(A) Control of sewer system. The sewer system of the city or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, shall be under the charge and control of the Sanitary Board under whose supervision the sewer system shall be used by property owners. 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 Board.
(B) Classes of permits.
(1) There shall be one class of building sewer permit for all users. The owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the Sanitary Board. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Superintendent.
(C) Permit limitations. Permits granted under this article shall be for a specific wastewater, and such permits shall be granted only after approval of plans as set forth herein. Subsequent wastewaters of different quantity, quality or characteristics shall be covered by separate permits.
(D) Permit refusal. The Sanitary Board may refuse to issue a permit for a new connection to the sanitary sewer system unless there is available capacity in all downstream facilities, including treatment plant capacity for BOD and suspended solids removal. Capacity shall be determined on the basis of design criteria previously approved or established by the West Virginia Department of Health.
(E) Cost of building sewer. All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer to the public sewer or to an available service connection shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the Sanitary Board from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(F) Building sewer limitations. Every building which is the source of the heretofore described acceptable wastewater shall be provided with a separate and independent building sewer. Where one building stands at the rear of another on 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 and the whole considered as one building sewer. In the case of industry, several buildings may be served by one building sewer, provided the sewer is adequately sized, and provided it is approved by the Sanitary Board.
(G) Old building sewers. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Superintendent or his representative, to meet all requirements of this article.
(H) Combined sewers. The construction of or extension to combined sewers is hereby prohibited, unless approved by the West Virginia Department of Health.
(I) Private sanitary sewers. Private, as opposed to public, sanitary sewers shall continue to be owned by the private owners now owning same until such time as the owner and the Sanitary Board mutually agree to a transfer of ownership to the city. Such sewers shall be controlled by the Sanitary Board, but shall be operated and maintained by their owners, unless the Sanitary Board agrees in writing to provide this service, in which case a proper easement shall be dedicated to the city. The design and construction of private sanitary sewers shall conform to the same requirements as specified by the State Department of Health for public sanitary sewers.
(J) Design and construction of building sewers.
(1) The minimum size and slope, alignment and 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 codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the Sanitary Board or its designated representative, and approved by the Superintendent. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the American Society of Testing Materials and the Water Pollution Control Federation Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
(2) 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, wastewater carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(K) Licensing of persons or firms who install and maintain building sewers and connections. All parties engaged in the installation and/or maintenance of building sewers and connections shall be licensed, and shall pay an annual licensing fee to the Sanitary Board. The Board shall adopt rules and regulations for performing such work, and shall establish a set of guidelines for handling customer-related service problems.
(L) Illegal connections. No person shall make connections of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, driveway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(M) Building sewer connections. The connection of the building sewer into the public sanitary sewer shall conform to the same requirements as specified in division (J) hereof. All such connections shall be made gas-tight and water-tight. Any deviations from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Superintendent before installation.
(N) Inspection. The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Superintendent when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sanitary sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Superintendent or his authorized representative. The connection to the public sanitary sewer and the connection between the building drain and the building sewer, as well as the full length of the building sewer, shall remain uncovered until approved by the Superintendent or his representative.
(O) Safety and restoration. All excavations for building sewer installations shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of construction shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Sanitary Board and in accordance with city standards.
('71 Code, § 941.05) (Ord. 647, passed 5-11-81) Penalty, see § 941.99
Statutory reference:
Sewer connections, see W. V. Code § 8-18-22