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RATES AND CHARGES
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ADMINISTRATION. Those fixed costs attributable to administration of the wastewater treatment works (such as billing, associated bookkeeping and accounting costs).
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND or BOD5. The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
CITY. The area within the corporate boundaries of the city, as presently established or as amended by ordinance or other legal actions at a future time. When used herein, the term CITY may also refer to the City Council or its authorized representative.
COMMERCIAL USER. Any place of business which discharges sanitary waste as distinct from industrial wastewater.
COMMERCIAL WASTEWATER. Domestic wastewater emanating from a place of business as district from industrial wastewater.
DEBT SERVICE CHARGE. A charge levied on users of wastewater treatment facilities for the cost of repaying money bonded to construct the facilities.
EXTRA STRENGTH WASTE. Wastewater having a BOD and/or TSS greater than domestic waste, as defined herein, and not otherwise classified as an incompatible waste.
GOVERNMENTAL USER. Users which are units, agencies or instrumentalities of federal, state or local government discharging normal domestic strength wastewater.
INCOMPATIBLE WASTE. Waste that either singly or by interaction with other wastes interferes with any waste treatment process, constitutes a hazard to humans or animals, creates a public nuisance or creates any hazard in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment works.
INDUSTRIAL USERS or INDUSTRIES.
(1) Entities that discharge into a publicly-owned wastewater treatment works, liquid wastes resulting from the processes employed in industrial or manufacturing processes, or from the development of any natural resources. These are identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972, Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented under one of the following divisions:
(a) Division A, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing;
(b) Division B, Mining;
(c) Division D, Manufacturing;
(d) Division E, Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas and Sanitary Sewers; and
(e) Division I, Services.
(2) For the purpose of this definition, domestic waste shall be considered to have the following characteristics:
(a) BOD
5
less than 265 mg/l and suspended solids less than 310 mg/l; and
(b) Any nongovernmental user of a publicly-owned treatment works which discharges wastewater to the treatment works which contains toxic pollutants or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to contaminate the sludge of any municipal systems, or to injure or to interfere with any sewage treatment process, or which constitutes a hazard to humans or animals, creates a public nuisance or creates a hazard in or has an adverse effect on the waters receiving any discharge from the treatment works.
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER. The liquid processing wastes from an industrial manufacturing process, trade or business including but not limited to all Standard Industrial Classification Manual Division A, B, D, E and I manufacturers as distinct from domestic wastewater.
INSTITUTIONAL USER. Users other than commercial, governmental, industrial or residential users, discharging primarily normal domestic strength wastewater.
MAY. The act referred to is permissive.
NORMAL DOMESTIC STRENGTH WASTEWATER. Wastewater that is primarily produced by residential users, with BOD5
concentrations not greater than 265 mg/l and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations not greater than 310 mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. Activities required to provide for the dependable and economical functioning of the treatment works, throughout the design or useful life, whichever is longer of the treatment works, and at the level of performance for which the treatment works were constructed. OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE includes replacement.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS. Expenditures for operation and maintenance, including replacement.
PUBLIC WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM. A system of sanitary sewers owned, maintained, operated and controlled by the city.
REPLACEMENT. Obtaining and installing of equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the design life or useful life, whichever is longer, of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which the works were designed and constructed.
REPLACEMENT COSTS. Expenditures for replacement.
RESIDENTIAL USER. A user of the treatment facilities whose premises or building is used primarily as a residence for one or more persons, including dwelling units such as detached and semi- detached housing, apartments and mobile homes; and which discharges primarily normal domestic strength sanitary wastes.
SANITARY SEWER. A sewer intended to carry only liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters which are not admitted intentionally.
SEWER SERVICE CHARGE. The aggregate of all charges, including charges for operation, maintenance, replacement, debt service and other sewer related charges that are billed periodically to users of the city’s wastewater treatment facilities.
SEWER SERVICE FUND. A fund into which income from sewer service charges is deposited along with other income, including taxes intended to retire debt incurred through capital expenditure for wastewater treatment. Expenditure of the SEWER SERVICE FUND will be for operation, maintenance and replacement costs and to retire debt incurred through capital expenditure for wastewater treatment.
SHALL. The act referred to is mandatory.
