No leaders from roofs and no surface drains for rain water shall be connected to any sanitary sewer. No surface or sub-surface drainage, rain water, storm water, seepage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters shall be permitted to enter any sanitary sewer by any device or method whatsoever.
(Prior code § 15.45.001; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
A. 
Domestic and industrial wastewater origination within the city will be accepted into the city's sewerage system if there is capacity in the system and the wastewater will not:
1. 
Menace public health;
2. 
Detrimentally affect the local environment;
3. 
Create a nuisance, including odor and infestation;
4. 
Impose excessive collection, treatment or disposal costs upon the city;
5. 
Significantly interfere with or impede wastewater treatment processes;
6. 
Interfere with or impede wastewater reclamation processes;
7. 
Exceed quality limits and quantity requirements established by these rules or regulations promulgated thereunder;
8. 
Significantly contaminate the sludge from the treatment process;
9. 
Cause the city to violate its NPDES permit.
B. 
These rules and regulations provide specific limits for prohibited constituents only where they are now reasonably well established. In some cases, the concentration or amount of any particular constituent which will be judged to be excessive or unreasonable cannot be foreseen, but will depend on the results of technical determinations relating to the particular situation and the actions of regulatory agencies.
C. 
No person shall discharge any domestic or industrial wastewater to the ground, into any surface drainage conduit, storm drain or channel, or stream or other waste course.
(Prior code § 15.45.001; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the city's sewerage system. These city's prohibitions apply to all such users of the city's sewerage system whether or not the user is subject to National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user may not contribute the following substances, directly or indirectly, to the city's sewerage system (Federal Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 403.5(b)):
A. 
Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are or may be sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the city's sewerage system, its operation or personnel. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than five percent nor any single reading over ten percent of the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to: gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides, sulfides or any other substances which the city, the state or EPA has notified the user is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system (Federal Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 403.5(b)(1)).
B. 
Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the city's sewerage system or exceed the limitation set forth in categorical pretreatment standards. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant defined pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Clean Water Act.
C. 
Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or a pH higher than 10.0 or wastewater having any other corrosive or detrimental characteristics capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the city's sewerage system (Federal Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 403.5(b)(2)).
D. 
Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment plant such as but not limited to: grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood and/or components, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, and glass grinding or polishing wastes (Federal Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 403.5(b)(3)).
E. 
Rainwater, stormwater, groundwater, street drainage, sub-surface drainage, roof drainage, swimming pool and/or spa water, yard drainage, water from yard fountains, ponds or lawn sprays or other uncontaminated water, or water added for the purpose of diluting wastes which exceed maximum concentration limitations. (Federal Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 403.6(d)).
F. 
Nonbiodegradable oils commonly called soluble oils which may form persistent water emulsions or oil, petroleum oil or refined petroleum products beyond a concentration of 100 parts per million. Disposal of oils and fats including lard, tallow, or vegetable oil in concentrations of 100 parts per million which may be detrimental to the city's sewerage system or which violate the city's NPDES permit.
G. 
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 sewers for maintenance and repair.
H. 
Any substance which may cause the city's wastewater treatment plant's effluent or any other product such as residue, sludges or scums to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a material be discharged which causes the city's wastewater treatment plant to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act. Any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
I. 
Any substance in concentration sufficient to cause the city's wastewater treatment plant to violate its NPDES permit or the receiving water quality standards.
J. 
Any wastewater with objectionable color including, by not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
K. 
Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the city's wastewater treatment plant resulting in interference but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the city's sewerage system which exceeds 104 degrees F.
L. 
Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the public works director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
M. 
Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
N. 
Deionized water, steam underwaste or distilled water in excess of laboratory usage; single pass cooling water, blow-down or bleed water from cooling towers or other evaporation coolers exceeding one third of the make-up water, (quantities in excess of one third of the make-up water may be discharged into the district's sewerage system, subject to Section 2-5(B), during off-peak hours if hydraulic sewer capacity is available).
O. 
Any wastewater with amounts of TDS which may be detrimental to the city's sewerage system. Any salt brine from water softening devices utilizing salt in the regeneration process.
P. 
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the city's sewerage system any waste or wastewater if in the opinion of the public works director the discharge may have an adverse or harmful effect on sewers, maintenance personnel, wastewater treatment plant personnel or equipment, treatment plant effluent quality, public or private property or may otherwise endanger ecological systems or create a public nuisance. In determining the acceptability of specific wastewater under this section, the public works director shall consider, in addition to the foregoing, the nature of the wastewater, the adequacy and nature of the collection, the treatment and disposal system available to accept the wastewater, and the city's policy embodied in these rules and regulations. Upon such consideration, the public works director shall adopt rules and regulations as provided herein and upon appropriate application shall establish terms and conditions appropriate to specific dischargers.
Q. 
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. Properly shredded garbage shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded to such degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension.
R. 
No person may add any wastewater containing quantities or concentrations which exceed the limits set out below, as they may be amended, or in 40 C.F.R. Section 403.5(c), as it may be amended, whichever is more stringent, for the following pollutants:
Constituent
Concentration (mg/L)
Ammonia
35
EPA Method 350
BOD 5 day
300
EPA Method 405.1
Suspended solids
300
EPA Method 160.2
Arsenic
0.05
 
