The Waterloo Sewer Utility shall be managed
by the Waterloo Sewer Commission under the general direction of the
Council.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
APPROVING AUTHORITY
The Commission or its duly authorized deputy, agent or representative.
[Amended by Ord. No. 98-4]
BACKWATER
The unwanted reverse flow of liquids, solids or gases.
[Added 6-3-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-05]
BACKWATER VALVE
A device designed to automatically prevent the reverse flow
of wastewater in a drain system. Usually referred to as a "palmer
valve" designed to protect the entire house drain system.
[Added 6-3-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-05]
BASEMENT
That portion of a dwelling below the first floor or ground
floor with its entire floor below grade.
[Added 6-3-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-05]
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter in five days at 20° C., expressed as milligrams
per liter. Quantitative determination of BOD shall be made in accordance
with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
BUILDING DRAIN
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.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer
or other place of disposal, also called "house connection" or "lateral."
Except as provided in this article, building sewers shall not be subject
to the jurisdiction of the City and the City shall not be responsible
for the construction and/or maintenance of such sewers.
CATEGORY A
Those sanitary sewer users who discharge normal domestic
strength wastewater with concentrations of BOD no greater than 250
mg/l, suspended solids no greater than 250 mg/l, nitrogen no greater
than 35 mg/l, and phosphorous no greater than seven mg/l.
[Amended by Ord. No. 98-4]
CATEGORY B
Those sanitary sewer users who discharge wastewater with
concentrations in excess of 250 mg/l of BOD, 250 mg/l suspended solids,
35 mg/l nitrogen and seven mg/l phosphorous. Users whose wastewater
exceeds the concentration for any one of these parameters shall be
in Category B.
[Amended by Ord. No. 98-4]
CHECK VALVE
A device designed to automatically prevent the reverse flow
of wastewater.
[Added 6-3-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-05]
CHLORINE REQUIREMENT
The amount of chlorine, in milligrams per liter, which must
be added to sewage to produce a specified residual chlorine content
in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANT
Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH or fecal
coliform bacteria plus additional pollutants identified in the NPDES
permit for the publicly owned treatment works receiving the pollutants
if such works were designed to treat such additional pollutants and
in part do remove such pollutants to a substantial degree.
EASEMENT
An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned
by others.
FLOATABLE OIL
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will
separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment
facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of floatable oil if
it is properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with
the collection system.
GARBAGE
The residue from the preparation, cooking and dispensing
of food and from the handling, storage and sale of food products and
produce.
GROUND GARBAGE
The residue from the preparation, cooking and dispensing
of food that has been shredded to such degree that all particles will
be carried freely in suspension under the flow conditions normally
prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch
in any dimension.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
Wastewater with pollutants that will adversely affect the
wastewater treatment facilities or disrupt the quality of wastewater
treatment if discharged to the wastewater treatment facilities.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Any trade or process waste as distinct from segregated domestic
wastes or wastes from sanitary conveniences.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer overflows,
into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water
or groundwaters.
NITROGEN
Kjeldahl nitrogen which is the sum of organic nitrogen and
ammonia nitrogen.
NORMAL DOMESTIC STRENGTH WASTEWATER
Wastewater with concentrations of BOD no greater than 250
mg/1, suspended solids no greater than 250 mg/1, nitrogen no greater
than 35 mg/1 and phosphorous no greater than seven mg/1.
[Amended by Ord. No. 98-4]
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen-ion concentration.
Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of seven and a hydrogen
concentration of 10-7
PHOSPHORUS (P)
Total phosphorus in wastewater which may be present in any
of three principal forms, orthophosphates, polyphosphates and organic
phosphates. Quantitative determination of total phosphorus shall be
made in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
PUBLIC SEWER
Any publicly owned sewer, storm drain, sanitary sewer or
combined sewer.
REPLACEMENT COSTS
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories
or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the
wastewater treatment facility to maintain the capacity and performance
for which such facilities were designed and constructed. Operation
and maintenance costs include replacement costs.
