Chapter 13.04 SEWER REGULATIONS

The purpose of these rules and regulations is to set forth the terms and conditions under which the City will authorize connections and provide sewer service to customers. (Ord. 107 § 2, 1983)

13.04.030 Grammatical interpretation.

For the purpose of this chapter:

A. All words used in the present tense shall include the future;

B. All words in the plural number shall include the singular number; and

C. All words in the singular number shall include the plural number. (Ord. 107 § 3.2, 1983)

13.04.040 Sewer system.

The City will furnish a system, works and undertakings used for and useful for collection of domestic and industrial sewage, including all parts of the enterprises, all appurtenances to it, and lands, easements, rights in land, contract rights, franchises and other sewage collection facilities and equipment. (Ord. 107 § 3.3, 1983)

13.04.050 Sewer service and connection conditions.

All applicants for sewer service or sewer connections shall be required to accept such conditions of connection and service as may be provided by the City. (Ord. 107 § 3.5, 1983)

13.04.060 Tampering with City property.

No one except an employee or representative of the City shall at any time in any manner operate the valves, motors, gates, machinery, sewage treatment plant, sewer manholes, or siphons of the City system or interfere with sewer lines or other parts of the sewer system. (Ord. 107 § 3.6, 1983)

13.04.080 Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the words set out in this section shall have the following meanings:

A. “Applicant” means any person or group of persons who applies for sewer service.

B. “City service lateral” means the pipe between the City’s main or collection line and the customer’s service connection at the edge of the street, easement or property line.

C. “Collector line” means the City’s pipeline to which the City’s service laterals are connected.

D. “Cost” means the cost of labor, material, transportation, supervision, engineering and all other necessary overhead expenses.

E. “Customer” means any person, firm, association, corporation or government agency served or entitled to be served sewer service by the City for compensation.

F. “Developer” means any person or group of persons, including corporations or public entities, who request the City to extend its sewer facilities.

G. “High volume sewer and users” means any applicant that generates more than 25,000 gallons per day ADF (average daily flow).

H. “Owner” means the person owning the fee, or the person in whose name the legal title to the property appears, by deed duly recorded in the County Recorder’s office, or the person in possession of the property or buildings under claims of, or exercising acts of ownership over same for himself, or as executor, administrator, guardian or trustee of owner.

I. “Regular sewer service” means sewer service and facilities rendered for normal domestic and industrial or commercial purposes on a permanent basis and the sewer system available therefor.

J. “Sewer connection” means the connection of any domestic, commercial or industrial sewer lines to the City’s system after the payment of established fees and charges and City’s approval.

K. “Sewer Department” means the administrative and operations facilities of the City performing functions to the City’s sewer service, together with the City Manager, City Attorney, City Engineer and other duly authorized City representatives.

L. “Trunk line” means a main sewer line to which many collection lines are connected and which serves the primary purpose of transporting sewage from collection lines to the disposal. (Ord. 473, 1997; Ord. 107 § 4, 1983)

13.04.090 Notice to customers.

Notices from the City to a customer will normally be given in writing and either delivered or mailed to the customer at the customer’s last known address. However, in emergencies the City may notify the customer either by telephone or messenger. Notice from the customer to the City may be given by the customer, or the customer’s authorized representative in writing to the City Clerk. (Ord. 107 § 5, 1983)

13.04.100 Application for sewer connections and/or monthly sewer service – Applicant responsibilities.

A. Applications. Applications for sewer connections and/or sewer service may be made at the City Hall on prescribed forms provided by the City.

B. Undertaking of Applicant. Application approved for sewer service and/or sewer connections will signify the applicant’s willingness and intention to comply with all ordinances and regulations relating to sewer service and/or connections and to make payment for such sewer service fees, connection fees and inspection fees, as well as other pertinent contingent fees set forth by resolution and by other applicable rules and regulations. (Ord. 107 § 6, 1983)

13.04.140 Use of plumbing interceptors.

Except in the case of private dwelling units, the City may order any person connecting to the sewer system to install interceptors for grease, oil, sand or other harmful ingredients. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the City and shall be located so as to be easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Such interceptors shall be installed and maintained by the owner at his expense and shall be kept in good and continuous operation at all times. (Ord. 107 § 10, 1983)

