A. 
The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes situated within the city and abutting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city may, at the option of the city and at the owners' expense, be required to install a building sewer to connect their building drains to the public sewer, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within 90 days after the date of official notice to do so.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct or repair any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended for the disposal of sewage if public sewers are available.
It shall be unlawful to discharge sewage to any body of water, watercourse or storm sewer within the city, except where suitable treatment has been provided and a discharge permit has been issued by the Commissioner.
No unauthorized person(s) shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter, repair or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Superintendent, according to the requirements of Article VII of this chapter.
Any person proposing a new discharge into the public sewer system or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into the public sewer system shall notify the Superintendent at least 45 days prior to the proposed change or connection.
A. 
A person intending to connect a building drain from his property to the public sewer shall first obtain a permit to connect from the Superintendent. The application shall be made on forms provided by Superintendent, and it shall be accompanied by a sketch or plan showing the proposed installation, in sufficient detail to enable the Superintendent to determine that the proposed installation meets the requirements of this chapter and other applicable specifications, codes and laws. The application shall be signed by the owner of the premises to be served or his authorized agent and by the qualified contractor (see § 191-19) who has been chosen to perform the work of installing and connecting the building drain to the public sewer. Upon approval of the application and plan, a permit shall be issued to have the work performed by the stated contractor.
B. 
In the event that the premises changes ownership before the work is completed or if another contractor is chosen to perform or finish the work, the original permit becomes void, and a new permit must be obtained by the new parties in interest. An as-built plan showing the completed installation shall be submitted to the Superintendent, on forms provided by the Superintendent, upon completion of work by the contractor.
A. 
A connection to the public sewer will be made only after the building's plumbing has been approved by the Building Inspector in order to ensure that minimum standards are met for the installation. No trench containing a building drain or connection to the sanitary sewer shall be backfilled until the Superintendent has completed an inspection of and approved the work. The water level in the trench shall be maintained at a level below the sewer connection before the cap is removed and while the connection is being made and until such time as it has been inspected, approved and backfilled. The contractor shall notify the Superintendent 24 hours before starting any work authorized under this permit.
B. 
If any person constructs, installs, alters or repairs any building sewer or connection with a public sewer in the City of West Haven in violation of any section of this chapter or fails to give adequate notice to the Superintendent for an inspection of the work, the Superintendent may order all or any portion of said work to be uncovered for inspection and approval.
Permits to connect to the public sewer may be revoked and annulled by the Superintendent for such cause and at such time as he may deem sufficient. All other parties in interest shall be held to have waived the right to claim damages from the city or its agents on account of such revocation.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner(s). The owner(s) shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer. All costs and expenses incidental to the maintenance and repair of the building sewer shall be borne by the owners(s).
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except that where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no public sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, courtyard or driveway, the building sewer that provides service for the building which fronts on the public sewer may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer; but the city does not and will not assume any obligation or responsibility for damage caused by or resulting from any such aforementioned connection.
Existing building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Superintendent, to meet all requirements of this chapter. The Superintendent may require the uncovering of old building sewers for examination.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, backfilling and connection of the building sewer to the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Code or other applicable rules and regulations of the city.[1] In the absence of code provisions or in application thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
[1]
Editor's Note: For the Building Code, see Ch. 81, Art. I, Building Code.
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, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer. Duplex lift systems shall be provided for commercial and industrial buildings.
No person(s) shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway 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 sewer.
A. 
A person intending to alter or repair a building sewer shall first obtain a permit from the Superintendent and shall be subject to all provisions of §§ 191-6 through 191-25.
B. 
Emergency repairs to building sewers may be started without first obtaining a permit, provided that the Superintendent is notified. If the Superintendent cannot be notified during nonbusiness hours, the person may engage the services of a qualified contractor (see § 191-19) to make the required repairs. In such case, the person shall notify the Superintendent at the start of the next business day to give the required notification and obtain the required permit. All emergency repair work shall be performed in accordance with and shall be subject to all provisions of §§ 191-6 through 191-25.
No building sewer shall be constructed within 25 feet of a water supply well. If a building sewer is constructed within 25 feet to 75 feet of a water supply well, it shall be constructed in accordance with all applicable guidelines promulgated by the Commissioner.
All building sewers shall be installed, repaired and altered by a drain layer who possesses a valid license issued under Chapter 393 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Connecticut General Statutes, § 20-330 et seq.
A. 
The building sewer shall be cast-iron soil pipe, vitrified clay sewer pipe, reinforced concrete pipe, asbestos-cement pipe, polyvinyl chloride or other suitable material approved by the Superintendent. All pipe materials shall conform to the latest standard specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), as approved by the Superintendent.
