportioning the budgeted amount among the three (3) user fee factors. Budgeted expenditures shall be apportioned to the factor to which they are attributable or primarily related.

   (2)   The per-unit cost of each factor shall be computed by dividing the amount of the adopted annual wastewater budget apportioned to such factor by the number of units of such factor discharged into the joint wastewater system in the preceding fiscal year.

   (f)   The discharge volumes for all users shall be estimated annually but may be changed at any time to reflect the actual measured volume. The director, upon a finding that the methods enumerated in subsection (b) do not reasonably reflect the average volume discharge of a user or user class, may establish a more accurate method and notify the affected users. Such revised methods for user classes shall be subject to the approval of the mayor and council.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 1, 9-2-75; Ord. No. 4527, §§ 4--8, 6-28-76; Ord. No. 4594, § 8, 11-22-76; Ord. No. 4672, § 2, 6-20-77; Ord. No. 4854, § 2, 7-3-78)

Sec. 2422. Review of established fees; powers of the director.

   (a)   Any user dissatisfied with a fee as established by the city, or with any monthly discharge factor used in the fee, shall notify the director in writing within sixty (60) days after notice of the established fee, protesting the fee as established and requesting a review thereof. Such written protests shall include itemized objections to the fee as established, or any monthly discharge factor used in its computation.

   (b)   A user whose fee is reviewed pursuant to this section shall have the burden of showing that any or all of the monthly discharge factors used in computing its fee were erroneous or misapplied. The director, upon finding that a user's protests are well founded, shall adjust the established fee and make equitable reimbursements for any overpayments made.

   (c)   Adjustments may be made by the director upon a satisfactory showing that the water use as reflected in the billings for December, January and February does not reflect annual average discharge to the sewerage system.

   (d)   The director may promulgate rules applicable in protest proceedings and may adopt standards to be applied in measuring the validity of established fees and monthly discharge factors. Such rules and standards shall be subject to approval by the mayor and council.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 2, 9-2-75; Ord. No. 4527, §§ 9--11, 6-28-76; Ord. No. 4594, § 9, 11-22-76; Ord. No. 4672, § 3, 6-20-77)

Sec. 24-23. Minimum and maximum sewer user fees.

   (a)   The user fee levied upon any sewer connection shall in no event be less than one dollar and ten cents ($1.10) per month.

   (b)   No user fee levied upon a single-family residential sewer connection shall be in excess of nine dollars and seventy cents ($9.70) per month.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 2, 9-2-75; Ord. No. 4672, § 4, 6-20-77; Ord. No. 4854, § 3, 7-3-78)

Sec. 24-24. Setting of fee.

The sewer user fee shall be established annually by the mayor and council, subject to change at any time in their discretion.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 2, 9-2-75)

Sec. 24-25. Private wells and private water companies.

   (a)   Commercial and industrial users with private wells shall provide monthly quantity of discharge information to the city on forms approved by the director. To provide such information, the user shall either install a city-approved permanent flow meter on his water well or install an approved wastewater metering device on each building sewer. A residential user with a private well may, in lieu of being charged the average user fee for his user class, provide monthly quantity of discharge information as provided above.

   (b)   A user whose water is supplied by a private water company shall be subject to the data reporting provisions of subsection (a) unless the private water company provides the city with itemized monthly records of delivered water in a form approved by the director.

   (c)   Inspectors shall have access at all reasonable times to metering devices on building sewers on private wells.

(Ord. No. 4376, § 2, 9-2-75; Ord. No. 4527, §§ 12, 13, 6-28-76)