13.04.150 Water conservation devices.

It is the intent of this chapter to promote and facilitate a policy of water conservation and reclamation. New construction units, residential or commercial will not be permitted to connect to the sewer system unless water saver type toilet fixtures are utilized in the dwelling or commercial buildings. Water saver toilets are defined as those specifically designed and manufactured so as to utilize no more than three and three-quarters gallons of water per flush. In addition, installation of water saver faucets and shower heads is required. (Ord. 107 § 11, 1983)

13.04.160 Right to inspect.

The officers, employees and agents of the City shall have the right to enter upon any premises within the City to inspect and determine if this chapter is being complied with. (Ord. 107 § 12, 1983)

13.04.170 Unlawful to make sewer connection without payment of fee.

A. No person shall connect to the City’s sewer system without first executing an application for sewer connection and obtaining the approval of the City Manager authorizing such connection. Approval of the application shall be based on the applicant’s ability to deliver sewage to points and elevations designated by the City and payment of all fees and charges. All applicants for new connections must provide evidence that the property or properties to be served are within the boundaries of the City or shall have submitted a request and “Consent to Annexation” to the City and paid the prescribed fees and charges for such annexation prior to approval of such annexation and complied with all local and State laws related to annexations.

B. No person shall discharge or allow the discharge of or dump sewage or other waste matter into the City’s sewer system except in compliance with the terms of this chapter and payment of the fees and charges established by resolution pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 107 § 13, 1983)

13.04.180 Enforcement measures in case of delinquency.

When any fee or charge imposed by this chapter becomes delinquent, the enforcement agents are authorized to take any or all of the following actions:

A. Any steps authorized by law to collect fees and charges;

B. Disconnect the premises from the City’s sewer system; prior to such disconnection, notice of such delinquency shall be given to the occupant of the premises by United States mail with return receipt, or by posting such notice on the premises; the occupant will be given the opportunity for informal hearing with the City Manager prior to said disconnection, and if requested, within five days thereafter appeal to the City Council; concurrently with the disconnect, a copy of the City’s notice to occupant will be furnished to the regional office of the County Health Department. When a premises has been disconnected, it shall not be reconnected until all delinquent fees and charges have been paid, together with a charge for such disconnection and reconnection, as established by resolution of the City Council;

C. Discontinuance of water services. (Ord. 107 § 14, 1983)

13.04.190 Construction of sewer lateral.

A. Obligation of Applicant. The expense of construction of the applicant’s sewer line and the City’s lateral from the property line to the City main or collection system, including, but not limited to, City permits, excavation, pipe, wyes, tees, backfill, surface restoration and construction of No. 3 cleanout box and property line cleanout, is the responsibility of and shall be borne entirely by the applicant.

B. General Rule. Sewer laterals shall be installed on a main fronting the parcel to be served. In the case of a parcel not fronting an existing main, the sewer lateral may be installed on an existing main that does not front the parcel if the City Engineer determines that the nonfronting main is the main from which the parcel should ultimately receive regular service; and provided, that all necessary easements have been acquired.

C. Temporary Service. In the case of a parcel not fronting an existing main, where the City Engineer has determined that the main from which the parcel should ultimately receive regular service does not currently exist but could be built in the future, an application for temporary service from an existing main not fronting the parcel may be approved at the discretion of the Director of Development Services.

As a condition of receiving temporary service from a main not fronting the parcel, the owner of the parcel, in addition to payment of all fees and charges applicable to regular service, shall pay all fees associated with temporary service, and shall execute and acknowledge a recorded agreement providing for:

1. Installation and maintenance of a pipeline and other required facilities from the temporary lateral connection to the owner’s parcel and acquisition of any required easements, all at owner’s expense;

2. Discontinuance of temporary service and application for regular service at an appropriate point closer to the owner’s parcel upon installation of a main that the City Engineer determines is the main from which the parcel should ultimately receive regular service;

3. Payment by the owner of the entire cost of relocation and any applicable connection charges, including a pro rata share of the cost of installation of such main and any service area charge, the total of which shall not be less than the City’s then-established connection fee and service area charge to others for such regular service; and

