Sewer service at any time is furnished only in accordance with
the Water and Sewer Ordinance of Charles County Government which is
made as a part of every application, contract, agreement or license
entered into between the property owner or customer and the County.
The connection charge for each new sewer installation directly
connected to the sewer line owned by the County shall be in accordance
with the latest Fees and Charges Schedule as shown in Appendixes D-1
and D-2. Lines that serve two or more properties will be dedicated
to the County.
A. The applicant will furnish and install all new connections to County
sewer lines for all projects only after issuance of a permit from
the County.
(1) The applicant desiring such sewer service line shall pay to the County
the scheduled fee in accordance with the latest fees and charges schedule.
B. All sewer lines from the right-of-way or easement line to the premises
served, whether located in private right-of-ways or in streets, shall
be constructed at the expense of and by the applicant, and shall be,
and remain, the property of the applicant, and shall be maintained
by them in good condition and repair under penalty of continuance
of service by the County. It is the responsibility of the customer
to ascertain that a party or parties engaged by the customer to repair
the sewer line from the right-of-way or easement line to the customer's
premises, notify the County and obtain a utility permit prior to starting
any repair work.
C. The repair and maintenance of all sewer lines from the sewer main
to the limit of the public right-of-way or easement line will remain
the responsibility of the County.
For maintenance of sewer services without clean-outs installed
at the property line the following shall apply:
(1) The County may not enter onto private property to correct any problem.
(2) If it cannot be determined whether the problem is located within
the public right-of-way or easement the property owner must contact
a plumber to correct the problem, at the expense of the property owner.
(3) If it is determined that the problem was located within public right-of-way
or easement, the County will reimburse the property owner upon verification
of responsibility and submittal of a paid invoice from the plumber.
(4) The County will install a clean-out at the public right-of-way line
or easement line at the expense of the County.
D. Specifications covering the construction of sewer lines.
(1) Sewer service connections must be constructed according to this chapter,
and the latest version of the Standards and Specifications for Construction
Manual and the latest version of the Standard Detail Manual. Special
attention is directed to the fact that all negotiations required to
permit the construction of sewer service lines from the applicant's
property through private property to the lines owned and operated
by the County must be carried out at the applicant's own time
and expense.
(2) Services to establishments, such as public buildings, churches, apartments,
buildings, commercial and industrial establishments, shall be installed
on the basis of respective detail installation plans and specifications
furnished by the applicant and approved by the County.
(3) All work performed by the applicant must meet all the local and state
regulations and rules and prevailing plumbing codes of the area in
which the work is performed.
(4) Sewer services shall be installed only by state-registered master
plumbers from the right-of-way or easement line to the building.
(5) No service connection or any part thereof will be backfilled until
inspected and approved in writing by the authorized County representative.
(6) Any rejected work will be promptly corrected to the satisfaction
of the authorized County representative.
(7) Whenever it shall be found that a service installation has been made
contrary to this chapter and County specifications or in any manner
other than that approved by the County, the service shall be disconnected
and removed. Service shall not again be supplied until the service
installation is made according to this chapter and County specifications,
and all expenses and damages shall be paid by the applicant or their
successors.
(8) Sewer service lines shall be installed at a depth not less than 42
inches.
(9) Clean-out plugs/caps will be installed per this chapter, Charles
County Standard Specs and Charles County Standard Details.
(10)
No storm drains are allowed to be connected into the public
sewer system.
(11)
No basement drains may be connected directly or through sump
pump operation into the public sewer system.
(12)
All sewer connections and requirements must be in accordance
with the State Plumbing Code of Maryland, and this chapter.
Each sewage service customer shall be notified, in conjunction
with a regular bill and not less than once every year, of the charges
for operation and maintenance of the sewage service system, i.e.,
the sewage charge and the sewage commodity charge.