Beryllium
0.2
 
Cadmium
0.1
 
Chromium (T)
1.3
 
Copper
1.0
 
Cyanide (total)
0.2
EPA Method 335
Lead
0.9
 
Mercury
.001
EPA Method 245
Nickel
1.5
 
Total Toxic Organics (TTOs)
1.0
EPA Method 608, 624, 625
Phenolic compounds
0.5
EPA Method 420
Selenium
0.05
 
Silver
0.5
 
Sulfide (dissolved)
0.05
EPA Method 376
Zinc
5.0
 
Any exceedence of any of the foregoing limits, as they may be amended, subjects the user to enforcement action. Concentration limits apply at the point of discharge to the system or at an alternate point (or points) specifically designated by the public works director. All concentrations for metallic substances are for "total" metal. At the discretion of the public works director, mass limitations may be imposed on users in addition to or in place of the concentration-based limitations on the above listed pollutants. Compliance with all parameters may be determined from a single grab sample.
S. 
No person may add to the system any wastewater not treated in accordance with the Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards found at 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, as they, from time to time, may be amended, and which, by this reference, are incorporated into this title. Discharge of wastewater not treated in accordance with the Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards shall constitute a violation of this title.
1. 
Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the public works director may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Section 403.6(c), as it may be amended.
2. 
When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the public works director shall impose an alternate limit using the combined waste stream formula in 40 C.F.R. Section 403.6(e), as it may be amended.
3. 
A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 C.F.R. Section 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
4. 
A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Section 403.15.
The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in IWD permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the system.
(Prior code § 15.45.002; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993; Ord. 03-03 § 3, 2003)
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the public works director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid water containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for buildings used solely for residential purposes. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the public works director and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
A. 
Restaurants. All restaurants or similar establishments shall install an approved grease interceptor which is of sufficient size so as to prevent excessive discharges of grease into the city's sewerage system. The grease interceptor shall be easily accessible for inspection by the public works director. Exceptions to the installation of a grease interceptor shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the public works director. The public works director shall take into account the following items when determining exceptions: (1) size of restaurant; (2) meals served per day; (3) seating capacity; (4) dishwashing and garbage disposal facilities on-hand; and (5) any other criteria the public works director deems applicable.
B. 
Car Washes, Vehicle Service Stations and Garages. Car washes and vehicle service stations or garages shall be required to install a gravity separating device designed to prevent the discharge of sand, silt, oil and grease to the city's sewerage system.
C. 
Laundries and Cleaners. After the effective date of these rules and regulations all new laundries and dry cleaners or similar establishments shall install a gravity separating device of a size and design approved by the public works director. They shall also install any other pretreatment facility required by the public works director to ensure their compliance with all requirements and specifications of these rules and regulations. Establishments in existence prior to this date shall install an appropriate pretreatment system if in the opinion of the public works director the system is warranted.
D. 
Existing Gravity Separation Device and Grease Interceptors. If the public works director finds that a grease interceptor or gravity separating device installed prior to the effective date of these rules and regulations is incapable of retaining adequately the grease or sand and oil in the wastewater flow from a service station, car wash or restaurant or similar establishment, or, if no such device exists where one is required, the public works director shall give the proprietor a written notice requiring that an adequate interceptor or gravity separating device be installed within a reasonable time period.
E. 
Approved Design. The public works director may maintain an information file available for public use of acceptable designs of grease interceptors and gravity separating devices. The installation of a design shown in such file or of any design meeting the size requirement set forth in these rules and regulations or any recommendation of requirements made by the public works director shall not impute any liability to the city for the adequacy of the interceptor or gravity separating device under the actual condition of use. Such installation shall not relieve the owner or proprietor of responsibility for keeping prohibited substances or substances above the limitations of these rules and regulations out of the city's sewerage system. If the interceptor, gravity separating device or other pretreatment facility is not adequate under the conditions of use, one shall be constructed which is effective in accomplishing the intended purpose.
