A. 
Title. This division shall be known as the "Plumbing Code of the City of Onalaska" and will be referred to in this Title or elsewhere as the "Plumbing Code."
B. 
Purpose. The purpose of this division is to:
1. 
Provide minimum regulations, provisions and requirements in the City of Onalaska to insure safety and adequacy to persons and property wherever plumbing is installed and to all alterations or improvements, including replacement of any apparatus or device pertaining to plumbing.
2. 
Ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter; the State Plumbing Code as described below, the City Utility Code, and the City's Water Utility Rules approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
C. 
Uniform Dwelling Code.
1. 
State statutes and Plumbing Admin. Code adopted. Ch. 145, Wis. Stats., and Chs. SPS 381 to SPS 384, Wis. Adm. Code, together with all amendments, are hereby adopted and by reference made a part of this chapter with the same force and effect as though set out in this section in full. Failure to comply with the provision of the statutes or administrative rules, regulations and bulletins, shall constitute a violation of this chapter, publishable according to the penalties provided.
A. 
Required. No person shall engage in any plumbing work in any building, make any connection with any building, sewer or drains, or do any other plumbing work required by this chapter or any state administrative code without first making application and paying the requisite fee for a plumbing permit under this section. The Inspection Department may require plans and specifications prior to approval of any permit. The permit may be issued by a designee of the Inspection Department.
B. 
Application and fee. The application shall be in writing upon forms which the Inspection Department shall provide and shall include the name of the owner and the description of the property on which the work is to be done, along with such pertinent information as the Inspection Department may require, and shall state that the property owner and the applicant will be bound by and subject to the provisions of this chapter. At the time the application for a plumbing permit is filed, the applicant shall pay such fees for such services as are required under the City of Onalaska Fee Schedule.[1] Such fees include late fees, inspection fees, professional services fees and fees for expedited process.
[1]
Editor's Note: The current Fee Schedule is on file in the City offices.
C. 
Issuance, term, suspension and revocation. When the Inspection Department is satisfied that the work proposed by the applicant can be done in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and after the appropriate fees have been paid, the Inspection Department shall issue the permit. Such permit shall allow for the continuous performance of the work named thereon. A permit shall automatically expire when work ceases for a period of 60 days without good and reasonable cause for same as may be approved by the Inspection Department and shall automatically expire on completion of the work for which it is used, provided the Inspection Department may, upon notice, suspend or revoke such permit for violation of the provisions of this chapter.
A. 
No permit will be issued to anyone not licensed, where applicable, or who has failed to renew such license or had failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter. No plumbing permit shall be issued to any person who is in violation of this chapter until such violation has been corrected. No plumbing permit shall be issued to any person against whom an order issued by the Inspection Department is pending, provided this restriction may be waived by the Inspection Department.
B. 
No person shall carry on the business of plumbing or do any plumbing work until they shall have first obtained the proper license to do so from the state. An unlicensed person may remove stoppages in drain pipes or repair valves or faucets.
A. 
Inspector.
1. 
Qualification. The City employs Building Inspectors I, II, III and Lead Building Inspector to perform plumbing inspections. Those Building Inspectors in the Inspection Department with the appropriate certifications and licenses for UDC and Commercial Plumbing shall perform inspections under this division.
2. 
Duties and authority. Those City inspectors certified to perform plumbing inspections shall have control of the supervision and inspection of plumbing and drainage work within or in connection with all buildings within the City. They shall make or cause to be made all inspections of house sewers from the main sewer or other disposal terminal to the buildings, and shall faithfully enforce all laws, ordinances and rules in relation thereto. It shall be the duty of the Inspection Department to see that the construction, reconstruction and alteration of all plumbing, drainage and plumbing ventilation hereafter installed in all of the buildings in the City shall conform with the laws and ordinances of the state and the rules and regulations laid down by the state department of commerce and the City and that the work is done by licensed plumbers as provided by law and this chapter, and to make all inspections required thereby and in the manner therein set forth. The Inspection Department shall have the right to enter any building during reasonable hours in the discharge of their duties. The Inspection Department is empowered to exercise in the best interests of the general public such supervision over all plumbing and drainage installations as may be necessary to adequately enforce and administer the provisions of this chapter and state law and code to make plumbing safe and sanitary and to promote public welfare in all classes of buildings, private and public.
B. 
