[Adopted 5-17-1993 as Ch. 13.08 of the 1993 Code]
A. 
Defined. The term "particular sewers," as used in this article, is intended to mean the house connections of the abutter with the main or common sewer.
B. 
Construction and connection; applications; requirements. All applications for the construction of particular sewers and their entrance into common sewers shall be made upon forms to be obtained at the office of the Commissioner of Public Works and shall be signed by the owner or by the accredited agent of the premises to be served.
C. 
Alterations and connection; permit specifications; modifications. No person shall be allowed to make any alteration in or make any connection with any particular sewer, except as stated in the original permit. Leave to depart therefrom must be obtained from the Commissioner of Public Works on further application therefor to the Commissioner.
D. 
Specifications; size and materials. The size and materials of particular sewers and appurtenances shall be such as the Commissioner of Public Works shall prescribe and in conformity with the requirements of the Health Department.
E. 
Laying; requirements; access. All particular sewers shall be laid accurately to straight lines and grades. If angles along the lines thereof are unavoidable, manholes or other approved means of access shall be provided.
F. 
Construction; materials and labor. The materials and labor required in the construction of particular sewers and appurtenances thereof shall be provided and the work done by the Commissioner of Public Works, or his duly authorized agents, and by no other person, except that the applicant may make all of the excavation and backfill outside the street lines, excepting so much as will affect the proper bedding and securing of the pipe or other structure.
G. 
Connection with public sewer; certificate required. The plumbing of any building shall not be connected with a particular sewer until the applicant shall file with the Commissioner of Public Works a certificate by the Plumbing Inspector that the plumbing work is in suitable condition for the connection with the public sewer.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
H. 
Grease traps. The Commissioner of Public Works may at any time require such grease traps to be introduced along the line of any particular sewer, or on the discharge of any fixture connected therewith, as he may deem necessary for the proper maintenance of such particular sewer, or of the common sewers.
I. 
Control and maintenance responsibility; cost liability; City responsibility. All particular sewers shall be under the control of, and be maintained and kept clean by, the City. The expense in cleaning and repairing any particular sewer shall be paid by the owner of the premises connected by such particular sewer, and prepayment or security for the expenses may be required by the Commissioner of Public Works; provided, however, that any labor on a particular sewer occasioned by defects or obstructions in the common sewer shall be paid for by the City.
A. 
Discharge of harmful water prohibited. No person shall throw or discharge into a public sewer or any of its connections any steam or other matter or thing which may tend to cause an obstruction thereof or a deposit therein or any injury thereto.
B. 
Private drain infrastructure analysis. The City shall impose a municipal charges lien for unpaid charges incurred by Quincy property owners for a private drain infrastructure analysis to be committed as a lien upon the real estate in conforming with MGL c. 40, § 58.
[Added 6-15-2015 by Order No. 2015-105]
C. 
Private drain infrastructure repair. The City shall impose a municipal charges lien for unpaid charges incurred by Quincy property owners for a private drain infrastructure repair to be committed as a lien upon the real estate in conforming with MGL c. 40, § 58.
[Added 6-15-2015 by Order No. 2015-106]
D. 
Discharge of roof or surface water prohibited. No person shall cause or allow any roof water or surface water, by pipe or otherwise, to be conducted or to flow or discharge into any pipe or drain connecting with or which indirectly discharges its contents into any main drain or common sewer.
The City shall amend the ad valorem sewer use fee for use of the City's sewage system effective with bills rendered on and after April 1, 1990. Such fee shall be collected in the manner described in § 270-8 from the three classes of users described in § 270-7. Sewer use fees shall be reviewed at least annually to reflect changes in operating costs and revenue requirements.
A. 
Major industrial users. Users who discharge more than 25,000 gallons per day into the sewage system shall be classified as major industrial users. These users shall pay their share of wastewater management costs in proportion to their actual use of the sewage system. Users in this class shall be charged based on the actual metered discharge to the sewer system or actual water usage, whichever is deemed applicable by the Commissioner of Public Works.
B. 
