The meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
Approving authority.
The city manager or his or her duly authorized representative.
BOD (biochemical oxygen demand).
The quantity of oxygen by weight, expressed in mg/l, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five (5) days at a temperature of twenty degrees (20°) centigrade.
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 (5') outside the inner face of the building wall.
Building sewer.
The extension from the building drain to the sewer or other place of disposal (also called house lateral and house connection).
City.
The city or any authorized person acting in its behalf.
COD (chemical oxygen demand).
A measure of the oxygen consuming capacity, expressed in mg/l, of inorganic and organic matter present in water or wastewater. It is expressed as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test. It does not differentiate between stable and unstable organic matter and this does not necessarily correlate with biochemical oxygen demand.
Domestic wastewater.
Waterborne wastewater normally discharging into the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, and institutions.
Garbage.
Animal and vegetable wastes and residue from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food; and from the handling, processing, storage and sale of food products and produce.
Industrial waste.
Waterborne solids, liquids, or gaseous wastes resulting from discharged, permitted to flow, or escaping from the industrial, manufacturing, or food processing operation or process, or from the development of any natural resource, or any mixture of these with water or domestic wastewater.
Industrial waste charge.
The charge made on those persons who discharge industrial wastes into the city’s sewer system.
Milligrams per liter (mg/l).
The same as pats per million and is a weight-to-volume ratio; the milligram-per-liter value multiplied by the factor 8.34 shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.
Natural outlet.
Any outlet into a watercourse, ditch, lake, or other body of surface water or groundwater.
Normal domestic wastewater.
Normal wastewater for the city in which the average concentration of suspended solids is established at not more than 250 mg/l and five-day BOD is established at not more than three hundred (300) mg/l.
Person.
Any and all persons, natural or artificial, including any individual, firm, company, industry, municipal or private corporation, association, governmental agency, or other entity and agents, servants, or employees.
pH.
The reciprocal of the logarithm (base 10) of the hydrogen ion concentration expressed in grams per liter.
Properly shredded garbage.
The wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such degree that all particles shall be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particles greater than one-half inch (1/2") in any dimension.
Public sewer.
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties shall have equal rights and the use of which is controlled by public authority.
Sanitary sewer.
A sewer than conveys domestic wastewater or industrial wastes or a combination of both, and into which stormwaters, surface waters, and groundwaters or unpolluted wastes are not intentionally passed.
Sewer.
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
Slug.
Any discharge of water, wastewater, or industrial waste which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.
Standard Methods.
The examination and analytical procedures set forth in the latest edition at the time of analysis of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater as prepared, approved, and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation.
Storm sewer or storm drain.
A sewer which carries stormwaters and surface waters and drainage but excludes domestic wastewater and polluted industrial wastes.
Stormwater.
Rainfall or any other form of precipitation.
Superintendent.
The water and wastewater superintendent of the city or his or her duly authorized deputy, agent or representative.
Suspended Solids.
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, wastewater, or other liquids, and which are largely removable by a laboratory filtration device.
Unpolluted water or waste.
Water or waste containing none of the following: Free or emulsified grease or oil; acids or alkalis; phenols or other substances producing taste or odor in receiving water; toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; and noxious or otherwise obnoxious odorous gases. It shall contain not more than ten (10) mg/l each of suspended solids and BOD. The color shall not exceed fifty (50) color units as measured by the platinum-cobalt method of determination as specified in Standard Methods.
Wastewater.
A combination of the water-carried waste from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments; together with such groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present.
Wastewater facilities.
All facilities for collection, pumping, treating, and disposing of wastewater and industrial wastes.
Wastewater service charge.
The charge on all users of the public sewer system whose wastes do not exceed in strength the concentration values established as representatives of normal wastewater.
Wastewater treatment plant.
Any city-owned facilities, devices, and structures used for receiving and treating wastewater, industrial waste, and sludges from the city wastewater facilities.
Watercourse.
A natural or manmade channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
(Ordinance 1072, art. I, adopted 2/14/88)
(a) 
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
(1) 
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(2) 
Any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, or subsurface drainage to any sanitary sewer. Stormwater shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designed as combined storm sewers, or to a natural watercourse approved by the approving authority. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process water may be discharged, on approval of the approving authority, to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or natural watercourse.
(3) 
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°) (65 degrees C), or any discharge which causes the temperature of the total wastewater treatment plant influent to increase at a rate of ten degrees (10°) Fahrenheit or more per hour, or a combined total increase to a plant influent temperature of one hundred ten degrees (100°) Fahrenheit.