(Prior code § 15.45.003; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
Except as noted in Section 14.24.050A. and B., below, grease interceptors, oil, and sand interceptors and gravity separating devices (separators) shall be installed by the user, at user's expense, when, in the opinion of the city's public works director, they are necessary for the proper handling of the liquid wastes containing grease or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients. All interceptors shall be sized using the Uniform Plumbing Code, current edition, as a guide. Interceptors must be of a capacity sufficient to provide the appropriate quality of effluent as per city standards and shall be in an easily accessible location for the purposes of cleaning and inspection. A sample box or tee installed by the user, at user's expense, is required on all interceptors and separators. All interceptors and separators shall be properly maintained by the user to ensure compliance with city requirements.
A. 
Not later than January 1, 2006, each food establishment user, including each restaurant, shall cause to be installed an approved grease interceptor or grease trap or to implement alternate grease reducing practices. The alternate grease reducing practice to be employed shall be submitted to city for review and, if appropriate, approval. Specifications for a grease interceptor proposed by user shall be submitted to the city for review, and, if appropriate, approval, using the UPC as a guide.
B. 
Not later than January 1, 2006, the person in charge of day-to-day activities at each car wash facility, and automotive service facility (SIC Codes 5013, 5014, 5541, 7532-7534 and 7536-7539) shall cause to be installed at the facility of which that person is in charge a gravity separating device designed to prevent the discharge of sand, silt, oil and grease to the sewerage system. Specifications for gravity separating devices shall be submitted to the city for review, and, if appropriate, approval, using the UPC as a guide.
C. 
If the city finds that a grease interceptor or other gravity separating device installed prior to the effective date of this ordinance is incapable of adequately retaining the grease, sand or oil in the wastewater flow, the city shall notify the user, in writing, that the user shall cause to be installed an adequate interceptor or gravity separating device within a specific, reasonable time period.
D. 
Installation of a grease interceptor or gravity separating device shall not relieve the user of responsibility for keeping prohibited substances or substances above the limitations of this title from being discharged into the sewerage system. If the interceptor, gravity separating device or other pretreatment facility is not adequate under the conditions of use, the user shall cause an adequate interceptor or device to be installed, at user's expense, which is effective in accomplishing the intended purpose.
E. 
Each user required to use and maintain a grease interceptor or gravity separating device shall maintain a maintenance record, which shall be maintained on the user's premises and made available for inspection by city and the regional board upon request. This maintenance record shall include the dates of inspections and cleanouts, the name of the person who inspected and cleaned it and the disposal site of the waste.
(Prior code § 15.45.004; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993; Ord. 03-03 § 4, 2003)
When required by the city, the owner of any property served by a side sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole in the side sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the public works director. 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.
(Prior code § 15.45.005; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
All measurements, tests and analysis of the characteristics of waters and wastes shall be determined in accordance with the standard methods and shall be determined at the control manhole provided for in Section 14.24.060, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the side sewer is connected.
(Prior code § 15.45.006; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
The city council reserves the right to enter into agreements with users, setting out terms under which a user may discharge into the system. In no case will the city waive compliance with pretreatment or prohibited discharge standards or requirements. However, a user may request a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Section 403.15. A user may also request a variance from the categorical pretreatment standard from the city in accordance with Section 14.24.110. Such a request will be approved only if the user proves that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when establishing that categorical pretreatment standard. A user requesting a fundamentally different factor variance must comply with the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 C.F.R. Section 403.13 and Section 14.24.110.
