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Sample Sewer Ordinance
 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ___________ CITY CODE TITLED
“USE OF THE PUBLIC SEWERS”
 

The Council of the City of __________________, Minnesota ordains: 

Section 1. 

That Subdivision ______, of Section _____ , Chapter _____  of the City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 

A.        No person(s) shall discharge water or cause to be discharged any unpolluted waters such as storm water, ground water, roof run off, subsurface drainage such as that from floor drains, sump pumps, cisterns, field tile or any other recognizable source or any type of private, commercial or industrial cooling water to any sanitary sewer. 

1.         Before July 1,_______ any person, firm or corporation having a roof drain system, surface drain system, footing tile, swimming pool, ground water drain system or sump pump now connected and/or discharging into the sanitary sewer system shall disconnect and/or remove the same. Any disconnects or opening into the sanitary sewer shall be closed or repaired in an effective, workmanlike manner, as approved by the public works supervisor. 

2.            Dwellings and other buildings and structures which require because of the infiltration of water into basements, crawl spaces and the like, a sump pump system to discharge excess water shall have a permanently installed discharge line which shall not at any time discharge water into the sanitary sewer system. A permanent installation shall be one which provides for year around discharge capability to either the outside of the dwelling, building or structure, or is connected to the City storm sewer. It shall consist of a rigid discharge line, without valves or quick connections for altering the path of discharge, and if connected to the City storm sewer shall include a check valve. 

3.         Sump pump lines as described in Subd. __, part A-1, may be run into a street abutting the residence, with a opening made into the curb, provided that a permit is granted by the Approving Authority. 

4.         In certain locations or situation where surface water discharge would create a safety hazard during freezing weather, connection to the sanitary sewer line shall be permitted from November 1st to March 1st.  No connection’s to the sanitary sewer be permitted from March 1st to November 1st.  The City Council may by motion, change any of these dates subject to exceptional circumstances. 

Section 2. 

That Subd. __. POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS, part A. shall now read: 

Duly authorized employees or representatives of the City, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing pertinent to determine the nature of discharge into any public sewer or natural outlet in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.

1.         In lieu of having the City inspect their property, any person or entity may furnish a certificate from a licensed plumber certifying that their property is in compliance with this ordinance. 

2.         Any person refusing to allow their property to be inspected or refusing to furnish a plumbers certificate within fourteen (14) days of the date the duly authorized City employees or representatives are denied admittance to their property shall be subject to the surcharge hereafter provided for. 

3.         At any future time, if the City has reason to suspect that an illegal connection may exist in a premises, the owner, by written notice shall comply with the provisions of Subd. ___, Part A-2 above. 

Section 3. 

That Subd. ___. SEWER SERVICE CHARGES, Part C. shall now have added: 

A surcharge of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars per month is hereby imposed and added to every sewer billing mailed on and after July 1,_____, to property owners who are not in compliance with this Ordinance. The surcharge shall be added every month through October ____ until the property is in compliance. The surcharge shall continue to be levied monthly for the months of March through October (both inclusive) of every year, on properties not complying with this Ordinance. The City Council may grant waivers from the surcharges where strict enforcement may cause undue hardship unique to the property or where the property owner was scheduled for disconnection but cannot do so due to circumstances, such as availability of the plumber or inclement weather. 

Section 4. 

This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its time of passage and publication. 

Adopted this _____ Day of May, _______. 

A.        No unauthorized person(s) shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance without first obtaining a written permit from the City Council and otherwise complying with the provisions of this chapter. 

B.         A permit for construction of the building sewer, and for connecting it to the public sewer, shall be obtained from the City Council; a bond in an amount appropriate to secure compliance with provisions of this section may be required by the Council. 

C.        Before undertaking the construction work authorized by the permit, the plumber shall secure and maintain a policy of insurance against damages to the property or injury or death to persons. The policy shall indemnify and save harmless the City and it’s personnel against any claim, damages, or cause of action arising out of the work and from any expense defending the same. The property damage insurance shall be in the amount of at least $50,000.00 and the public liability damage for injury or death shall be in the amount of at least $250,000.00. Proof of insurance shall be filed with the City prior to construction work. If the Insurance coverage be inadequate in amount, the contractor shall himself indemnify and save harmless the City and it’s personnel in like manner. 

D.        All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner(s). The owner(s) shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer. 

E.         A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; unless written permission for an alternative is obtained from the City. The City does not and will not assume any obligation or responsibility for damage caused by or resulting from any such single connection aforementioned. 

F.         Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Approving Authority, to meet all requirements of this ordinance. 

G.        The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, Jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City. Cast iron pipe shall be used for a building sewer laid within fifty (50) feet of any well per Public Health Department requirements. 

H.            Whenever possible, the building sewer shall 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, sanitary wastewater carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged tot he building sewer. 

I.          No person(s) shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains, sump pumps, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.

J.          The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City. All such connections shall be made gas tight and watertight and verified by proper testing. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Approving Authority before installation. 

K.        The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Approving Authority when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection and testing shall be made under the supervision of the Approving Authority. No backfill shall be placed until the work has been inspected and approved.

 

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Minnesota Rural Water Association

217 12th Avenue SE
Elbow Lake, MN  56531
Phone: 218-685-5197
Fax: 218-685-5272
E-mail: mrwa@mrwa.com