(4) 
Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) and one hundred fifty (150) degrees F (0 and 65 degrees C).
(5) 
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage equipped with a motor three-fourths (3/4) horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the approving authority.
(6) 
Any waters or wastes containing strong acid, iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions whether neutralized or not.
(7) 
Any waters or wastes containing objectionable or toxic substances, or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite wastewater at the wastewater treatment works exceeds the limits established by the approving authority for such materials.
(8) 
Any waters or wastes containing obnoxious, toxic, or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment plant, including but not limited to:
(A) 
Any cyanide greater than 1.0 mg/l.
(B) 
Any fluoride other than that contained in the public water supply.
(C) 
Concentration of the following heavy metals greater than the mg/l amounts indicated below.
Element
mg/l
Element
mg/l
Arsenic
0.05
Manganese
1.0
Barium
5.0
Mercury
0.005
Boron
2.0
Nickel
1.0
Cadmium
0.02
Selenium
0.02
Chromium (total)
5.0
Silver
0.1
Copper
1.0
Zinc
5.0
Lead
0.1
 
 
(D) 
Any chlorides greater than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l more than in the city water.
(E) 
All other heavy metals and toxic materials, including but not limited to the following, shall be excluded from the wastewater system unless a permit specifying the conditions of pretreatment, concentrations, volumes, etc., is obtained from the city:
Antimony
Molybdenum
Rhenium
Beryllium
Tin
Strontium
Bismuth
Uranyl ion
Tellurium
Cobalt
Pesticides
Fungicides
(F) 
Any substance causing an excessive chemical oxygen demand (COD).
(9) 
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5, or higher than 10.0, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel at the wastewater facilities.
(10) 
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operations of the wastewater works such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders, lime slurry, lime residues, slops, chemical residues, paint residues, or bulk solids.
(11) 
Any waters or wastes containing phenols, hydrogen sulfide, or other taste- and odor-producing substances, in such concentration exceeding limits which may be established by the approving authority, as necessary, after treatment of the composite wastewater, to meet the requirements of the state, federal, or other public agencies having jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
(12) 
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration, as may exceed limits established by the approving authority, in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(13) 
Materials which exert or cause:
(A) 
Unusual concentration of inert suspended solids greater than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l (such as, but not limited to, Fuller’s earth, lime slurries, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids greater than three hundred (300) mg/l (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).
(B) 
Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
(C) 
Unusual BOD (greater than the amount established in demand in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the wastewater treatment works).
(D) 
Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined herein shall be regulated to equalize the flow and/or concentration to levels acceptable to the city if such waste can cause damage to collection facilities, impair the treatment process, incur treatment costs exceeding those for normal wastewater or render the waste unfit for stream disposal or industrial use.
(14) 
Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the wastewater treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the wastewater treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
(15) 
Except in quantities or concentrations, or with provisions as stipulated herein, it shall be unlawful for any person, corporation or individual to discharge waters or wastes to the sanitary sewer that:
(A) 
Can deposit grease or oil in the sewer lines in such a manner as to clog the sewers;
(B) 
Can overload skimming and grease handling equipment;
(C) 
Are not amenable to bacterial action and will, therefore, pass to the receiving waters without being affected by normal wastewater treatment processes; or
(D) 
Can have deleterious effects on the treatment process due to the excessive quantities.
(16) 
Unless exception is granted by the approving authority, the public sewer system shall be used by all persons discharging:
(A) 
Wastewater;
(B) 
Industrial waste;
(C) 
Polluted liquids; and
(D) 
Unpolluted waters or liquids.
(17) 
No persons shall deposit or discharge without the approval of the approving authority any waste included in subsection (a) of this section on public or private property in or adjacent to any:
(A) 
Natural outlet;
(B) 
Natural watercourse;
(C) 
Storm sewer;
(D) 
Other area within the jurisdiction of the city.
(18) 
The approving authority shall verify prior to discharge that wastes authorized to be discharged will receive suitable treatment within the provisions of law, regulations, ordinances, rules and orders of federal, state, and local governments.
(b) 
If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in subsection (a) of this section, and which, in the judgment of the approving authority, may have a deleterious effect upon the wastewater works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a health hazard or public nuisance, the approving authority may:
(1) 
Reject the wastes;
(2) 
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(3) 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(4) 
Require payment to cover the cost of handling and treating the wastes under the provision of section 13.05.003.
