No person shall discharge, deposit, or throw, or cause, allow or permit to be discharged, into any public sewer or plumbing fixture or to any drain, manhole, culvert, catchbasin, sanitary catchbasin, or private sewer which connects to the sewerage system, any substance of any kind whatsoever tending to obstruct or injure the sewerage system, or cause a nuisance, or which shall in any manner interfere with the proper repair or maintenance of the sewerage system, or which shall in any way render it difficult for any workmen to operate or repair the sewerage system, or render it impossible to meet the effluent or solid residues disposal requirements which may be set by the regional water quality control board, including, but not limited to, any discharge of waste into the sewerage system which causes, threatens to cause, or is capable of causing, either alone or by interaction with other substances, any of the following:
A. 
Fire or explosion,
B. 
Obstruction of the flow in, or injury to, the sewerage system, or any portion thereof;
C. 
Danger to the life or safety of any person;
D. 
Condition inhibiting or preventing the effective maintenance or operation of the sewerage system;
E. 
Strong or offensive odor, air pollution, or any noxious, toxic or malodorous gas or substance, or gas-producing substances;
F. 
Interference with the wastewater treatment process, or excessive collection or treatment costs;
G. 
Use of a share of the capacity of the sewerage system in excess of that permitted;
H. 
Interference with any wastewater reclamation process which does or may operate in conjunction with the sewerage system, or any overloading or breakdown of such reclamation process, or excessive reclamation costs, or which results in any product of the treatment process which renders such reclamation process impracticable or infeasible under normal operating conditions;
I. 
Detrimental environmental impact, or a nuisance wherever located or a condition unacceptable to any public agency having regulatory jurisdiction over operation of the sewerage system;
J. 
Discoloration, or any other adverse condition in the quality of the effluent from the sewerage system such that discharge wastewater quality requirements established by any applicable law, rule, regulation, chapter, or permit condition cannot reasonably be met by the treatment works; or
K. 
Conditions at or near the sewerage system, or any portion thereof, which cause, or may cause, the city or the district to be in violation of the requirements of any applicable law, rule, regulation, chapter or permit.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.01; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
All sewage shall be discharged to the sewerage system except as provided in this chapter. Discharge shall be through a city-approved sewer connection to a service lateral unless a special permit has been issued by the director to allow direct discharge into a manhole or other part of the sewerage system.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.02; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
A. 
Protection from Accidental Discharge. As required by the director, users shall provide protection from accidental discharges of prohibited materials or other wastes regulated by this chapter. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the city for review and shall be approved by the city prior to construction of the facility. The review and approval of such plans and operating procedures shall in no way relieve the user of the responsibility for modifying the facility as required by the city to provide the protection necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter.
B. 
Notification Required. All users shall notify the director and the treatment plant by telephone immediately upon accidentally discharging, or discovering the discharge of, wastes in violation of this chapter so that the city and/or the district may take countermeasures to minimize damage to the sewerage system, treatment plant, treatment process and the receiving waters. The telephone notification shall be followed within 15 days of the date of occurrence by a detailed written statement, delivered to the director, describing the cause of the accidental discharge and the measures being taken to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of liability for any loss, cost or expense incurred by the city and/or district as a result of such discharge, including, without limitation, loss or damage to the sewerage system, treatment plant or treatment process and any fines imposed by any agency of the city and/or district on account thereof.
C. 
Notice to Employees. The director may require that notice be permanently posted on a bulletin board in the offices of each commercial and/or industrial user, and shall require similar posting by each major contributing industry, advising such user's employees of the numbers to call in case of an accidental discharge in violation of this chapter.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.03; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
No person shall discharge, cause to be discharged, or permit to be discharged into the sewerage system any stormwater, ground water, rainwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, roof runoff, yard drainage, water from irrigation, water from cooling condensers, unpolluted industrial process water, water from processing or other sources which produces an unpolluted effluent satisfactory for direct discharge into the storm drains or surface waterways. However, if the director determines that no reasonable alternative method of disposal other than discharge into the sewerage system of such waters is available, the director may permit discharge into the sewerage system of such waste if a contract is entered into between such person and the city providing for payment by such person of additional processing and facilities expansion costs, if any.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.04; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
As deemed necessary by the director, a user shall provide facilities for storage of peak flows to prevent flows beyond the capacity of the sewerage system or the user's allocation of capacity.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.05; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the sewerage system any of the following:
A. 
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit;
B. 
Any water or wastes which contain more than 200 milligrams per liter of fat, oil or grease that is soluble by the freon extraction process;
C. 
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other liquid, solid or gas which, by reason of its nature or quantity, if sufficient, or may be sufficient, to cause, either alone or by interaction with other substances, fire, explosion or injury in any other way to any person, property or the sewerage system;
D. 