SLUG. Any discharge of water or wastewater which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration of flows during normal operation and shall adversely affect the collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment works.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION MANUAL. Office of Management and Budget, 1972.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS or SS or TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS or TSS. The total suspended matter that either floats on the surface or is in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids, and is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, latest edition, and referred to as nonfilterable residue.
TOXIC POLLUTANT. The concentration of any pollutant or combination of pollutants, as defined in standards issued pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Act, which upon exposure to or assimilation into any organism will cause adverse effects.
USER CHARGE. A charge levied on users of a treatment works for the user’s proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance, including replacement.
USERS. Those residential, commercial, governmental, institutional and industrial establishments which are connected to the public sewer collection system.
WASTEWATER.
(1) The spent water of a community, also referred to as “sewage.”
(2) From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions together with any ground water, surface water and storm water that may be present.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS or TREATMENT WORKS. An arrangement of any devices, facilities, structures, equipment or processes owned or used by the city for the purpose of the transmission, storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage or industrial wastewater or structures necessary to recycle or reuse water including interceptor sewers,
outfall sewers, collection sewers, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled water supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works including land which is an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from the treatment.
(Ord. 10.03, passed 6-28-88)
(A) The city hereby establishes a sewer service charge system whereby all revenue collected from users of the wastewater treatment facilities will be used to affect all expenditures incurred for annual operation, maintenance and replacement and for debt service on capital expenditure incurred in constructing the wastewater treatment works.
(B) Each user shall pay its proportionate share of operation, maintenance and replacement costs of the treatment works, based on the user’s proportionate contribution to the total wastewater loading from all users.
(C) Each user shall pay debt service charges to retire local capital costs as determined by the City Council.
(D) (1) Sewer service rates and charges to users of the wastewater treatment facility shall be determined and fixed in a sewer service charge system developed according to the provisions of this chapter.
(2) The sewer service charge system shall be adopted by resolution upon enactment of this chapter, shall be published in the local newspaper, and shall be effective upon publication. Subsequent changes in the sewer service charge system shall be adopted by Council resolution and shall be published in the local newspaper.
(E) (1) Revenues collected for sewer service shall be deposited in a separate fund known as the Sewer Service Fund.
(2) Income from revenues collected will be expended to offset the cost of operation, maintenance and equipment replacement for the facility and to retire the debt for capital expenditure.
(F) Sewer service charges and the Sewer Service Fund will be administrated in accordance with the provisions of § 52.29.
(Ord. 10.03, passed 6-28-88)
(A) (1) Users of the wastewater treatment works shall be identified as belonging to one of the following user classes:
(a) Residential;
(b) Commercial;
(c) Industrial;
(d) Institutional; and
(e) Governmental.
(2) The allocation of users to these categories for the purpose of assessing user charges and debt service charges shall be the responsibility of the City Clerk/Treasurer. Allocation of users to user classes shall be based on the substantive intent of the definitions of these classes contained herein.
(B) (1) The user shall pay operation, maintenance and replacement costs in proportion to the user’s proportionate contribution of wastewater flows and loadings to the treatment plant.
(2) The minimum rate for loadings of BOD and of TSS being the rate established for normal domestic wastewater (such as concentrations of 265 mg/l BOD and 310 mg/l TSS).
(C) (1) Unit costs for treatment of flow, BOD and TSS shall be determined and fixed annually in the sewer service charge system according to the following procedure:
(a) Determine the annual OM&R budget;
(b) Allocate total annual OM&R costs to flow, BOD and TSS proportionately, according to the costs of collection, and of the specific treatment processes required to affect or reduce flow, BOD and TSS; and
(c) Divide the OM&R costs attributable to flow, BOD and TSS respectively, by the total annual billable volume and loadings of flow, BOD and TSS, to arrive at unit costs.
(2) For the purposes of determining user charges, the following definitions of unit costs shall apply:
(a) UF equals the unit cost for treatment of flow in $/1,000 gallons.
(b) UBOD equals the unit cost for treatment of BOD in $/lb.
(c) UTSS equals the unit cost for treatment of TSS in $/lb.
(D) (1) Calculating billable flows and loadings.