If the approving authority permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plant and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the approving authority, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
(c) 
Grease, oil, and sand traps shall be provided for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such traps shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All traps shall be of a type and capacity approved by the approving authority and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(d) 
Where preliminary treatment of flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his or her expense.
(e) 
The owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole to facilitate observation and sampling. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safety located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the approving authority. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his or her expense and shall be maintained by him or her so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(f) 
All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this article shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater and shall be determined at the control manhole. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards on health, life, limb, and property. (The particular analysis involved will determine whether a twenty-four-hour composite sample from all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solid analyses are obtained from twenty-four-hour composites of all outfalls, whereas pH’s are determined from periodic grab samples.)
(g) 
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefor by the industrial concern, as set forth in section 13.05.003, provided that the waste control order (discharge permits), state commission on environmental quality orders, and other federal, state and local laws are not violated.
(Ordinance 1072, art. II, adopted 2/14/88)
(a) 
If the approving authority determines that an industrial waste is acceptable under the discretionary powers given him under section 13.05.002, the contributor of the industrial waste shall be required to make payment of a charge to cover the cost of handling and treating the wastes. As permitted by section 13.05.002, if the city accepts the waste, the city and the industrial concern contributing the waste shall enter into an arrangement or agreement whereby the city will accept the waste and the industrial concern will make payment therefor by the methods set forth below.
(b) 
If the volume or character of the waste to be accepted by the city is such that it will not overload the sewage collection, pumping, handling, treating, or disposal facilities of the city, then prior to such acceptance the city and the industrial concern shall enter into an agreement whereby the industrial concern shall make payment of an industrial waste charge to be determined as set forth below.
(c) 
The industrial surcharge shall be calculated by the following formula:
Surcharge rate
=
BOD in excess of 300 mg/l
x
Cost of treating BOD
300 mg/l
Surcharge rate
=
Suspended solids in excess of 250 mg/l
x
Cost of treating suspended solids
250 mg/l
(1) 
When the industrial waste exceeds both the five-day BOD and suspended solids of industrial sewage charge, the surcharge rate will be the surcharge rate as established, whichever is greater.
(2) 
The costs of treating BOD and suspended solids shall be calculated from the annual operation, maintenance, replacement, bond capital and interest costs as described in the user charge system. The surcharge rate shall assign the proportionate share of sewage collection and treatment costs to each user class.
(3) 
The surcharge rate for industrial wastes containing wastes which exceed the limits previously set forth, but which can be treated or diluted to provide an acceptable effluent from the sewage works without disrupting the normal sewage treatment processes, will be determined in the same manner as surcharge rates established for BOD. Suspended solids and COD as specified above, respectively, using the maximum limits of such wastes for which maximum limits have not been established cannot be discharged into the city’s sewer system unless such wastes have been approved by the approving authority and concentration limits established. The surcharge rates will be applied in the same manner as other wastes described above.
(Ordinance 1072, art. III, adopted 2/14/88)
The industrial surcharge shall be calculated for billing as follows:
(1) 
BOD = five-day BOD in mg/l, and SS = suspended solids in mg/l, as defined elsewhere, and shall be determined from a twenty-four-hour composite sample. The determination of flow, BOD, and suspended materials shall be made by an independent firm or laboratory selected by the city. The time of selection of the sample shall be at the sole discretion of the city, but at least on an annual basis to adjust the industrial charge to reflect the current costs of wastewater treatment. The applicable surcharge determined by such tests shall be retroactive for two (2) billing periods and shall continue for six (6) billing periods unless subsequent tests determine that the surcharge should be further increased.
(2) 
The basis for determining the surcharge shall be reviewed annually, and shall be adjusted to reflect any increase or decrease in wastewater treatment costs based on the previous year’s experience.
(3) 
Industrial waste surcharges provided for in this code shall be included as a separate item on the regular bill for water and sewer charges and shall be paid monthly in accordance with the existing practices. Surcharges shall be paid at the same time that the water and sewer charges of the person become due and payment for water and sewer services shall not be accepted without payment also of sewer service charges and surcharges.
(Ordinance 1072, art. III, adopted 2/14/88)
Failure to pay monthly bills for water and/or sanitary sewer services when due or failure to pay the established sewer charge for industrial waste when due or repeated discharge of prohibited waste into the sanitary sewer shall be sufficient cause to disconnect any and all services to the water and/or sanitary sewer mains of the city. The same penalties and charges now or hereafter provided for by the ordinances of the city for failure to pay the bill for water service when due shall be applicable in like manner in case of failure to pay the established surcharge for industrial waste discharged to the sanitary sewer mains as previously established.
