Chapter 13.16
SEWER
Sections:
13.16.010 Sewer system generally.
13.16.030 Use of public sewers required.
13.16.040 Private sewage disposal.
13.16.050 Building sewers and connections.
13.16.060 Sewer main extensions.
13.16.070 Prohibited discharges.
13.16.080 Grease interceptors.
13.16.110 Measurements, tests and analyses.
13.16.130 Owner responsibility.
13.16.140 Inflow and infiltration.
13.16.150 Protection from damage.
13.16.160 Powers and authority of inspectors.
13.16.170 Right to terminate service.
13.16.190 Sewer charges and fees.
13.16.200 Violation – Penalty.
Prior legislation: Ords. 115, 143, 147, 187, 206, 260, 288A and 459-2007.
13.16.010 Sewer system generally.
Pursuant to the general laws of the state of Oregon and the powers granted by the Charter of the city of Dundee, Oregon, the city has heretofore acquired, constructed, and now operates and maintains within the city a wastewater treatment plant, sewers, equipment, and appurtenances necessary, useful, and convenient for a complete sewer system, and the council does hereby declare its intention to operate and maintain said sewer system and to acquire and construct additions and improvements thereto as may be necessary, useful, and convenient for a complete sewer system and disposal plant, including the reconstruction and maintenance of sewer lines as may be necessary. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.020 Definitions.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
“Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)” shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures during five days at 20 degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/l)).
“Building drain” shall mean that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
“Building sewer” shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer main or other place of disposal.
“City” shall mean the city of Dundee, Oregon.
“City engineer” shall mean the city engineer of the city of Dundee, or the city’s duly authorized agent.
“Garbage” shall mean solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.
“Industrial wastes” shall mean the liquid wastes from any nongovernmental user of publicly owned treatment works identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972 Edition, Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented under the following divisions:
1. Division A – Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing.
2. Division B – Mining.
3. Division D – Manufacturing.
4. Division E – Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas and Sanitary Services.
5. Division I – Services.
A user in the divisions listed may be excluded if it is determined that it will introduce primarily segregated domestic wastes or wastes from sanitary conveniences.
“Infiltration” shall mean any water other than wastewater that enters the sewer from the ground through such means as defective pipes, pipe joints, connections or manholes.
“Inflow” shall mean any water other than wastewater that enters the sewer from improper connections to storm drains such as, but not limited to, roof drains, cellar drains, yard drains, drains from springs and swampy areas, and catch basins.
“Lateral sewer” shall mean any building sewer or private sewer extension from the property served to connection to the public sewer main.
“Natural outlet” shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or groundwater.
“Person” shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
“pH” shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
“Public sewer main” shall mean a sewer that is six inches or greater in diameter located in the public right-of-way or public easement in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled and maintained by the city.
“Sewage” or “wastewater” shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes, from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and storm, or other waters as may be present.
“Sewer” shall mean a pipe or conduit for conveying sewage and to which storm, surface and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.
“Slug” means any discharge of water, sewage, or industrial waste in the public sewer system which in concentration of any given constituent, or in a quantity of flow, exceeds, for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average 24-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.
“Storm drain” shall mean a pipe or conduit which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and polluted industrial wastes.
“Supervisor” shall mean the public works supervisor of the city of Dundee or his authorized deputy, agent, or representative.
“Total suspended solids (TSS)” shall mean the total suspended matter that either floats on the surface or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids; and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
“Wastewater treatment plant” means the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) owned and operated by the city. Included in this definition are any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastewater and any conveyances which convey wastes to the wastewater treatment plant.
“Watercourse” shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.030 Use of public sewers required.
A. It is unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in an unsanitary manner upon public or private property within the city of Dundee or in any area under the jurisdiction of said city any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable waste.
B. It is unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the city of Dundee, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said city, any unsanitary sewage, industrial wastes, or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this chapter.
C. Except as provided in this chapter, it is unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage within the corporate limits of the city of Dundee, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city.