(a) The billable amount of flow will be calculated from the volume of metered water usage. For residential users, the per quarter billable flow shall be equal to quarterly metered water usage as averaged between the first and last quarters of the calendar year. For nonresidential users discharging normal domestic strength wastewater, billable flow shall be equal, to quarterly water usage averaged throughout the year.
(b) All residential sewer users served by the city water utility shall have meters for measuring water usage. All nonresidential users shall have meters for measuring flow. Residential sewer users not served by the water utility shall have an estimated water usage assigned annually by City Council resolution. Water usage shall be estimated as outlined in § 52.29.
(c) The billable amounts of BOD and TSS will be calculated from the volume of metered water usage, as determined above, where the billable quantities will be those attributable to a wastewater concentration of 265 mg/l BOD and 310 mg/l TSS (such as “normal domestic strength wastewater”).
(2) Calculating user charges.
UC(NDS) = (UF X F) + (UBOD X KBOD X F) + (UTSS X KTSS X F )
(a) UC(NDS) equals the user charge for treatment of normal domestic strength wastewater.
(b) UF equals the unit cost for treatment of flow in $/Kgal.
(c) F equals the billable flow in Kgal.
(d) UBOD equals the unit cost for treatment of BOD in $/lb.
(e) KBOD equals the constant used to calculate the quantity of BOD in lbs./Kgal. of normal domestic strength (NDS) waste (265 mg/l BOD) as follows:
KBOD = .00834 x 265 mg/l (BOD concentration of NDS waste)
(f) UTSS equals the unit cost for treatment of TSS in $/lb.
(g) KTSS equals constant used to calculate the quantity of TSS in lbs./Kgal. of NDS waste (310 mg/l TSS) as follows:
KTSS = .00834 x 310 mg/l (TSS concentration of NDS waste)
(E) (1) Calculating billable flows and loadings.
(a) The billable amount of flow will be calculated from the volume of metered water usage, or at the discretion of the city, from the measurement of effluent flow at user’s point of discharge. Measurements shall be according to a regular program prescribed by the city.
(b) The billable amounts of BOD and TSS will be calculated by the measurement of these wastes according to a program prescribed by the city in keeping with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater and in accordance with other applicable ordinances and regulations of the city.
(2) Calculating user charges.
UC (GNDS) = (UF X F) + (UBOD X QBOD) + (UTSS X QTSS)
(a) UC(GNDS) equals the user charge for treatment of wastewater that is greater than normal domestic strength.
(b) UF equals the unit cost for treatment of flow in $/Kgal.
(c) F equals billable flow in Kgal.
(d) UBOD equals the unit cost for treatment of BOD in $/lbs.
(e) QBOD equals the quantity of BOD in lbs.
(f) UTSS equals the unit cost for treatment of TSS in $/lb.
(g) QTSS equals the quantity of TSS in lbs.
(F) The city may, at its discretion require nonresidential users to install wastewater flow meters or additional water meters as may be necessary to determine wastewater volume. The city may require residential connections to install water meters for the purpose of determining wastewater volume. When so required, the meters shall be of a type approved by the city equipped with remote registering recorders, and located at an accessible site on the owner’s property.
(G) (1) Local construction cost for the wastewater treatment facility will be recovered by ad valorum taxes and special assessment. The portion of the local construction cost attributable to reserve capacity will be paid by the “ad valorum” tax, and the remainder will be paid by special assessments of users.
(2) As new users are added to the system, each new user will be assessed the amount of this special assessment and the “ad valorum” tax will be reduced a proportional amount. The amount of assessment shall be computed based on equivalent residential units (ERUs). Each single-family residential user shall be considered one ERU be assigned a number of ERUs based on water usage (actual or estimated), and estimated wastewater strength. The assessment shall be calculated as follows:
AC = AT X ERU
Total ERU's
Total ERU's
(a) AC equals the amount of the assessment.
(b) AT equals the total amount to be specially assessed.
(c) ERU equals the number of ERUs for the unit.
(d) Total ERUs equals the total number of ERUs connected to the treatment facility.
