Any person proposing a new discharge into the system or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into the system shall notify the Town Engineer at least 45 days prior to the proposed change or connection. No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sanitary sewer or storm sewer or appurtenances thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Town Engineer.
A piping and drain laying contractor shall make application for any and all proposed work on a special form furnished by the Town. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Town Engineer. A permit and inspection fee shall be paid to the Town at the time the application is filed. Fees are listed in the Fee Schedule, § 37-1 of this Code, and posted in the Town of Southington website.
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. No permit shall be issued to any contractor until he has filed with the Town a certificate of public liability and property damage insurance in amounts specified by the Town Council. The insurance shall be approved by the Director of Public Works as surety. Such insurance shall name the Town as insured and provide indemnification of the Town from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer for a period of one year from date of its completion.
A. 
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building, except the following:
(1) 
Where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no separate building 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, provided an acceptable right-of-way is recorded in the Town land records.
(2) 
Where an industrial complex has provided a sewer system on its own property to drain several buildings to an interceptor for discharge by gravity or pumping to the Town sewer.
B. 
These types of building sewer connections shall be installed as approved by the Town Engineer and owned or maintained by the property owner thereof.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test under the supervision of the Building Inspector, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
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 and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing codes and other applicable rules and regulations of the Town as set forth by the Town Engineer.
In any and all situations, public sewers will be designed and constructed to guarantee service above sill elevation only, regardless of existing conditions and plumbing in any and all buildings. Any cost arising from modifications or changes of building plumbing necessary to make connection to public sewers feasible will be borne by the property owner.
When an owner of any lot, or his agent, applies for a building permit, the Building Inspector shall require, as condition of the issuance of such permit, that such owner or agent show on the plot plan the layout of the proposed building sewer from the building drain to the point of entry to existing pipes, including elevation of the building drain, finished first floor and/or cellar floor, and the elevation of existing pipe to which the proposed building sewer will drain.
The building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation satisfactory to the Town Engineer. In a situation where any building drain is too low to flow by gravity to the public sewer, the property owner shall have the option of installing a private sewage disposal system conforming to Article III of this chapter or the sewage shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the public sewer.
For any sewering situation in which a public sewer backup would create the distinct possibility, as determined by the Town Engineer, of a serious backup into a residential, commercial or industrial building, or otherwise endanger life, limb or public health, the contractor, upon written notice from the Town Engineer, shall install, at the expense of the property owner, a backflow check valve in the building sewer. Such valves shall be installed under the direction of the Town Engineer and so situated as to provide accessibility thereto.
[Amended 2-28-2011]
A. 
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, lawn drains, areaway drains, sump pump discharge 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.
B. 
To confirm that any property using Town of Southington public sanitary sewer is in conformance with this section, the Town shall conduct inspections using Town personnel from various departments and/or subcontractors. Inspections shall be performed on a street-by-street approach in which inspectors shall knock on doors and attempt to inspect as many properties as possible. For properties that could not be inspected because the owner was not available, a notice shall be left at the door stating that the inspectors were there and would attempt a second time in approximately one to two weeks.
C. 
When the owner is available, the inspectors will introduce themselves and explain briefly that the Town is conducting house-to-house inspections in an attempt to reduce the amount of clean water that enters the public sanitary sewer system. If the owner or tenant does not feel comfortable with allowing the inspectors into or on the property, the owner or tenant shall have the option of deferring to a specific date or calling the Police Department to verify the inspector's identity or requesting a time when a police officer can escort the inspectors onto the property.
D. 
The owner will be notified in a form that confirms receipt that failure to allow the inspectors into the home as set forth above will result in a sewer inflow penalty of $100 per month, billed on a monthly basis. Inspections shall only be conducted if the owner, tenant or adult representative of the property is present at the time. If the owner wishes to defer an inspection for any reason, it is the owner's responsibility to reschedule the inspection. If the owner does not reschedule a deferred inspection within 30 days of the original inspection attempt, then a written notice will be sent to the owner. If the owner still is unavailable or refuses to admit the inspector, then the sewer inflow penalty as set forth above shall be applied.
E. 
There will also be a penalty charge of $500 for reconnection. If there is a reconnect at the property after bringing the property into conformity, a five-hundred-dollar reconnect penalty shall be applied in addition to the one-hundred-dollar-per-month sewer inflow penalty.
F. 
In the twelve-month period following the passage of this section, the Town will send out educational materials and have educational forums. No penalties or fines shall be applied during said twelve-month period.
G. 
Inspectors will be trained by the Department of Public Works on how to conduct the inspections and how to correctly complete the inspection documentation. Inspectors will be required to carry and display Town-issued photo ID badges and shall drive in clearly marked cars or vehicles designating that they are on official Town business.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the Town. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Town Engineer before installation.
A. 
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Town Engineer or his representative when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. One full working day's notice shall be provided for all inspections.
B. 
A trench which is for any reason whatsoever backfilled prior to inspection and complete approval of the building sewer shall be subject to reexcavation. The contractor will provide one full working day's notice for reinspection of such building sewer.
All excavation for building sewer installation 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 the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Town.
[Added 4-22-1985; amended 7-11-1988; 8-11-1998; 9-26-2022]
A. 
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. As used in this subsection, "repair" shall mean a replacement of or reconditioning of a portion of such system having a cost in excess of $10,000.
B. 
For failure to comply with any provision of this section, the Town may order and direct sewer connection on behalf of the owner and thereafter secure payment of such sums so expended from the owner, with costs of collection including reasonable attorney's fees and interest thereon at the rate of 1 1/2% per month, and with such sums constituting a lien upon the premises to be so served by sewers.