City of Watertown, WI General Provisions

The General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403) promulgated as a result of the Federal Clean Water Act amendments of 1977 (Public Law 95-217), as amended, have resulted in a program to improve the quality of our nation's waters.

The City of Watertown has already made and will continue to make a substantial financial investment in its wastewater facilities to achieve the goals of the Act.

Therefore, it is the purpose of Article II of this chapter to regulate the construction and use of all sewers and drains connected to the sewer systems and wastewater facilities of the City of Watertown. Pursuant to its authority under Chs. 281 and 283 and §§ 66.0821 and 62.18, Wis. Stats., the City of Watertown adopts herein pretreatment rules and regulations to provide for the use of the Watertown wastewater facilities by industries served by it without damage to the physical facilities; without impairment of their normal function of collecting, treating and discharging wastewater; without the discharge by the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant of pollutants which would violate the discharge allowed under its Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit and the applicable rules of all governmental authorities with jurisdiction over such discharges; without limiting the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludges from the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant; and to recover from users of the wastewater treatment facilities, on an equitable basis and separate from all other fees and charges recovered by the City, the share of the operation and maintenance cost of the City's industrial pretreatment program attributable to such users.

Sewer service charge.

In order to adequately provide for the collection, treatment, purification and disposal in a sanitary manner of wastewaters in the City of Watertown, Wisconsin, said City has heretofore constructed wastewater facilities, including necessary sewers and pumping stations and wastewater treatment plant.

In order to pay part of the cost of said municipal wastewater facilities the City has heretofore issued general obligation bonds.

It is necessary that additional wastewater facilities be constructed, including the upgrading of the existing plant, and additional general obligation bonds were issued by the City of Watertown to pay part of the cost of said additional works.

(4)

It is necessary that the rates and charges for the use of the services provided by the municipal wastewater facilities of said City be revised, established and increased to pay the cost of operating and maintaining the wastewater facilities and the debt service on outstanding bonds for payment of the City's share of cost of improvements as hereinafter provided.

(5)

Therefore, it is the purpose of Article III of this chapter to recover from users of the wastewater facilities, on an equitable basis, the share of the wastewater facilities costs attributable to such users and to provide funds for the operation and maintenance, debt service, replacement and improvement of the wastewater facilities.

Excess capacity sewer service charge.

[Added by Ord. No. 01-29, effective 1-1-2002; amended by Ord. No. 12-14]

In order to adequately provide for the collection, treatment, purification and disposal in a sanitary manner of wastewater within the City of Watertown, Wisconsin, said City has heretofore constructed wastewater treatment facilities, including necessary sewers and pumping stations and wastewater treatment plant.

The City has previously adopted Article III of this chapter to provide for the operation and maintenance, debt service, replacement and improvements of the wastewater treatment facilities from current users of such sewer services.

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL USER

Increased land development within the service area of the City of Watertown and the Wastewater Treatment Plant Utility of the City of Watertown has caused the need to establish a mechanism for the imposition of sewer service charges upon such new land development to finance the capital costs of acquiring, establishing, upgrading, expanding and constructing additional wastewater treatment facilities, including the necessary sewers, pumping stations, and modifications to the wastewater treatment plant, which are necessary to accommodate such new land development.

(4)

The City has conducted a study and assessment to establish the amount, implementation schedule, and rational basis for imposition of the excess capacity sewer service charge, which has been summarized in the Wastewater Facilities Plan Report (September 2000), prepared by Applied Technologies, and the Report on Connection Fees (February 2001), prepared by Virchow Krause & Company, LLP, on file in the office of the City Clerk for the City of Watertown and on file in the office of the Water Systems Manager.

[Amended 7-5-2022 by Ord. No. 22-63]

(5)

In order to assure that the new land development bears an appropriate share of the capital costs necessary to provide wastewater treatment facilities within the City of Watertown and its service area required to serve the need for sewer services arising out of this new land development, it is necessary to adopt an excess capacity sewer service charge.

(6)

Therefore, it is the purpose of Article IV of this chapter to recover from the owners/developers of new land development within the City of Watertown, on an equitable basis, pursuant to § 66.0821, Wis. Stats., an excess capacity sewer service charge to provide wastewater treatment facilities to such new land development.

§ 508-3 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

ACT or THE ACT

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

AMMONIA NITROGEN (NH₃-N)

A measure commonly used for testing the quantity of ammonium ions derived naturally from ammonia and returned to ammonia via organic processes in water or waste liquids. It is a measure used mainly for quantifying values in waste treatment and water purification systems, as well as a measure of the health of natural and man-made water reserves. It is measured in units of mg/l (milligrams per liter).