SANITARY SEWAGE
A combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business
buildings, institutions and industrial plants, other than industrial
wastes from such plants, together with such groundwater, surface water
and stormwater as may be present.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer that carries sanitary and industrial water-carried
wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and
institutions, together with minor quantities of groundwater, stormwater
and surface water that are not admitted intentionally.
SEWAGE
The spent water of a community. The preferred term is "wastewater."
SEWER
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SEWER SERVICE CHARGE
A charge levied on users of the wastewater treatment facilities
for payment of operation and maintenance expenses, debt service costs
and other expenses or obligations of said facilities.
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
twenty-four-hour concentration of flows during normal operation and
shall adversely affect the system and/or performance of the wastewater
treatment works.
STANDARD METHODS
The examination and analytical procedures set forth in the
most recent edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water,
Sewage and Industrial Wastes, published jointly by the American Public
Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Federation
of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Associations.
STORM DRAIN
Sometimes termed "storm sewer," a drain or sewer for conveying
water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any
source.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS (SS)
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension
in, water, wastewater or other liquid and that are removable by laboratory
filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods and are referred to as
"nonfilterable residue."
UNPOLLUTED WATER
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria
in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water
quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the
sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
WASTEWATER
The spent water of a community. 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 groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may
be present.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY
An arrangement of devices and structures for the storage,
treatment, recycling and reclamation of wastewater, liquid industrial
wastes and sludge. These systems include interceptor sewers, outfall
sewers, wastewater collection systems, individual systems, pumping,
power and other equipment and their appurtenances; any works that
are an integral part of the treatment process or are used for ultimate
disposal of residues from such treatment; or any other method or system
for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or
disposing of municipal or industrial wastes.
[Amended by Ord. No. 88-1; Ord. No. 92-6; Ord. No. 98-4]
A. Sewer service charge unit costs. The unit costs for
the sewer service charge shall be as stated in the City of Waterloo
Fee Schedule.
B. Category A sewer service charge. The sewer service
charge for Category A sewer users shall be as stated in the City of
Waterloo Fee Schedule.
C. Category B sewer service charge. The sewer service
charge for Category B sewer users shall be as stated in the City of
Waterloo Fee Schedule. The Category B sewer service charge shall be
computed in accordance with the formula presented below:
T = FM + (V x CV) + .00834 V ( (B x CB) + (S x CS) + (N x CN) + (P x CP))
|
Where:
|
|
|
T
|
=
|
Total sewer service charge
|
FM
|
=
|
Fixed monthly charge
|
B
|
=
|
Concentration of BOD in mg/l in the wastewater above 250 mg/l
|
S
|
=
|
Concentration of suspended solids in mg/l in the wastewater
above 250 mg/l
|
N
|
=
|
Concentration of nitrogen in mg/l in the wastewater above 35
mg/l
|
P
|
=
|
Concentration of phosphorous in mg/l in the wastewater above
7 mg/l
|
V
|
=
|
Wastewater volume in 1,000 gallons
|
CV
|
=
|
Cost per 1,000 gallons
|
CB
|
=
|
Cost per pound of BOD
|
CS
|
=
|
Cost per pound of suspended solids
|
CN
|
=
|
Cost per pound of nitrogen
|
CP
|
=
|
Cost per pound of phosphorous
|
0.00834 = Conversion factor
|
(The above formula shall not be construed to give credits for
a waste strength less than domestic concentrations for BOD, suspended
solids, nitrogen or phosphorous.)
|
D. Portland Sanitary District sewer service charge. The
sewer service charge for the Portland Sanitary District shall be as
stated in the City of Waterloo Fee Schedule.
E. Reassignment of sewer users. The approving authority
will reassign sewer users into appropriate sewer service charge categories
if wastewater sampling programs or other related information indicate
a change of categories is necessary.
F. Operation, maintenance and replacement fund accounts. All sewer service charge revenues collected for replacement costs shall be deposited in a separate and distinct fund to be used solely for replacement costs, as defined in §
340-11 of this article. All sewer service charge revenues collected for other operation and maintenance expenses shall also be deposited in a separate and distinct fund. All revenues for the replacement fund and for operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment facilities shall be used solely for the replacement fund and operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment facilities.