(Ordinance 1072, art. III, adopted 2/14/88)
(a) 
After the effective date of this article (ordinance adopted February 14, 1988), no person:
(1) 
Not now so doing, shall deposit or discharge any industrial waste into any sanitary sewer which leads to any of the city’s treatment plants, or deposit or discharge any waste stipulated in section 13.05.002(a), without first obtaining a permit therefor.
(2) 
Shall discharge any industrial waste into any sanitary sewer which leads to any of the city’s sewage treatment plants or deposit or discharge any waste stipulated in section 13.05.002 without first obtaining a permit therefor.
(b) 
Permits granted after the effective date of this article will be issued only after the following conditions are met:
(1) 
New persons.
(A) 
Formal application is submitted on a form issued by the approving authority.
(B) 
Where applicable, plans and specifications for pretreatment facilities and/or regulating devices approved by the approving authority have been installed.
(C) 
Estimated amount and strength of any wastes have been agreed upon by both parties. When a discharger discharges twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons or more daily, strength shall be based on actual samples from the point or points of discharge.
(D) 
Agreement forms have been completed by the discharger agreeing to payment of any surcharges as required and/or agreeing to the installation of pretreatment facilities, and operation and maintenance of any pretreatment facilities where applicable.
(E) 
All new dischargers shall provide a sampling point subject to approval of the approving authority.
(2) 
Existing persons.
(A) 
Formal application is submitted on a form issued by approving authority within one hundred twenty (120) days after the effective date of this article.
(B) 
Where applicable, plans and specifications for pretreatment facilities have been approved by the approving authority.
(C) 
Estimated amount and strength of any wastes have been agreed upon by both parties. When a discharger discharges twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons or more daily, strength shall be based on actual samples from the point or points of discharge.
(D) 
Agreement forms have been completed by the discharger agreeing to payment of any surcharges as required and/or agreeing to the installation of pretreatment facilities within one hundred twenty (120) days after the effective date of this article, and operation and maintenance of any pretreatment facilities where applicable.
(Ordinance 1072, art. IV, adopted 2/14/88)
(a) 
The superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article. The superintendent or his or her representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers, waterways, or facilities for waste treatment.
(b) 
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in section 13.05.004, above, the superintendent or duly authorized employees of the city shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company, and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death of the city employees, and the city shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by city employees against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage assessed against the company and growing out of the gauging and/or sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required section 13.05.002.
(c) 
The superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credential and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the city holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the sewer system lying within said easement, [and the entry] shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.
(Ordinance 1072, art. V, adopted 2/14/88)
The city may institute civil proceeding for any loss caused by:
(1) 
Damage or destruction of a part of the sewage works; or
(2) 
Tampering with a part of the sewage works.
(Ordinance 1072, art. VI, adopted 2/14/88)
In the following situations, the city shall maintain the right to terminate water and wastewater disposal service and immediately disconnect an industrial customer from the system:
(1) 
Where acids or chemicals damaging to sewer lines or treatment processes are released to the sewer causing rapid deterioration of these structures or interfering with proper conveyance and treatment of wastewater;
(2) 
When the customer discharges industrial waste or wastewater that is in violation of the permit issued by the approving authority;
(3) 
Where any governmental agency informs the city that the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant is no longer of the quality permitted for discharge to a watercourse, and it is found that the customer is delivering wastewater to the city’s system that cannot be sufficiently treated or requires treatment that is not provided by the city as normal domestic treatment. In this instance, the city shall immediately supply the customer with the governmental agency’s report and provide the customer with all pertinent information. The customer’s water and wastewater lines will then be disconnected when the city is informed that it can no longer continue to release their effluent for discharge to a watercourse. The customer’s water and wastewater treatment service shall remain disconnected until such time as he or she has provided additional pretreatment facilities designed to remove the objectionable characteristics from his or her industrial wastes;
(4) 
Where the owner delivers his or her wastewater at an uncontrolled, variable rate in sufficient quantity that it causes an imbalance in the wastewater treatment system.
(Ordinance 1072, art. VII, adopted 2/14/88)
Any person found to be violating any provision of this article shall be served by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
(Ordinance 1072, art. VIII, adopted 2/14/88)