[Added by Ord. No. 12-14]

APPROVAL AUTHORITY

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).

May be any of the following:

A principal executive officer of at least the level of vice president, if the industrial user is a corporation.

A general partner or proprietor, if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively.

BOD (denoting biochemical oxygen demand)

A duly authorized representative of the individual designated above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.

(4)

The manager of one or more manufacturing facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make decisions that govern the operation of the facility, make major capital investment recommendations, initiate and direct comprehensive measures to assure long-term compliance with environmental laws, ensure the necessary systems are established to gather complete and accurate information for the report, and where authority to sign documents has been delegated to the manager according to the corporation's procedures.

[Added 1-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-1]

BILLABLE FLOW

The total number of gallons utilized to determine the unit cost of billing for wastewater facilities services.

The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter, as determined in accordance with standard laboratory procedures as set out in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

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, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER

The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

CAPITAL COSTS

All reasonable and necessary costs and expenses incurred by the City in planning, designing, financing and constructing wastewater facilities, including but not limited to costs and expenses for obtaining necessary permits, licenses, approvals and grants for design and construction, fees for legal and consulting services and acquisition.

CATEGORICAL STANDARDS

See "national categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standards."

CITY

The Common Council of the City of Watertown, Wisconsin, or its duly authorized representative. Common Council shall mean the duly elected Mayor and Alderpersons of the City of Watertown, Wisconsin.

COD (denoting chemical oxygen demand)

The quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of inorganic and organic matter present in water or wastewater, expressed in milligrams per liter, as determined in accordance with standard laboratory procedure as set out in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

COMMERCIAL USER

For the purpose of the user charge system, a user engaged in the purchase or sale of goods or transaction of business or which otherwise renders a service.

COMPATIBLE POLLUTANT

Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, fecal coliform bacteria and any additional pollutants identified in the City of Watertown's WPDES permit, where the Watertown Wastewater Treatment Plant is designed to treat such pollutants and, in fact, does treat such pollutants to the degree required by the City of Watertown's WPDES permit.

COMPOSITE SAMPLE

A sample consisting of several effluent portions collected during a specific time period and combined to make a representative sample.

CONNECTION

Any point where wastewater is discharged to a private interceptor main or the wastewater facilities. Each sewer service charge recipient, as defined in § 508-11A, shall be considered (as a minimum) to be one connection.

DEBT SERVICE

The principal and interest necessary to pay bond indebtedness.

DISCHARGE

The releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of a pollutant into the waters of the state or onto the land or into wells from which the pollutant might flow or drain into said waters, and shall include the release of any pollutant into the City's wastewater facilities.

DOMESTIC USER

Those establishments of which its related occupants, if any, are usually considered as domestic service and whose discharge consists of liquid waste or liquid-borne waste resulting from the noncommercial preparation, cooking and handling of food and/or consisting of human excrement and similar sanitary wastes from each separate house, apartment, flat or other living quarters occupied by a person or persons constituting a distinct household.

DWELLING UNIT

Shall consist of one or more rooms connected together in the same structure and constituting a separate independent unit for the permanent residential occupancy by humans, with facilities for such humans to sleep and eat.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of said agency.

FEDERAL GRANT

The total amount of funding paid by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to the City of Watertown for the construction of the 1978 wastewater facilities improvements.

FLOW

The quantity of billable flow expressed in gallons or cubic feet.

GARBAGE

Solid wastes resulting from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage or sale of meat, fish, fowl, fruit, vegetables and condemned foods.

GENERAL MUNICIPAL FLOW

The total wastewater flow discharged to the wastewater facilities, minus the flows from industrial users, other municipalities, and contract users. "General municipal flow" includes flow from domestic users, commercial users, institutional users and governmental users. General municipal flow, based on the design of the wastewater treatment plant, is further defined as flows containing five-day BOD concentrations no greater than 175 mg/l, suspended solids concentrations no greater than 170 mg/l, total phosphorus concentration no greater than six mg/l and ammonia nitrogen concentrations no greater than 25 mg/l.

[Amended by Ord. No. 12-14[1]]

GENERAL MUNICIPAL USER

Any user discharging wastewater to the general municipal flow other than industrial users, municipalities, and other contract users. This category of user includes as subcategories:

Domestic users.

Commercial users.

Institutional users.

Governmental users.

Includes those establishments whose function is the administration and/or execution of governmental programs as well as the offices of executives, legislative bodies and agencies which provide general support services for government.

GRAB SAMPLE

A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

HOLDING TANK WASTE

Any waste from holding tanks, such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum pump tank trucks.

INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANT

Any pollutant that is not defined as a compatible pollutant, including nonbiodegradable dissolved solids.

INDUSTRIAL USER

In general, a person who discharges, causes or permits the discharge of non-general municipal flow into the wastewater facilities.

[Amended by Ord. No. 12-14]

For the purpose of the industrial cost recovery system, "industrial user" means any nongovernmental, nonresidential user of the wastewater facilities which discharges a process flow greater than 25,000 gallons per day, discharges a process BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen concentration greater than in general municipal flow (BOD: 175 mg/l; SS: 170 mg/l; TP: six mg/l; and ammonia nitrogen: 25 mg/l), or has wastewater constituent concentrations significantly different from those in general municipal flow.

(a)

Process flow is the actual flow discharged minus the measured sanitary facilities flow or 25 gallons per on-site employee shift per day, whichever result achieves the lesser sanitary flow.

(b)

Process BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen are the actual pounds of BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen discharged minus the pounds of BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen measured from the sanitary flow or the estimated pounds of BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen determined by multiplying the sanitary flow (used in process flow calculation) by 8.34 and by the average domestic concentration of BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen (BOD: 175 mg/l; SS: 170 mg/l; TP: six mg/l; and ammonia nitrogen: 25 mg/l), whichever result achieves the greater process BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen.

For the purpose of the user charge system, "industrial user" shall mean a manufacturing or process facility engaged in a productive or profit-making venture (generally Division D of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual).

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

The solid, liquid or gaseous wastes resulting from any industrial or manufacturing processes, trade or business, or from the development, recovery or processing of natural resources, including cooling water and the discharge from wastewater pretreatment facilities.

INFILTRATION and INFLOW

That portion of the wastewater facilities flow which cannot be identified as billable flow.

INSTITUTIONAL USER

Those establishments engaged in activities of a noneconomic nature, frequently being the performance of service for the general public (health, education, social), and not classified as a governmental or commercial user in this chapter.

INTERFERENCE

A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:

Inhibits or disrupts the wastewater facilities, their treatment processes or operations, or their sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore,

NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or PRETREATMENT STANDARD

Is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the wastewater facilities' WPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sludge use or disposal in compliance with Chs. 281 and 283, Wis. Stats.

LOAD

The quantities of wastewater constituents such as BOD, suspended solids, total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen or other constituents as expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) or pounds per twenty-four-hour day (lbs/day).

[Amended by Ord. No. 12-14]

Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317), which applies to a specific category of industrial users.

NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD

Any regulation developed under the authority of Section 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.

NATURAL OUTLET

Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.

NEW SOURCE

Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source, if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:

The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;

The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT

The production or wastewater-generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site.

NONINDUSTRIAL USER

For the purpose of the industrial cost recovery system, a user of the wastewater facilities considered to be governmental or determined to be discharging primarily segregated domestic waste or wastes from sanitary conveniences.

OTHER WASTES

Other substances except sanitary wastes and industrial wastes.

PASS-THROUGH

A discharge which exits the wastewater facilities into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the wastewater facilities' WPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

PERSON

Any individual, firm, partnership, company, association, society, corporation, municipal corporation, governmental unit or group.

The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in moles per liter of solution and indicates the degree of alkalinity or acidity, with a pH value of 7.0 being the neutral point.

PLUMBING CODE

The Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter SPS 382 and City of Watertown Code Chapter 419, Plumbing.

POLLUTANT

Any dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, domestic wastewater, garbage, wastewater sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water. This definition shall include holding tank wastes.

[Amended by Ord. No. 12-14]

The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into the wastewater facilities. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).

PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS

Substantive or procedural requirements related to pretreatment, other than a categorical pretreatment standard imposed on an industrial user.

PRIVATE INTERCEPTOR MAIN SEWER

A privately owned building sewer not directly controlled by public authority. "Privately owned" means single ownership by an individual, firm or corporation.

PROCESS WATER

Any water used in the manufacturing, preparation or production of goods, materials or foods.

PUBLIC SEWER

Any sewer owned or operated by the City.

SANITARY SEWER

A sewer which carries wastewater and to which stormwater, surface water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.

SEWER

A pipe or conduit for carrying wastewater.

SEWER SERVICE CHARGE

The total of the user charge system and debt service charges to be assessed to each user.[2]

SEWER SYSTEM

Pipeline or conduits, pumping stations, force mains, and all devices and appliances appurtenant thereto, used for collecting or conducting wastewater to the point of ultimate disposal.

SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER

All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N; and

Any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the wastewater facilities (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the wastewater facilities; or is designated as such by the City, on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the wastewater facilities operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

[Amended 1-5-2016 by Ord. No. 16-1]