B. 
The minimum inside diameter of building sewer pipe shall be four inches.
A. 
Water service and building sewer pipes shall be laid in separate trenches 10 feet apart. Where conditions require sharing the same trench, the water pipe shall be laid on a bench at least 12 inches above the top of the sewer pipe and at least 12 inches from the side of the sewer trench.
B. 
All excavations required for the installation of a building sewer shall be open trench work, unless otherwise approved by the Superintendent. No building sewer shall be laid parallel to or within three feet of any bearing wall which might thereby be weakened. The depth of the building sewer shall be sufficient to afford protection from frost, and, in general, such depth shall not be less than three feet below the finished ground surface at all points. All building sewers shall be laid at uniform grade of not less than one foot per 100 feet and in straight alignment insofar as possible.
C. 
Changes in direction shall be made only with properly curved pipe and fittings. Any changes in direction exceeding a forty-five-degree angle shall require a cleanout brought to grade. Building sewers shall be laid upon a bedding of crushed stone on firm undisturbed soil or a suitable foundation; they shall be located at a sufficient distance from other parallel pipes to permit alterations or repairs to any such pipes or the building sewer pipe without disturbing the other; they shall be well cleaned inside after laying; and they shall conform to all reasonable requirements for good construction.
D. 
Backfill placed over building sewers shall be done with hand tools to a depth of at least one foot over the pipe, using fine sand free from stones and debris. Backfill shall be well and carefully tamped over the sewer.
E. 
The open ends of building sewers, building drains and building connection laterals shall be kept closed and protected during construction and during periods when work is suspended in order to exclude from the public sewer all water or debris which might obstruct, damage or otherwise be detrimental to the public sewer or the sewage collection system. Abandoned building sewers or drains shall be likewise promptly closed and sealed off from any public sewer at the expense of the owner of the property.
All joints and connections for or between building sewers, building drains and building connection laterals already connected to the public sewer shall conform to the latest ASTM standard specification for the type of building sewer pipe being installed, altered or repaired. All joints and connections shall be flexible and watertight to prevent infiltration and root intrusion. When connecting building sewer pipes of different types and/or sizes, elastomeric plastic push-on compression joint sealers (donuts) or couplings with stainless-steel tightening bands shall be utilized. No rigid joints such as cement mortar are permitted.
A. 
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall be made at the wye or tee branch, if such branch is available, at a suitable location. If the public sewer is 12 inches in diameter or less and no properly located wye or tee branch is available, the owner shall, at his expense, install a wye or tee fitting in the public sewer at the location specified by the Superintendent. The wye or tee fitting shall be connected into the public sewer with the appropriate-sized elastomeric plastic coupling with four stainless-steel tightening bands. Where public sewers are asbestos-cement sewer pipe, the connection may be made with a cast-iron saddle with rubber gaskets and stainless steel straps in the event that no branch is available on the public sewer. Where the public sewer is greater than 12 inches in diameter and no properly located wye or tee branch is available, a neat hole may be cut in the public sewer to receive the building sewer with entry in the downstream direction at an angle of about 45°. A forty-five-degree ell may be used to make such connection with the spigot end cut so as not to extend past the inner surface of the public sewer. The invert of the building sewer at the point of connection with public sewers greater than 12 inches in diameter shall be at an elevation equal to the springline (sewer pipe center-line elevation) or higher. A smooth, neat joint shall be made and the connection made secure and watertight by encasement in concrete. Special fittings may be used for the connection only when approved by the Superintendent. A manhole to be constructed at the connection to the public sewer may be required for building sewers greater than six inches in diameter or when required by the Superintendent.
B. 
The connection of a building sewer into the public sewer may be permitted at and into an existing manhole at the discretion of the Superintendent. Manhole connections shall be made with watertight and flexible elastomeric plastic concrete manhole adaptors (waterstops) which shall be installed by coring a hole into the manhole wall and filling around the installed adaptor with cement mortar.
When it is necessary to cut an opening into any public sewer or manhole, the drain layer shall perform the job in a workmanlike manner using the proper cutting and coring tools. The drain layer shall use a proper saw to cut out sections of public sewer, to install fittings or to cut lengths of building sewer pipe. The use of jackhammers, sledgehammers or other impact devices is not permitted for use on pipes.
If any person, after proper order or direction from the Superintendent, fails to remedy any violation of this Article or of any other section of this chapter, the Superintendent may disconnect the building sewer of the property where the violation exists from the public sewer and may collect the cost of making such disconnection from any person responsible for or willfully concerned in or who profited by such violation of the requirements of this chapter.