Tax-exempt users. Users who are exempt from real estate taxes shall be classified as tax-exempt users. Users in this classification shall pay their share of wastewater management costs in proportion to their actual use of the sewage system. Users in this class shall be charged based on their actual metered discharge to the sewer system or actual water usage, whichever is deemed applicable by the Commissioner of Public Works.
C. 
Small commercial and residential users. Users who are not exempt from real estate taxes and who do not discharge more than 25,000 gallons per day of sewage into the sewage system shall be classified as small commercial and residential users. Each user shall pay its share of wastewater management costs in proportion to its actual use of the sewage system. Users in this class shall be charged based on their actual metered discharge to the sewer system or actual water usage, whichever is deemed applicable by the Commissioner of Public Works.
A. 
Calculation. Total annual sewer use charges for each user shall be based upon the best available measurement or estimate of each user's contribution to wastewater flows in the City prorated against estimated total annual wastewater flow in the Quincy sewer system.
B. 
Assessment; method of calculation. The total annual sewer use charges assessed shall equal as nearly as feasible the actual net costs and expenses of maintaining, operating, and improving the sewer system, including charges and assessments against the City by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). These costs shall be established in March of each year for the forthcoming fiscal year. They shall be based on:
(1) 
An appropriate portion of the operating and capital budgets for the forthcoming fiscal year for the Department of Public Works.
(2) 
Other costs, such as overhead, benefits and debt service, not included in Subsection B(1) of this section.
(3) 
Anticipated sewer use charges and assessments against the City by the MWRA during the forthcoming fiscal year.
(4) 
An adjustment for revenues received or anticipated during the current fiscal year and not reflected in the current sewer use charges.
(5) 
An adjustment for costs, expenses and lost revenues incurred or anticipated during the current fiscal year and not reflected in the current sewer use charges.
(6) 
Anticipated revenues in the forthcoming fiscal year from sources other than sewer use charges.
C. 
Base sewer rate. The Mayor shall annually approve, subject to the recommendation of the Commissioner of Public Works, a base sewer use rate expressed as dollars (and fraction) per hundred cubic feet of wastewater discharge. Said rate may include a rate structure designed to encourage conservation by way of an inclining block rate if so authorized by regulations of the MWRA.
D. 
Nonmetered users.
(1) 
Contribution determination. For those users whose wastewater flows are not metered or otherwise reliably measured, the Commissioner shall use related measures such as metered water usage, and best professional judgment, in determining each user's contribution.
(2) 
Meter required; determination; expense. The Commissioner may require metering or another form of measurement of any user's contribution to wastewater flow at the expense of the user when in his judgment there is no other reasonable means of establishing or estimating that contribution and the cost of so metering or measuring is not unreasonable.
E. 
Collection and disposition. The Treasurer/Collector shall receive and collect all sewer rates and any other income and place the same to the credit of the Sewer, Water and Drain Department. All fees collected under this article shall be dedicated and used to pay for the operation and maintenance costs, bonded debt and interests costs, and the MWRA costs incurred by the City sewage portion of the Sewer, Water and Drain Department. In the event that revenue exceeds expenses, such excess shall be held in a sewer reserve account. The City Sewer, Water and Drain Department, as part of its mission, will provide the consumers of water and sewer services in the City with information, education and technical assistance pertaining to water conservation. Financial assistance shall also be made available subject to appropriation.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
F. 
Payment. All bills for sewer use shall be due and payable quarterly to the Treasurer/Collector and shall use the same billing system as used for water bills.
G. 
Abatements. Any user of water and sewer service who has been granted a tax exemption under MGL c. 59, § 5, Clause 41C, shall also be entitled to a reduction of 25% in the total water and sewer bill.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order No. 2020-012]
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have full supervision, direction and control of the Sewer, Water and Drain Department and shall make such rules and regulations for its government as may be deemed advisable. The Commissioner of Public Works must develop and implement a management plan which will be presented to the City Council. The Commissioner is required to notify the City Council of any changes in the management plan prior to their implementation.