G. Disposal of septic tank sludge and holding tank sewage.
(1) No person in the business of gathering and disposing
of septic tank sludge or holding tank sewage shall transfer such material
into any disposal area or public sewer unless a permit for disposal
has been first obtained from the approving authority. Written application
for this permit shall be made to the approving authority and shall
state the name and address of the applicant; the number of its disposal
units; and the make, model and license number of each unit. Permits
shall be nontransferable, except in the case of replacement of the
disposal unit for which a permit shall have been originally issued.
The permit may be obtained upon payment of a fee as stated in the
City of Waterloo Fee Schedule. The time and place of disposal shall
be designated by the approving authority. The approving authority
may impose such conditions as it deems necessary on any permit granted.
(2) Any person or party disposing of septic tank sludge
or holding tank sewage agrees to carry public liability insurance
in an amount not less than $100,000 to protect any and all persons
or property from injury and/or damage caused in any way or manner
by an act, or the failure to act, by any of the person's employees.
The person shall furnish a certificate certifying such insurance to
be in full force and effect.
(3) All materials disposed of into the treatment system
shall be of domestic origin, or compatible pollutants only, and the
person agrees that he will comply with the provisions of any and all
applicable ordinances of the City and shall not deposit or drain any
gasoline, oil, acid, alkali, grease, rags, waste, volatile or flammable
liquids, or other deleterious substances into the public sewers, nor
allow any earth, sand or other solid material to pass into any part
of the wastewater treatment facilities.
(4) Persons with a permit for disposing of septic tank
sludge and/or holding tank sewage into the wastewater treatment facilities
shall be charged an amount as stated in the City of Waterloo Fee Schedule.
(5) The person disposing wastes agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the City from any and all liability and claims for damages
arising out of or resulting from work and labor performed.
H. Charge for toxic pollutants. Any person discharging
toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the
effluent or sludge from the City's wastewater treatment facility shall
pay for such increased costs, as may be determined by the approving
authority.
[Added 8-2-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-16
A. Introduction and authority.
(1) It is the general policy of the City that new users
located within the geographic boundaries of the City reasonably participate
in the cost of the City's existing wastewater treatment facilities
at the time their lands actually receive sanitary sewer service. Wastewater
facilities are generally defined as all interceptors and related facilities
such as manholes and appurtenances, pumping stations, force mains
and the wastewater treatment plant. In determining what constitutes
reasonable participation toward such cost, the City is guided by the
principle that the area to be served shall bear its proportionate
share of such costs. The costs of the wastewater facilities in which
new users are required to participate are:
(a)
Costs reasonably and necessary incurred to construct
the wastewater facilities to serve the new areas; and
(b)
Costs of providing excess capacity in the wastewater
facilities until such time as the future users in the new areas connect
to the sanitary sewer system.
(2) Wastewater facilities have a significant physical
life. This requires that they be constructed of sufficient capacity
to serve present users and future users. It is economical to construct
wastewater facilities with excess capacity. Therefore, it is reasonable
that future users, as well as present users, pay the total cost of
the wastewater facilities that serve them. The investment in excess
capacity is made for the future user's benefit; and is not available
for other uses by the City. Because future users make no payment until
they connect to the sanitary sewers, only a part of the total cost
of the wastewater facilities can be collected when said facilities
are first placed in service. Accordingly, the costs to be recovered
at the time of initial connection to the wastewater facilities should
be recovered through a connection charge. This connection charge is
enacted pursuant to § 66.0821(4), Wis. Stats.
B. Amount of connection charge.
(1) Previously, the City completed a significant and substantial
expansion of the wastewater facilities in order to accommodate improved
service to the areas it serves and to accommodate growth and development
therein. The City has directed its outside consultants to prepare
a "Sewer Connection Fee Report," which report examines a number of
methodologies for determining a connection fee. The City elects to
impose a connection charge by adopting the "Cost of Plant Methodology."
Therefore, effective as of September 1, 2007, a connection charge
is hereby established, to be in the amount of $746 per ERU. This connection
charge shall be adjusted annually, commencing on January 1, 2008,
and each calendar year thereafter; and the payment thereof is a condition
precedent to the provision of sanitary sewer service to the property
in question.