4. Such other matters as the City may reasonably require. (Ord. 772 § 3, 2014)

13.04.195 Sewer extension line charge.

At the time of application for connection to a sewer main installed by the City and funded by the sewer fund after the date of the adoption of the ordinance codified in this section, the applicant shall pay a sewer extension line charge. The line charge shall be $5,600 per parcel subject to revision from time to time by resolution of the City Council as necessary to reflect current construction cost. The charge is separate and above all other connection charges. Connections subject to the sewer extension line charge are exempt from the sewer line charge. The charge shall be collected at building permit issuance for new construction or application to construct a sewer lateral for existing dwellings. (Ord. 428 § 1, 1994)

13.04.200 Payment of sewer connection fees.

Connection fees and inspection fees are due and payable at the time of application for connection. The applicants for connection to an established home may pay the connection fee on an installment plan of 25 percent down at the time of application with the balance in monthly installments calculated to pay the balance in full within 12 months. This provision is intended for hardship cases when converting from septic system to public sewer. Evidence of the payment and approval of connection to a public sewer must be presented before issuing a building permit. The City will provide a copy of the approved sewer connection application for this purpose when all fees and charges have been paid. (Ord. 107 § 16, 1983)

13.04.205 Alternative method of collecting sewer connection fees for high volume sewer users.

A. Once an applicant is declared a “high volume sewer user” by generating more than 25,000 gallons per day, then they will be eligible to lease their required sewer capacity. The lease payments will be collected on their bimonthly sewer bill based on the average daily flow calculated for the bimonthly period.

An applicant will have the option of either paying all of their connection fees prior to building permit issuance or participating in the lease rate. Participating in the lease program will provide sewer capacity as needed; however, the property owner would obtain no ownership in sewer capacity and could not be transferred in the future other than the minimum purchased capacity.

B. A high volume user applicant will be required to construct a sewer discharge metering facility upon which their bimonthly sewer rate and connection fee lease rate will be based.

If any portion of this section should be determined to be unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining portions of this section shall continue in full force and effect. (Ord. 473, 1997)

13.04.210 Payment of sewer service charges.

A. The sewer service charges shall be set by resolution of the City Council and, except for schools, will be collected on the bimonthly water bill if water service is provided. Schools and those customers not receiving water service will be billed annually in advance during the month of July for the entire year.

B. Bills for periods of service for 30 days or less shall be one-half of the bimonthly charge. For periods greater than 30 days, the bill shall be equal to the full bimonthly charge.

C. Bills are due and payable on presentation and are delinquent if unpaid within 30 days of the date mailed. A delinquency charge shall be added to the service charge for all payments not received within 30 days of the date the bill was mailed to the customer. The amount or rate of the delinquency charge shall be set by resolution of the City Council.

D. The City may discontinue service as provided in PMC 13.04.180 for failure to pay the service charge or delinquency charge. (Ord. 107 § 17, 1983)

13.04.220 Responsible party for payment of sewer service charge.

A. Bimonthly Service Charge. The party responsible for payment of the bimonthly service charge shall be the party who is being billed for water service. However, the record owner of the property shall ultimately be responsible for payments of the sewer service charges. Any agreement between landlords and tenants to the contrary will not relieve the landlord or record owner of the property of the responsibility for payment of the sewer service charges to the City.

B. Annual Service Charge. The record owner of the property shall be responsible for payment of the annual service charge. Any agreement between landlords and tenants to the contrary will not relieve the landlord or record owner of the property of the responsibility for payment of the sewer service charges to the City. (Ord. 107 § 18, 1983)

13.04.230 Changes in use resulting in increased rates, sewer service charges and/or connection fees.

Whenever the use of any premises previously connected to the City’s system is changed so that there is a fee applicable to such premises different from that which existed at time original application was made, there shall immediately become due, owing and payable to the City the increase in fees applicable, and in addition thereto the increased rate for sewer service charges applicable to the premises for the remainder of the month in which the change is made, and all past sewer service charges shall be paid to the current time of the next billing period or July 1st following. The charges imposed by this regulation shall become delinquent 60 days following the date it becomes due. (Ord. 107 § 19, 1983)

13.04.240 Violation – Penalty.

For the failure of a customer to comply with all or any part of this chapter and any ordinance, resolution or order of the City pertaining to the delivery of public services in addition to any other penalty or remedy provided by law, the City may discontinue sewer service. (Ord. 107 § 3.7, 1983)