D. The owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the city of Dundee and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sewer main of the city of Dundee, is required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer main, either by gravity or with approved pumping facilities, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter within 90 days after the date of official notice to do so; provided, that said public sewer main is within 200 feet of the property line. In the event that during the said period of 90 days, the said owner shall file his written objections with the city recorder against so being required to install said facilities, the city shall not enforce the provisions of this subsection upon said owner, so filing his objections, until the council shall have, at a meeting thereof, heard the said objections of said owner, and rendered its decision thereon. The said meeting of the council shall be held not less than 10 days or more than 30 days from and after the date of the filing of said objections with the city recorder. Not less than seven days prior to the date set by the council for said meeting, the city shall give due notice of the date set therefor to said owner. The decision of the council shall be final and no appeal shall be taken therefrom by said owner except as is provided by law. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.040 Private sewage disposal.
A. Where a public sewer main is not available under the provisions of DMC 13.16.030(D), the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the requirements of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon State Board of Health, and the Plumbing Code of the State of Oregon.
B. At such time as a public sewer main becomes available to a property served by a private sewage disposal system, as provided in DMC 13.16.030(D), a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer main in compliance with this chapter, and any septic tanks, cesspools, and similar private sewage disposal facilities shall be decommissioned and filled with suitable material, except as provided below, or as the city council shall otherwise permit. Where existing buildings are too low to be served by gravity by an available sewer, the existing septic tank facilities shall be maintained in use, and when so ordered by the city of Dundee under DMC 13.16.030(D), approved pumping facilities shall be installed to pump the septic tank effluent into the available public sanitary sewer system.
C. The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal system in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the city.
D. The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the requirements of general law. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.050 Building sewers and connections.
A. No person shall uncover, make any connections with or operate into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer main or appurtenances thereof without first making an application and securing a permit from the city. There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: (1) for residential and commercial service, and (2) for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a form furnished by the city of Dundee. The permit applications shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent by the city engineer. A permit and inspection fee shall be paid to the city at the time the application is filed. No permit shall be issued until the sewer system development charge specified in DMC 15.16.020 has been paid.
B. All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer to the public sewer main shall be the responsibility of the property owner. All work within the street right-of-way shall be done by a contractor licensed and bonded in the state of Oregon and experienced in performing this type of work. The owner or his contractor shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation.
C. The size, slope alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, connecting, testing and backfilling the trench shall conform to the permit conditions and to the requirements of the Dundee public works design standards. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and approved by the city engineer, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
D. Building sewers serving buildings with basements shall, whenever possible, be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer main, sanitary sewage carried by such drain shall be lifted and discharged to the public sewer main by approved ejectors, pumps, or mechanical devices installed and maintained at the owner’s expense. Effective operation of such installation to lift sewage to the public sewer main shall be the responsibility of the owner of the building.
E. The applicant for building sewer permit shall notify the supervisor when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the building drain. After final approval and testing of the building sewer by the supervisor, the owner shall make the final connection under the supervision of the supervisor. No trench shall be filled or any connected sewer covered until the building sewer installation work has been inspected and approved by or under the direction of the supervisor and until the same has been made in all respects to conform to the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.060 Sewer main extensions.
A. When a person desires to extend a public sewer main, that person must make a written request to the city engineer and state on that request the location where the extension is desired, the purpose for extension and give details and extent of any development being considered, as well as any other factors as may be pertinent. The city engineer shall evaluate all requests for main extensions. If the extension is considered feasible, then the pipe diameter and other conditions shall be determined by the city engineer.
B. The person requesting the sewer main extension shall be responsible for all costs of installation, including inspection costs performed by the city. The amount of the fee for inspections shall be based on actual costs and determined after assessing the entire project. The extension shall be installed in accordance with the Dundee public works design standards.
C. All such sewer main extensions shall become the property of the city upon inspection and acceptance of the completed work by the city engineer. The person constructing said sewer system shall provide and dedicate to the city an easement of a width and length required by the city for maintenance and operation of said sewer system prior to acceptance of the same by the city. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.070 Prohibited discharges.
A. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process water to any public sewer main.
B. Except as provided in this chapter, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to the wastewater treatment plant:
1. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Any gasoline, grease, oils, paint, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, gas or petroleum products.
3. Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, hair or any other solid or viscous substances regardless of size capable of causing obstructions to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater treatment plant.
4. 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 wastewater treatment plant.
5. 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 wastewater treatment plant.
6. Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such material at the wastewater treatment plant.
7. Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a public nuisance, including the contents of septic tanks and cesspools, without written consent of the supervisor.