(2) Connection charges shall be determined as of the calendar year within which a building sewer is connected to a public sewer. A "building sewer" is defined as the sewer pipe extension from a building drain to the public sewer. It is sometimes referred to as a "house connection" or "building connection." A building drain is that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives wastewater discharges from pipes located inside the walls of a structure and conveys it to the building sewer. For purposes of this §
340-21, the term "ERU" means a single-family dwelling unit having a single EWM.
(a)
The term "EWM" shall mean the number of equivalent
5/8-inch water meters serving the structure in question and is based
on the following:
|
Meter Size(inches)
|
Number if Equivalent 5/8-inch Meters
|
---|
|
5/8
|
1
|
|
3/4
|
1
|
|
1
|
2.5
|
|
1 1/4
|
3.7
|
|
1 1/2
|
5
|
|
2
|
8
|
|
3
|
15
|
|
4
|
25
|
|
6
|
50
|
|
8
|
80
|
|
10
|
120
|
|
12
|
160
|
(b)
Where a user does not have a water meter for
measuring the user's water consumption, or where a water meter does
not reasonably reflect the amount of corresponding wastewater discharges
from the structure/building in question, the Utility Superintendent
shall estimate the number and size of water meter(s) that would otherwise
be required to serve that user, based upon standard engineering practices,
and the equivalent water meters shall then be determined on that estimate.
(3) Where a user discharges industrial wastes that are subject to the provisions of §
340-13 of this chapter, the City shall have the right and option to impose an additional industrial discharge fee directly upon such user in order to fairly and equitably recover capital costs associated with treating such industrial wastes. The industrial discharge fee shall recover a portion of capital costs associated with treating wastewaters that are not normal domestic strength; and such industrial discharge fee shall be in addition to the connection charges provided for in §
340-21B(1) above.
C. Annual adjustment to connection charge. Effective
January 1, 2008, and each calendar year thereafter, the connection
charge shall be annually adjusted based upon changes to the "Engineering
News Record Construction Cost Index" (the "Index"), which Index most
closely reflects construction costs of the wastewater facilities.
The adjustment shall reflect changes to the Index during the period
of July 1 through June 30 of each year. The connection charge shall
be increased or decreased annually by the percentage increase or decrease
(rounded) in the Index, determined as of June of each year commencing
with the year 2008. By way of example only, if the Index in June of
2006 was 7629.95 and the Index for June 2007 is 8010.00, the changes
in the Index represent a percentage increase of 5.0% for the twelve-month
period of time (June 2006 to June 2007). Accordingly, the connection
charge would be increased by $37 (rounded) for an adjusted connection
charge of $783, rounded, for the year 2008. The connection charge
shall be in the amount so determined for the calendar year within
which the building sewer is connected to the sanitary sewer.
D. Application of connection charge. In collecting the
connection charges, the following shall apply:
(1) The connection charge is applicable to new users of
the wastewater facilities as well as existing users who increase their
wastewater discharges to the wastewater facilities.
(2) The connection charge is a charge against a user as
a result of:
(a)
A new user connecting to a building sewer that
discharges to the public sewer; or
(b)
An existing user who increases his/her/its wastewater
discharges.
(3) Once paid, a connection charge shall never be refunded
or credited, even if the user/property in question changes its use
in such manner that fewer ERUs are applicable thereto. Under no circumstances
shall there ever be less than one ERU for each building sewer connection.
The Commission may at any time require a user to install appropriate
meters to determine whether or not increased wastewater flows have
or are occurring relative to the property in question.
(4) The City may adopt uniform policies providing for
the waiver of connection fees, whenever the imposition thereof would
be unfair, arbitrary or unreasonable; and such policies shall be applied
by the Commission.
E. Payment of connection charge. The connection charges
shall be paid by the user to the City by the end of the calendar month
following the month within which a building sewer has been connected
to a public sewer conveying wastewater to the wastewater facilities,
except as otherwise provided for herein. A penalty of 1% per month
shall be assessed on all connection charges not paid at that time;
and such penalty shall continue until payment is made in full. For
purposes of this section, connection fees are deemed to be a debt
due the City from the user. Delinquent connection charges shall be
collected in the same manner as delinquent sewer service charges.