Any garbage, except garbage properly ground with a mechanical garbage grinder and meeting the requirements of Section 15.28.100 of this chapter;
E. 
Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, coal tar, asphalt, cement, plastics, woods, paunch manure or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper and economical operation of the sewerage system;
F. 
Any waters or wastes with a pH lower than 6 or higher than 11, or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel;
G. 
Any waters or wastes exceeding the following constituent concentrations, unless a contract is entered with the city providing payment for additional treatment or plant expansion costs:
Constituent
Limit, mg/l
BOD
400
COD
1,500
SS
400
TDS
1,000
H. 
Any waters or uses having a fluoride concentration greater than five milligrams per liter;
I. 
Wastes discharged into the sewerage system from the regeneration of any water softeners of any kind or description, whether private or commercial;
J. 
Any sulfide forming pollutant or waste which, when discharged to the sewerage system, generates sulfide concentrations in excess of one milligram per liter;
K. 
Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
L. 
Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewerage system for maintenance and repair;
M. 
Any waters or wastes in excess of the maximum volumes, flows and/or rates of flow prescribed in the applicable permits issued pursuant to this chapter;
N. 
In addition to the restrictions set forth in this section, any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants such as BOD and COD, discharged at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which a user knows, or has reason to know, is likely to cause interference with the treatment works.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.06; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983; Ord. 1303 § 1, 1987; Ord. 1319 § 1, 1987)
A. 
No user shall discharge any of the following toxic substances in excess of its respective concentration limit:
Pollutant
Discharge Limit
mg/l
Arsenic
0.50
Cadmium
1.00
Total chromium
1.00
Copper
1.00
Lead
2.00
Mercury
0.01
Nickel
1.50
Selenium
1.30
Silver
1.50
Zinc
4.00
Cyanide
0.50
Phenols
20.00
Polychlorinated biphenyl
0.01
Total identifiable chlorinated hydrocarbon
0.02
TTO
5.00
PAH
6.50
Oil and grease (animal/vegetable)
200
Oil and grease (hydrocarbon)
150
pH
6<pH<11
B. 
In addition, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any wastewater containing toxic substances that are likely to endanger public health or safety, interfere with the treatment process, cause the effluent water from the treatment plant to exceed NPDES prescribed limits, or render treatment plant sludge unfit for agricultural applications.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.07; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983; Ord. 1896 § 1, 2003)
A. 
General Prohibition—Exceptions. No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any radioactive wastes into the sewerage system, except where:
1. 
The waste is discharged in strict conformance with current radiation control regulations and federal regulations and recommendations for safe disposal of such wastes;
2. 
The discharging of such radioactive wastes will not cause injury to personnel or damage to the sewerage system, irrespective of the provisions of subsection (A)(1) of this section; and
3. 
A wastewater discharge permit has been issued pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
Reports—Accidental Spills. Any person permitted to discharge a radioactive waste into the sewerage system in accordance with this section shall submit to the director such reports as the director may deem necessary. In the event of any accidental spill of any radioactive material into the sewerage system, the person responsible shall:
1. 
Immediately notify the city and the district; and
2. 
Render such technical or other assistance to the city and the district as may be within such person's power in order to prevent the sewerage system from becoming contaminated with radioactivity.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.08; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
No septic tank, holding tank, cesspool or chemical toilet waste shall be discharged into the sewerage system at any points other than those designated by the director. The director may grant a special permit for such discharges; provided, that only waste material meeting the requirements of this chapter shall be discharged. A fee for such discharge shall be made as determined by the director.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.09; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
Garbage shall be admitted to the sewerage system only if first passed through a mechanically operated grinder. Garbage which increases operation costs or decreases the treatment plant's effectiveness, such as: (a) commercial garbage, (b) disposal of wastes from establishments such as, but not limited to, restaurants, markets, hospitals, or nursing homes, or (c) food processing wastes, shall be permitted only when a special permit has been issued by the director providing for payment of additional costs incurred as a result of said discharges.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.10; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
In addition to the limitations upon the characteristics or quantity of wastewater discharged, caused to be discharged or permitted to be discharged into the sewerage system pursuant to this chapter, the director may, in connection with the issuance of permits pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, establish additional specific limitations on wastewater discharges upon a finding by the director that:
A. 
The limitations set forth in this chapter may not be sufficient to protect the operation of the city's sewerage system, district treatment facilities, or any portion thereof, or the waste or wastewater proposed to be discharged otherwise constitutes a hazard to, or unreasonable burden upon, such operation; or
B. 