8. Any waters or wastes which contain in excess of 100 milligrams per liter of fat waste, oil, or grease, whether or not emulsified, ether-soluble matter or any substance which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Any trucked or hauled pollutants, including holding tank wastes, except at discharge points designated and adherence to specific limits and restrictions authorized by the supervisor.
10. Any slug which released in a single extraordinary discharge episode of such volume or strength as to cause interference to the wastewater treatment plant. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.080 Grease interceptors.
A. New Facilities. On or after January 1, 2014, grease interceptors shall be installed for all new commercial facilities involving food preparation or that will discharge liquid waste containing grease into the public sewer main.
B. Existing Facilities with Grease Removal. All existing commercial establishments involving food preparation or that discharge liquid waste containing grease into the public sewer shall be permitted to operate and maintain existing grease interceptors or grease traps; provided, that the equipment is in efficient operating condition to maintain discharges of no more than 100 milligrams per liter of fat waste, oil, or grease. Any such facilities that are known to cause grease-related cleaning activities in the sanitary sewer or a grease-related sanitary sewer overflow will be required to install a properly sized and functioning grease interceptor within 90 calendar days from notification by the city.
C. Existing Facilities without Grease Removal. Any commercial establishment involving food preparation or that discharges liquid waste containing grease into the public sewer shall be required to install a properly sized and functioning grease interceptor within 90 calendar days from notification by the city.
D. All grease interceptors required under this section shall be of a type and capacity approved by the city engineer and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Grease traps shall not be considered an alternate to grease interceptors unless the grease trap has twice the required grease storage capacity as required in the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code for the applicable flow rate, and has capacity of no less than 25 gpm and 50 pounds. Grease traps and interceptors shall be designed by a professional engineer to accept all grey water from the facility to include dishwasher waste and the design must demonstrate an adequate flow capacity to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
E. Grease interceptors and traps shall be maintained by the owner, at the owner’s expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times. Flushing the grease trap or interceptor with water, heated or otherwise, in an effort to cause accumulated grease to pass through is prohibited. The direct addition into the building plumbing, grease trap, or interceptor of enzymes, chemicals or other agents designed to emulsify the grease compounds is prohibited. Owners shall document the date of service, volume pumped, name of the licensed rendering disposal company, waste disposal location for each grease removal device and other information on the maintenance record form provided by the city. Maintenance records shall be kept a minimum of three years and provided to the city upon request.
F. Grease interceptors must be serviced and emptied of accumulated waste content as required to maintain a minimum design capability or effective volume, but not less than once every 90 calendar days. If a facility determines that cleaning every 90 calendar days is unnecessary in order to remain in compliance with city requirements, the supervisor may grant a variance from the cleaning schedule. Grease interceptors shall be considered out of compliance if the total volume of grease and solids displaces more than 10 percent of the effective volume of the final chamber of the interceptor. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.090 Pretreatment.
The admission into the wastewater treatment plant of any waters or wastes having (A) a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) greater than 300 parts per million by weight, or (B) containing any quantity of substances having the characteristics described in DMC 13.16.070, or (C) containing more than 350 parts per million by weight of total suspended solids (TSS), or (D) having an average daily flow greater than two percent of the average daily sewage flow of the city shall be subject to the review and approval of the city engineer. Where necessary, in the opinion of the city engineer, the owner shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary. Plans, specifications, and any other pertinent information relating to the proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the city engineer and/or Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing. Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be constructed and maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation, by the owner at his expense. Higher discharge concentrations of BOD and TSS may be authorized by the city engineer so long as the authorized BOD and TSS levels are subject to a tiered rate structure authorized by the city council. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.100 Monitoring manhole.
Where required, in the opinion of the city engineer, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes or wastes in excess of the limits described in DMC 13.16.090 shall install a suitable monitoring manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed with plans approved by the city engineer. 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. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.110 Measurements, tests and analyses.
All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in DMC 13.16.070 and 13.16.090 shall be determined in accordance with “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sewage,” and shall be determined at the monitoring manhole provided in DMC 13.16.100. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the monitoring manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer main to the point at which the building sewer is connected. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.120 Special agreements.
No statement in this chapter 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 approval of the city engineer and payment therefor by the industrial concern to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing sewer charges including the costs of investigations and measurements. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.130 Owner responsibility.