(3) The number of ERUs will be computed according to the following formula:
ERUs = (0.50) Quarterly Flow + (0.25) Quarterly BOD Load + (0.25) Quarterly TSS Load
20,500 45.3 lbs BOD 53.0 lbs. TSS
20,500 45.3 lbs BOD 53.0 lbs. TSS
(4) Flows, BOD load and TSS load will be based on actual loadings for the previous eight quarters if available. If data is not available, a best estimate of loadings shall be used.
(Ord. 10.03, passed 6-28-88)
(A) (1) The city hereby establishes the “Sewer Service Fund,” as an income fund to receive all revenues generated by the sewer service charge system, and all other income dedicated to the operation, maintenance, replacement and construction of the wastewater treatment works, including taxes, special charges, fees and assessments intended to retire construction debt.
(2) The city also establishes the following accounts as income and expenditure accounts within the Sewer Service Fund:
(a) Operation and Maintenance Account;
(b) Equipment Replacement Account; and
(c) Debt Retirement Account.
(B) (1) All revenue generated by the sewer service charge system and all other income pertinent to the treatment system, including taxes and special assessments dedicated to retire construction debt, shall be held by the Clerk/Treasurer separate and apart from all other funds of the city.
(2) Funds received by the Sewer Service Fund shall be transferred to the Operation and Maintenance Account, the Equipment Replacement Account and the Debt Retirement Account in accordance with state and federal regulations and the provisions of this subchapter.
(C) Revenue generated by the sewer service charge system sufficient to insure adequate replacement throughout the design or useful life, whichever is longer, of the wastewater facility shall be held separate and apart in the Equipment Replacement Account and dedicated to affecting replacement costs. Interest income generated by the Equipment Replacement Account shall remain in the Equipment Replacement Account.
(D) Revenue generated by the sewer service charge system for operation and maintenance shall be held separate and apart in the Operation and Maintenance Account.
(Ord. 10.03, passed 6-28-88)
(A) (1) The Clerk/Treasurer shall maintain a proper system of accounts suitable for determining the operation and maintenance, equipment replacement and debt retirement costs of the treatment works, and shall furnish the City Council with a report of the costs annually.
(2) The City Council shall annually determine whether or not sufficient revenue is being generated for the effective operation, maintenance, replacement and management of the treatment works, and whether sufficient revenue is being generated for debt retirement. The Council will also determine whether the user charges are distributed proportionately to each user in accordance with § 52.26 and Section 204(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control act, as amended.
(3) The city shall thereafter, but not later than the end of the year, reassess and as necessary revise the sewer service charge system then in use to insure the proportionality of the user charges and to insure the sufficiency of funds to maintain the capacity and performance to which the facilities were constructed, and to retire the construction debt.
(B) In accordance with federal and state requirements, each user will be notified annually in conjunction with a regular billing of that portion of the sewer service charge attributable to operation, maintenance and replacement.
(C) In accordance with federal and state requirements, the City Clerk/Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining all records necessary to document compliance with the sewer service charge system adopted.
(D) Bills for sewer service charges shall be rendered on a quarterly basis succeeding the period for which the service was rendered and shall be due 30 days from the date of rendering. Any bill not paid in full 30 days after the due date will be considered delinquent. At that time the city shall notify the delinquent owner/occupant in writing regarding the delinquent bill and subsequent penalty. The penalty shall be computed as 12% of the original bill on an annual basis.
(E) The owner of the premises shall be liable to pay for the service to the premises and the service is furnished to the premises by the city only upon the condition that the owner of the premises is liable therefore to the city.
(F) Any additional costs caused by discharges to the treatment works of toxic or other incompatible wastes, including the cost of restoring wastewater treatment services, clean up and restoration of the receiving waters and environs and sludge disposal, shall be borne by the discharger(s) of the wastes, at no expense to the city.
(G) (1) Annually the City Clerk/Treasurer will compute the average water usage to all residential users of the water utility. This average shall be used by the Council to assign the estimated water usage for residential users not served by the water utility, which shall be used to compute the user charges described in § 52.27(C).
(2) At least 30 days prior to the meeting at which the Council intends to set estimated water usage for residential sewer users not served by the water utility, all the users shall receive written notice of the meeting. The notice shall advise each of these users the amount assigned as their estimated usage and the average usage of the residential users served by the water utility.
(Ord. 10.03, passed 6-28-88)