The limitations expressly set forth in this chapter may not be sufficient to enable the operation of the sewerage system or district treatment facilities to comply with water quality standards or effluent limitations specified in the NPDES permit or any other applicable permit.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.11; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
No user shall increase the use of process water or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate pretreatment in order to achieve compliance with the limitations contained in the federal standards, or in any other pollutant specific limitation developed by the city, state or federal government.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.12; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement between the city and any person whereby any water or waste of unusual strength or character or composition may be accepted by the city for treatment. Such agreements may be allowed, and, in the event that any such special agreement or arrangement shall involve additional or extraordinary expense to the city or district, such individual shall be required to reimburse the city therefor, and to post with the city such bond or other guarantee as shall be acceptable to the city to protect the city against any damage which may be caused thereby.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.13; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
Upon the promulgation of the federal categorical pretreatment standards ("federal standards") or any new standards by the district for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standards or the new district standards, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this chapter for sources in any applicable subcategory, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this chapter.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.14; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of water and wastes shall be determined according to the standard methods.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.15; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
The director may require any user to install, prior to discharging into the sewerage system and at such user's expense, pretreatment or screening of such user's sewage, or such other measures as may be necessary to reduce objectionable characteristics or constituents so that the discharged sewage conforms with the requirements set forth in this chapter. All plans and specifications relating to such pretreatment or screening shall be reviewed by the director prior to construction thereof. Approval of plans by the director shall not constitute a guarantee of pretreatment performance. All such plans and specifications shall be drawn by a registered professional engineer.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.16; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
A. 
The director may require any user to install and operate, at the user's expense, monitoring facilities to allow inspection, sampling and flow measurement in the side sewer or internal drainage systems. In the event monitoring facilities are not available on any premises, the city may monitor the sewage flow at the nearest manholes in the public trunk sewer upstream and downstream of the service lateral serving the user's premises and impute any difference therein to the user's sewage.
B. 
Monitoring facilities shall be situated on the user's premises, but the director may allow, when such location would be impractical or cause undue hardship on the user, the facility to be constructed within the public street or sidewalk area in the service lateral, provided that the same is located in such a manner that it will not be obstructed by landscaping or parked vehicles.
C. 
There shall be ample room in or near such monitoring facility to allow accurate sampling and composting of samples for analysis. If the monitoring facility is inside the user's fence, accommodations shall be made to allow access to the same by city personnel, such as a gate secured with a city lock.
D. 
Monitoring facilities shall be provided in accordance with city design standards and specifications whether constructed on public or private property.
E. 
Monitoring facilities shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition at the full expense of the user.
F. 
Monitoring facilities not installed upon initial construction of a project shall be constructed and completed within 90 days following written notification by the director that such facilities are required. The director may grant a time extension upon a finding of good cause.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.17; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
The director is authorized to inspect the premises of any user at all reasonable times in order to ascertain whether the provisions of this chapter or the provisions of any permit issued pursuant to this chapter are being complied with. Owners or occupants of premises where wastewater is created, held or discharged shall allow ready access at all reasonable times to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, monitoring, records examinations, or performing any or all of the duties reasonably necessary or appropriate in carrying out or enforcing the provisions of this chapter or any permit issued pursuant to this chapter. The director shall further have the right to install and use on the user's premises such devices as are reasonably necessary or appropriate to conduct sampling, metering, or monitoring operations or any other of the aforesaid duties. In the event a user has established security measures requiring identification and clearance prior to entry onto such user's premises, the user shall furnish and provide identification or clearance to the director so as to permit ready access by the director to the premises for the purposes described in this section.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.18; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)
A. 
Upon determination by the director that such information is necessary or appropriate for the director to reasonably carry out the provisions of this chapter, the director may require that any person discharging, causing to be discharged, permitting to be discharged, or proposing to discharge wastewater into the sewerage system file a periodic discharge report, the cost of which shall be borne by such person.
B. 
Discharge reports shall include the following:
1. 
Information relating to the nature of manufacturing, fabricating, or other processes conducted by the user;
2. 
Statements of the amount of fresh or nonwastewater volumes, wastewater volumes, rates of flow, mass emission rates, production quantities, hours of operation and number and classification of employees; or
3. 
Other information relating to the generation of waste, including wastewater constituents and characteristics of the pertinent wastewater discharge as required by the director.
C. 
The director may require that discharge reports include the chemical constituents and quantity of liquid, gaseous, or solid materials stored on the premises relating to such discharge, even though such materials are not normally discharged into the sewerage system.
D. 
Discharge reports shall be in addition to self-monitoring reports, information furnished in connection with wastewater discharge permits, or other permits authorized under this chapter. The reports authorized and required under this section shall be filed with the director periodically and/or at such other times as the director may reasonably require.
(Prior code § 2-15.40.19; Ord. 1082 § 2, 1983)