Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise,
the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
The quantity of oxygen, expressed in parts per million by
weight, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under
standard laboratory procedure for five (5) days at twenty degrees
centigrade (20º C.). The standard laboratory procedure shall
be that found in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination
of Water and Sewage, published by the American Public Health Association.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE
The normal water-carried household and toilet wastes from
residences and commercial and industrial establishments.
INDUSTRIAL USER
Any user which discharges wastes or wastewater other than
primarily domestic sewage.
PARTS PER MILLION (ppm)
The ratio of parts by weight of material under consideration
to one million (1,000,000) parts by weight of sewage.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration,
expressed in moles per liter, and indicates the degree of acidity
or alkalinity of a substance.
SEWER SYSTEM
The main conduit with its appurtenant lateral conduits to
the curbline and necessary accessories.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension
in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory
filtration.
USER
The party connected to the sewer system.
[Amended 5-4-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
No privy vault or cesspool for sewage or septic
tank shall hereafter be constructed in any part of the borough where
a sewer is at all accessible, which shall be determined by the Borough;
nor shall it be lawful to continue a privy vault or cesspool on any
lot, piece or parcel of ground abutting on or contiguous to any public
sewer within the borough limits. The Borough shall have the power
to issue notice giving forty-five (45) days to discontinue the use
of any cesspool and have it cleaned and filled up. No connection for
any cesspool or privy vault shall be made with any sewer; nor shall
any water closet or house drain empty into a cesspool or privy vault
where a sanitary sewer is available.
[Amended 9-1-1992 by Ord. No. 92-19]
The construction of new sewer lines and connections will be conducted only under and in accordance with the rules, regulations and requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources; Chapter 236, Plumbing Standards, of the Norristown General Laws; and the Articles of this Chapter
258, Sewers and Sewage Disposal.
[Amended 5-4-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
Plumbers, before commencing the construction
or renewal of plumbing work in any building in the borough (except
in case of repairs, which are here defined to relate to the mending
of leaks in soil, vent or waste pipes, faucets, valves and water supply
pipes and shall not be construed to admit the replacing or installation
of any fixture or traps such as water closets, bathtubs, washstands,
sinks, refrigerator cases, soda or bar fixtures, etc.), shall submit
to the Plumbing Inspector or Borough plans and specifications, legibly
drawn in ink, on blanks to be furnished by Borough. Where two (2)
or more buildings are located together and on the same street and
the plumbing work is identical in each, one (1) plan will be sufficient.
Plans will be approved or rejected within six (6) eight-hour working
days after their receipt.
[Amended 5-4-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
A. The main drainage system of every house or building
must be separately and independently connected with the street sewer,
but where one building exists or is erected in the rear of another
or an interior lot of single ownership and no private sewer is available
or can be made for the rear building through an adjoining alley, courtyard
or driveway, the house drain from the front building may be extended
to the rear building, and the whole will be considered as one house
or building drain. No house or building drain shall cross or pass
under any party wall or fie wall, whether or not the walls are constructed
or altered with the door openings. Where there are plumbing repairs
being made to old buildings where this situation exists, the house
drains must be separated and independently connected with the street
sewer. This applies to all old and new buildings. Where it is necessary
to construct a private sewer to connect with a sewer on an adjacent
street, such plans may be used as may be approved by the Plumbing
Inspector or Borough, but in no case shall joint drains be laid in
cellars parallel with the street or alley.
B. Drains or soil pipes laid beneath floors must be medium or extra-heavy cast-iron pipes, as specified in §
258-32 of this article, with leaded and caulked joints, carried five feet outside the cellar wall. All drains or soil pipes connected with the main drain where it is above the cellar floor must be of medium-weight cast-iron pipe or extra heavy with leaded adn caulked joints or of standard galvanized genuine wrought iron pipe, galvanized steel pipe, iron-pipe-wieght brass pipe, iron-pipe-weight copper pipe, heavy duty cast-iron pipe or Schedule 40 PVC, with screw joints properly secured, and all arrangements of soil or waste pipes shallb e as direct as possible. The use of terra cotta shall not be permitted. Changes of direction on pipes must be made with Y-brances, both above and below the ground, and where such pipes pass through a new foundation wall, a relieving arch must be built over it, with a two-inch space on either side of the main pipe.
C. The size of the main house drain must be determined
by the total area of the buildings and paved surfaces to be drained,
according to the following table, if iron pipe is used. Heavy duty
cast-iron pipes or Schedule 40 PVC are permitted, but the use of terra-cotta
shall not be permitted.
|
Diameter
(inches)
|
Fall 1/4 Inch Per Foot
(square foot drain area)
|
Fall 1/2 Inch Per Foot
(square foot drain area)
|
---|
|
4
|
1,800
|
2,500
|
|
5
|
3,000
|
4,500
|
|
6
|
5,000
|
7,500
|
|
8
|
9,100
|
13,600
|
|
10
|
14,000
|
20,000
|
D. The main house drains may be decreased in diameter
beyond a rainwater conductor or surface inlet by permission of the
Plumbing Inspector or Borough when the plans show that conditions
are such as to warrant such decrease, but in no case must the main
house drain be less than four inches in diameter.
[Amended 5-4-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
It shall be the duty of every person constructing
or owning any drain, soil pipe, passage or connection between a sewer
and any ground, building, erection or place of business, and in like
manner the duty of the owners of all grounds, buildings, erections
and all parties interested therein or thereat, to cause and require
that such drain, soil pipe, passage or connection shall be adequate
for its purpose and shall at all times allow to pass freely all material
that enters or should enter the same. No change of drainage, sewage
or the sewer connection of any house shall be permitted unless notice
thereof shall have been given the Plumbing Inspector or Borough and
assent thereto shall have been obtained in writing.
[Amended 5-4-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
Old house drains and sewers may be used in connection
with new buildings or new plumbing only when they are found, on examination
by the Borough, to conform in all respects to the requirements governing
new sewers and drains.
[Amended 9-1-1992 by Ord. No. 92-19]
The minimum grade and size for building sewers
and requirements for building sewer materials shall be as set forth
in the current edition of the Building Officials and Code Administrators
National Plumbing Code, as adopted by the borough.
Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall
discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described
wastes or waters to the sewer system:
A. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than
one hundred sixty degrees Fahrenheit (160º F.).
B. Any water or waste containing more than one hundred
(100) ppm by weight of any combination of fats, oils or greases.
C. Any liquids, solids or gases which, by reason of their
nature or quality, may cause fire or explosion or be in any other
way injurious to persons, to the sewage collection or treatment structures
or to the operation of these works.
D. Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance which,
either singly or by interaction with other wastes, is capable of creating
a public nuisance or hazard to life or preventing entry into sewers
for their maintenance and repair.
E. Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal,
glass, bones, feathers, tires, plastic, wood, manure, butchers' offal
or any other solid or viscous substances capable of causing obstruction
to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation
of the sewerage system or the sewage treatment works.
F. Any water or waste having a pH lower than five point
five (5.5) or higher than nine point five (9.5) or having any corrosive
property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment
or personnel of the sewage works.
G. Any water or waste containing any toxic substances
in quantities sufficient to interfere with the biochemical processes
of the sewage treatment works or exceeding the state or interstate
requirements for the receiving stream.
H. Any water or waste containing suspended solids of
such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required
to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant.
I. Any toxic radioactive isotopes, without special permit.
J. Any water or waste that contains heavy metals or toxic
materials which exceed federal or state standards.
K. Any garbage, except garbage properly ground in a garbage-grinding
device conforming to the requirements of the borough.