(Prior code § 15.45.007; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993; Ord. 03-03 § 5, 2003)
It is unlawful for any person to discharge the contents of a swimming pool into a sanitary sewer, without first applying for and receiving written permission from the public works director.
(Prior code § 15.45.008; Ord. 93-7 § 1, 1993)
If wastewater containing any substance referred to in this chapter is discharged or proposed to be discharged into the sewer system, the public works director may take any action necessary to:
A. 
Prohibit the discharge of the wastewater.
B. 
Require the discharger to demonstrate that in-plant modifications would reduce or eliminate the discharge in conformance with prohibitions, limitations and requirements of this title.
C. 
Require pretreatment to reduce or eliminate the objectionable or harmful nature of the pollutants prior to their discharge to the sewer system.
D. 
Require the discharger to pay any additional costs incurred by the city for handling and treating the excess loads imposed on the treatment system as a result of allowing such wastewater to enter the system.
E. 
Take any other remedial action as may be deemed necessary to achieve the purpose and requirements of this title.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
A. 
The city council may grant variances from one or more of the provisions of this title. Prior to submitting such a variance request to the city council, the public works director shall verify that in no case will the granting of a variance either (a) allow the user to exceed applicable categorical pretreatment standards or requirements or federally mandated prohibitions or (b) place the general public, wastewater system or wastewater system personnel at risk of adverse health and safety effects.
B. 
The city council may require the user to monitor the volumes and/or concentrations of the discharge in excess of previously imposed levels, if the public works director deems it necessary to properly enforce any variance granted under this section.
C. 
The city reserves the right to impose requirements that are stricter than, or in addition to, those specified under the authority of Section 14.24.100 if the quantity or quality of the user's discharge merit unique consideration by virtue of the impact of the user's discharge on the system or public health and welfare.
D. 
The city council shall have the right to revoke any variance at any time.
E. 
The city council shall have the right to charge fees and/or deposits related to the granting of a variance.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
No user shall modify the use of process water to dilute a discharge, or in any other way dilute or attempt to dilute a discharge. The public works director may impose volume limitations on users suspected of using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of volume limitations is appropriate.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
Users shall keep all domestic wastewater including, but not limited to, wastewater from restrooms, showers and drinking fountains separate from industrial wastewater until the industrial wastewater has passed through any required pretreatment system and/or monitoring facility.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
Any tenant or sub-tenant under any rental, lease, or other agreement, or other person in charge of dayto-day activities at any place where there is a connection to the system is a user and shall be jointly and severally responsible for compliance with the provisions of this title in the same manner as the owner, and both owner and tenant and, if applicable, sub-tenant, or other person in charge of day-to-day activities jointly and severally shall be liable to the city for any costs, damages, fines or penalties incurred and/or imposed by the city due to non-compliance with provisions of this title by the tenant, sub-tenant, owner, or other person in charge of day-to-day activities.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
No person shall discharge wastewater, including septage, industrial wastewater, and other hauled liquid wastes, into the system from a vehicle. The city council may grant a variance to this prohibition, subject to approval, if required, by the regional board.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
No person shall willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, tamper with or prevent city access to any structure, appurtenance or equipment, or other part of the system, or place any obstruction, such as, but not limited to, rocks, logs, boards, wood or other debris, in any part of the system. Any person found in violation of any of these prohibitions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)
No owner of a commercial garbage grinder who is a user may operate any such grinder that discharges any waters, wastes or other substances into the city's sewer system without first providing, at owner's expense, the appropriate treatment as may be necessary to reduce the suspended solids, daily flow or objectionable characteristics or constituents to within the limits contained in this title.
(Ord. 03-03 § 6, 2003)