It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to maintain, repair, or replace any lateral sewer serving his property that is showing any defect including, but not limited to, leaks, breaks, settlements, or stoppages. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.140 Inflow and infiltration.
A. Property owners identified by the city engineer as contributors to excessive or improper infiltration or inflow into the public sewer system shall be advised of their infiltration or inflow problems and notified to submit a corrective action plan to the city engineer within 30 days of the date of notification. Said corrective action plan shall describe the means of repairs or other corrective actions to eliminate the excessive or improper infiltration or inflow within 90 days of the date of notification. If the corrective action plan is not submitted to the city engineer within the 30-day notice period, then the monthly sewer service charges for the property shall be assessed twice the scheduled rate or in an amount based on the additional volume of infiltration or inflow as estimated by the city engineer, whichever is greater, until such time that corrective actions have been completed and confirmed by the city engineer.
B. A property owner failing to complete corrective actions within 90 days of the date of notification to submit a corrective action plan shall be subject to termination of service without further notice, and water service shall be immediately discontinued and shut off until the violations shall have been corrected.
C. In the event any instance of excessive infiltration or inflow into the public sanitary sewer system shall continue beyond 180 days of the date of notification to submit a corrective action plan, it is hereby declared that such continuing infiltration or inflow is a public nuisance. The city shall have the right to abate such public nuisance, to enter upon any private property within the city for such purpose, and to assess the cost of such abatement as a lien against the property upon which such continuing infiltration and inflow occurs. Such assessment shall be levied by the filing of a statement of such costs together with the description of the property or properties to be assessed, together with the names of the owner(s) thereof with the city recorder, whereupon the city recorder shall forthwith enter such assessment as a lien against such property in the lien docket of the city. An administration fee shall be charged and collected by the city in addition to all costs of abatement. The lien will bear simple interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum and will begin to run from the date of the entry of the lien in the lien docket. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.150 Protection from damage.
No person, or persons, shall unlawfully, maliciously, willfully, or, as the result of gross negligence on his or their part, break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, facility, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewer system of the city of Dundee. This section does not apply, however, to any employee of the city during the time he is engaged in his official employment, nor to any person or persons authorized to work in any manner thereon. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.160 Powers and authority of inspectors.
The supervisor 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 chapter. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.170 Right to terminate service.
A. The city reserves the right to terminate sewer service for any residence or commercial or industrial customer where it is determined by the city engineer that the wastes being discharged are in violation of DMC 13.16.070 and:
1. Are causing operational problems with the sewer collection system, lift station, and/or wastewater treatment plant; or
2. Are in some way damaging pipelines, manholes, lift stations, or equipment and/or machinery at the wastewater treatment plant; or
3. Are causing health or safety problems either with the city sewer department personnel or other persons.
B. Termination of such sewer service, including the discontinuation of water service, shall be in effect until it is determined by the city engineer that any and all problems have been corrected and some action or other steps have been taken to prevent their reoccurrence. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.180 Appeals.
A. Any person aggrieved by any decision or action of the supervisor or city engineer under this chapter may file a written appeal with the city administrator for reconsideration within 10 days of notification of the decision or action. The appeal shall set forth in reasonable detail the decision or action appealed from and the facts and arguments supporting the appellant’s request for consideration. The city administrator shall review the appeal and provide a written response to the appellant. The filing of a request for reconsideration shall be a condition precedent to the right to appeal to the city council pursuant to subsection (B) of this section. The filing of an appeal shall not stay termination of service as defined in DMC 13.16.170.
B. Any person aggrieved by the city administrator’s decision may appeal to the city council by filing with the city a written request for review no later than 10 days after receiving the city administrator’s decision. The city council’s decision shall be final. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.190 Sewer charges and fees.
There are levied and imposed upon all users of the city sewer system, charges and fees for service, maintenance, operation, debt service, and capital replacement of the sewer system. Such charges and fees shall be established by resolution of the city council and shall be such amounts as will assure financial self-sufficiency of the sewer system. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].
13.16.200 Violation – Penalty.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 for each violation, and a separate violation shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. In addition to the above penalty, any person violating any provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the city of Dundee for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by the city by reason of such violation. [Ord. 526-2013 (Exh. A)].