Inspections. Inspections shall be made as provided for in the state code and this chapter and shall include:
1. 
Inspection of the entire house sewer and drain from the main sewer or other disposal terminal to the building, including connections at point of discharge, and the water service from curb box into building.
2. 
The house drain within the building and its branches, under test as prescribed, which inspection shall be made before any part of the drain has been covered.
3. 
The soil, waste and vent pipe, known as "roughing in," shall be inspected under test before it is enclosed or covered.
4. 
Final inspection of the plumbing installation after fixtures, appurtenances and appliances have been tested and completed and the installation is ready for use. When practical, the final inspection shall be made with the water supply serving such plumbing system turned on for such test purposes.
C. 
Notification for inspection. The plumber or owner/occupant to whom the permit has been issued, or their agent, shall notify the Inspection Department in the manner prescribed by the Inspection Department when the work is ready for inspection and shall specify the street address and permit number under which the work is being done. The person making the request for inspection shall make such arrangements as will enable the Inspection Department to reach all parts of the building and shall provide the equipment and labor for making tests of the system.
D. 
Final inspection. The plumber or owner/occupant to whom the permit has been issued, or their agent shall notify the Inspection Department when the work is completed and ready for final inspection. The person making the request for final inspection shall make arrangement for entry into all parts of the building where the inspection is to be performed. When practical, the final inspection shall be made with the water supply serving such plumbing system turned on for such test purposes. The Inspection Department shall furnish the owner or the plumber to whom the permit was issued as requested with a certificate of such inspection indicating whether the installation has been approved or disapproved and giving the reasons therefor in writing.
E. 
Right to entry. The Inspection Department shall have the right to enter onto public or private property during reasonable hours to inspect plumbing work. Where entry is refused, the Inspection Department may seek an inspection warrant as provided in § 66.0119, Wis. Stats, as may be amended.
A. 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, all residential units/homes within the City of Onalaska, within a secondary water pressure zone, shall have installed a check valve and a pressure-reducing valve. Said check valve is to be located on the home side of the water meter and said pressure reducing valve shall be installed on the street side of the water meter.
A. 
The Inspection Department shall prepare suitable records and applications for the permits required and keep an updated record of all inspections.
A. 
Discharge. No person shall cause, allow or permit any roof drain, surface drain, subsoil drain, drain from any mechanical device, gutter, ditch, pipe, conduit, sump pump or any other object or thing used for the purposes of collecting, conducting, transporting, diverting, draining or discharging clear water from any part of any private premises owned or occupied by said person to discharge into a sanitary sewer.
B. 
Nuisance. The discharge into a sanitary sewer from any roof drain, surface drain, subsoil drain, drain from any mechanical device, gutter, ditch, pipe, conduit, sump pump or any other object or thing used for the purposes of collecting, conducting, transporting, diverting, draining or discharging clear water from any part of any private premises is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and a hazard to the health, safety and well-being of the residents of the City and to the protection of property.
C. 
Groundwater.
1. 
Where deemed necessary by the Inspection Department, every house shall have a sump pump installed for the purpose of discharging clear waters from foundation drains and ground infiltration and where the building is not serviced by a storm sewer shall either discharge into an underground conduit leading to a drainage ditch, gutter, dry well or shall discharge onto the ground surface in such other manner as will not constitute a nuisance as defined herein.
2. 
Roof water shall be directed to the street storm sewer or between buildings.
D. 
Stormwater. All roof drains, surface drains, drains from any mechanical device, gutters, pipe, conduits or any other objects or things used for the purpose of collecting, conducting, transporting, diverting, draining or discharging stormwaters shall be discharged either to a storm sewer, a dry well, an underground conduit leading to a drainage ditch or onto the ground surface in such other manner as will not constitute a nuisance as defined herein.
E. 
Storm sewer lateral. Where municipal storm sewers are provided and it is deemed necessary by the property owner and/or the City to discharge clear waters from a parcel of land, a storm sewer lateral shall be installed and connected to the storm sewer main at the expense of the owner.
F. 
Conducting tests. If the Inspection Department or their designated agent suspects an illegal clear water discharge as defined by this chapter or by any other applicable provision of the Wisconsin Administrative Code as it may, from time to time, be amended, they may, upon reasonable notice and at reasonable times, enter the private premises where such illegal clear water discharge is suspected and conduct appropriate tests to determine whether such suspected illegal clear water discharge actually exists.