A. 
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this article shall be as follows:
BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand")
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C., expressed in parts per million by weight.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal. This is the owner's responsibility.
CITY
The City of Saratoga Springs, New York.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
The Department of Public Works of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York.
GARBAGE
Solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
The liquid wastes from industrial processes, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
INSANITARY MANNER
In a manner that is unclean enough to endanger health.
INTERCEPTOR
A mechanical device designed to stop, seize, or interrupt material in progress or course before it enters a sewer.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.
OBJECTIONABLE WASTE
Any waste that endangers life, health or property; or which constitutes a public nuisance.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
PLUMBING INSPECTOR
The Plumbing Inspector of the City of Saratoga Springs or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have 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 1/2 inch in any dimension.
PUBLIC SEWER
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
SERVICE LATERAL
The sewer service lateral is the pipe that waste water flows through from the home or business to the sewer main.
SEWAGE
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground-, surface and stormwaters as may be present.
SEWAGE WORKS
All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SEWER and SEWER SYSTEM
Any and all pipes, conduits and channels where sanitary, storm or combined sewers are used in connection with the Saratoga County Sewer District.
SEWER CHECK VALVE
A device that stops sewage flowing from the municipal sewer system into a residential or commercial building.
STORM SEWER or STORM DRAIN
A sewer which carries storm- and surface waters and drainage but excludes sewage and polluted industrial wastes.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
WATERCOURSE
A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
B. 
Word usage.
(1) 
"Shall" is mandatory.
(2) 
"May" is permissive.
There are hereby established rates or charges for the use of the sewage system of the City, including that aspect of the sewage system which is connected with the Saratoga County Sewer District. Such rates or charges shall be based upon the amount of water supplied by the City water system as shown by the water meter readings or as shown by whatever means is used to calculate water usage, and all users of said sewage system shall be charged for each of the calendar years according to rates adopted by resolution of the Council. For purposes of determining sewer rates and other charges for properties having access to sewer but not being hooked up or connected to the same, rates shall be as though the same were hooked up or connected. In all cases in which users of said sewage system are not supplied with water from the City, the charge for such use of said sewage system shall be as included in the resolution of the Council for sewer rates.
Bills for use of the sewage shall be dated and sent out at such times as may be directed by the Commissioner of Public Works.
Charges for sewer shall be a lien upon the premises as provided for in § C81 of the City Charter and also as provided by the statutes and laws of the State of New York. The Commissioner of Finance shall prepare a statement of all unpaid sewer and other related charges 30 days after the same have become due and payable. Failure, however, to prepare this statement as provided for herein shall not affect the right of the City to establish its lien for unpaid sewer bills and to foreclose the lien as provided in the City Charter and the statutes and laws of the State of New York. Furthermore, nothing herein shall prevent the City from proceeding against the user and/or owner of the property which benefited from the sewer system as a personal claim, and the City Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute any proceeding in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction against any property and against any user of said sewage system that said City Attorney deems necessary. The rates and charges herein established, in addition to being a lien upon the premises as provided for herein and in the City Charter, may be collected from the owners, occupants and users of the premises benefiting from the sewer charges and other related charges from and after the effective date of this article.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in an insanitary manner upon public or private property within the City of Saratoga Springs or in any area within the jurisdiction of said City any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in transporting, removing or disposing of any substance defined as "regulated waste," pursuant to Article 27, Title 3, of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, to dispose of such substance within the City of Saratoga Springs either by lagooning or landspreading. For purposes of this subsection, "lagooning" shall mean the depositing and/or storing of such substances in a hole, ditch or depression, and "landspreading" shall mean the application of such substances to the surface of soil or the injection of such substances into the upper layer of soil.
It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City of Saratoga Springs or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City and sanitary sewage, industrial waste or other polluted waters except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.
A. 
The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purpose situated within the City and abutting any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of the City are hereby required, at their expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly to the proper public sewer, in accordance with the provisions of this article, within six months after the date of notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within 100 feet of the property line.
B. 
The entire service lateral from the main in the street to the owner's premises is the property of the owner, and any and all repairs shall be the responsibility of said owner.
Before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system, the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the Building Inspector. The application for such permit shall be made on a form furnished by the City, accompanied by a fee as may be established from time to time by resolution of the City Council, which the applicant shall supplement by any plans, specifications and other information as are deemed necessary by the Building Inspector.
A permit for a private sewage disposal system shall not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction, and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the Building Inspector when the work is ready for final inspection and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made within 48 hours of the receipt of notice by the Building Inspector.
The type, capacities, location and layout of a private sewage disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the Department of Public Health of the State of New York. No permit shall be issued for any private sewage disposal system employing subsurface soil-absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than adequate to support the proposed installation. No septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any public sewer or natural outlet.
At such time as a private sewer disposal system fails to comply with all the requirements in this chapter, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer, if such connection is available, and such connection shall be in compliance with this article, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private sewage disposal facilities shall be abandoned and filled with suitable material. The property owner will be required to connect to the public sewer within six months after the date of notice to do so, at the owner's expense.
A. 
The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, in compliance with New York State Codes, at no expense to the City.
B. 
The owner shall operate and maintain the building sewer in a sanitary manner at all times, in compliance with New York State Codes, at no expense to the City.
A. 
No authorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Department of Public Works.
B. 
No authorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any sewer lateral that leads to a public sewer without first obtaining a written permit from the Department of Public Works.
A licensed City plumber or approved contractor shall make application for permit on a special form furnished by the City. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Plumbing Inspector and of authorized personnel of the Department of Public Works. The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the authority to establish reasonable conditions on any permit, and the City Council shall establish, from time to time by resolution, reasonable fees for such permits.
All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except that, where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the owner, to meet all requirements of this chapter. Proof of the condition must be submitted to the Department of Public works and approved prior to connection.
The building sewer shall be SDR35 or equal or other suitable material approved by the Department of Public Works. Joints shall be tight and waterproof. Any part of the building sewer that is located within 10 feet of a water service pipe shall be constructed with watertight joints.
The size and slope of the building sewer shall be subject to the approval of the Department of Public Works, but in no event shall the diameter be less than four inches. The slope of such four-inch pipe shall be not less than 1/8 inch per foot.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. No building sewer shall be laid parallel to or within three feet of any bearing wall, which might thereby be weakened. The depth shall be sufficient to afford protection from frost. The building sewer shall be laid at uniform grade and in straight alignment insofar as possible. Changes in direction shall be made only with properly curved pipe and fittings.
In all buildings in which any sanitary sewer is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such drain shall be lifted by approved artificial means, in compliance with New York State Codes, and discharged to the building sanitary sewer.
All excavations required for the installation of a building sewer shall be open trench work unless otherwise approved by the Department of Public Works. Pipe laying and backfill shall be performed in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials Specification C12-19, except that no backfill shall be placed until the work has been inspected.
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall be made at the Y-branch if such branch is available at a suitable location. If the public sewer has no properly located Y-branch, a Romac saddle must be used to make the connection. The invert of the building sewer at the point of connection shall be the same or at a higher elevation than the invert of the public sewer. Special fittings may be used for the connection only when approved by the Department of Public Works.
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Department of Public Works when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Department of Public Works.
No excavation on a City right-of-way and/or on City property shall be made without first obtaining all necessary permits. Furthermore, proper consideration of surrounding conditions and due regard for safety of the public shall be maintained at all times. Where practical, excavations shall be backfilled at the end of each working day; however, at the discretion of the Department of Public Works and where the magnitude of the work prevents such backfilling, excavations shall be guarded and lighted in a manner detailed by the Department of Public Works. While open, all excavations shall be clearly marked and guarded so as to permit the maintenance and regulation of traffic as determined by the Department of Public Works. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City.
Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Department of Public Works. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, upon approval of the Department of Public Works, to a storm sewer or natural outlet.
Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters, substances, or wastes to any public sewer:
A. 
Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150° F.
B. 
Any water or waste which may contain more than 100 parts per million, by weight, of fat, oil or grease.
C. 
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
D. 
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded.
E. 
Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works.
F. 
Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.
G. 
Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant.
H. 
Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant.
I. 
Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a public nuisance.
A. 
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Department of Public Works, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand and other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Department of Public Works and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
B. 
Grease and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be of substantial construction, watertight and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, shall be gastight and watertight.
C. 
Where installed, all grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be maintained by the owner, at his expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.
A. 
The admission into the public sewers of any waters or wastes having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand greater than 300 parts per million by weight, containing more than 350 parts per million by weight of suspended solids, containing any quantity of substances having the characteristics described in § 231-33 or having an average daily flow greater than 2% of the average daily sewage flow of the City shall be subject to the review and approval of the Department of Public Works.
B. 
Where necessary, in the opinion of the Department of Public Works, the owner shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to:
(1) 
Reduce the biochemical oxygen demand to 300 parts per million and the suspended solids to 350 parts per million by weight,
(2) 
Reduce objectionable characteristics or constituents to within the maximum limits provided for in § 231-33; or
(3) 
Control the quantities and rates of discharge of such water or wastes.
C. 
Plans, specifications and any other pertinent information relating to proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the Department of Public Works, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing.
When required by the Department of Public Works, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Department of Public Works. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
All measurements, tests and analyses of all characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in §§ 231-33 and 231-35 shall be determined in accordance with Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water and shall be determined at the control manhole provided for in § 231-37 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 building sewer is connected.
No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any 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.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the municipal sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to the penalties set forth in the Penal Law.
The Plumbing Inspector and other duly authorized employees of the City, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing, in accordance with the provisions of this article.
Any person found to be violating any provision of this article, except § 231-40, shall be served by the Plumbing Inspector with written notice of violation 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.
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in § 231-42 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III, of this Code.
The City undertakes to use reasonable care and diligence to provide a constant flow to storm sewer users. The City, however, does not guarantee that blockages will not occur and assumes no liability for any damage caused to private property by the same.