[Code 1992, § 13.50; amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five days at 20° C., expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/l). Quantitative determination of BOD shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
BUILDING DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer.
BUILDING SEWER
A sanitary sewer which begins immediately outside of the foundation wall of any building or structure being served and ends at its connection to the public sewer.
CATEGORY A
Those sanitary sewer users who discharge normal domestic strength wastewater with concentrations of BOD no greater than 300 mg/l and suspended solids no greater than 250 mg/l. Users whose wastewater exceeds the concentrations for any one of these parameters shall be in Category B.
CATEGORY B
Those sanitary sewer users who discharge wastewater with concentrations in excess of 300 mg/l of BOD and 250 mg/l of suspended solids.
CHLORINE REQUIREMENT
The amount of chlorine, in mg/l, which must be added to sewage to produce a residual chlorine as specified in the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit.
CITY
Director of Utilities, his authorized representative, or the City Building Inspector.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
BOD, suspended solids, phosphorus, nitrogen, pH or fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants identified in the City's WFDES permit for its wastewater treatment facility, provided that such facility is designed to treat such additional pollutants and, in fact, does remove such pollutants to a substantial degree.
DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
The Director of Utilities for the City, or his authorized representatives.
EASEMENT
An acquired legal right for the specified use of land owned by others.
FLOATABLE OIL
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility. Wastewater shall be considered free of floatable oil if it is properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with the collection system.
GROUND GARBAGE
The residue from the preparation, cooking, dispensing, handling, storage and sale of food products and produce that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
Wastewater with pollutants that will adversely affect the wastewater collection and treatment facilities or disrupt the quality of wastewater treatment if discharged to the wastewater collection and treatment facilities.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE
Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance discharged or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing or commercial establishment. Such term includes any wastewater which is not sanitary sewage.
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet, including storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.
NORMAL DOMESTIC STRENGTH WASTEWATER
Wastewater with concentrations of BOD no greater than 300 mg/l and suspended solids no greater than 250 mg/l.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
All costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities, including administration and replacement costs, all as determined from time to time by the Utility Commission.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution. Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of 7.0 and a hydrogen ion concentration of 10-7.
PUBLIC SEWER
Any publicly owned sewer, storm drain or sanitary sewer.
REPLACEMENT COSTS
Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the wastewater treatment facility to maintain the capacity and performance for which such facilities were designed and constructed. Operation and maintenance costs include replacement costs.
SANITARY SEWAGE
A combination of liquid and water-carried wastes discharged from toilets and/or sanitary plumbing facilities.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer that carries sewage or wastewater.
SEWAGE
The spent water of a person or community. The preferred term is "wastewater."
SEWER
A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SEWER SERVICE CHARGE
A charge levied on users of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities for payment of operation and maintenance expenses, debt service costs and other expenses or obligations of such facilities.
SLUG
Any discharge of water or wastewater which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration of flows during normal operation and/or adversely affects the wastewater collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment facility.
STANDARD METHODS
The examination and analytical procedures in the most recent edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation.
STORM SEWER OR DRAIN
A drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any source.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of or is in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods and referred to as "nonfilterable residue."
UNPOLLUTED WATER
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent of the wastewater treatment facilities or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities.
WASTEWATER
The spent water of a community or person. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.
WASTEWATER COLLECTION FACILITIES OR WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM
The structures and equipment required to collect and carry wastewater.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater and sludge; also referred to as "wastewater treatment plant."
WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT
A document issued by the state Department of Natural Resources which establishes effluent limitations and monitoring requirements for the municipal wastewater treatment facility. WPDES Permit No. WI-0021130 and modifications thereof pertain to the City wastewater treatment facility.
[Code 1992, § 13.65; amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
(a) 
Written notice of violations. Any person found to be violating any provision of this article shall be declared to be creating a public nuisance and shall be served by the Utility Commission with a written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
(b) 
Abatement of nuisance without notice. If the Director of Utilities determines that a public nuisance exists within the City and that there is great and immediate danger to the wastewater collection and treatment facilities or the public health, safety, peace, morals or decency, the Director may cause the same to be abated and charge the cost thereof to the owner, occupant or person causing, permitting or maintaining the nuisance, as the case may be.
(c) 
Accidental discharge. Any person found to be responsible for accidentally allowing a deleterious discharge into the sewer system which causes damage to the wastewater collection and treatment facility, and/or receiving body of water shall, in addition to a forfeiture, pay an amount to cover any damage, both values to be established by the Director of Utilities.
(d) 
Continued violations. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the notice time limit provided in Subsection (a) of this section shall, upon conviction, forfeit not more than $500, together with the costs of prosecution. In default of payment of such forfeiture and costs, such violator shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a period not to exceed 30 days. Each day in which a violation is continued beyond the notice time limit in Subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed a separate offense.
(e) 
Liability to City for losses. Any person violating any provisions of this article shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by reason of such violation which the City may suffer as a result.
[Code 1992, § 13.66; amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
Any user, permit applicant or permit holder affected by any decision, action or determination, including cease and desist orders, made by the Director of Utilities interpreting the provisions of this article or in any permit issued in this article, may appeal such action under the procedures of Chapter 2 of this Code.
[Code 1992, § 13.67; amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
(a) 
Biennial audit. The Utility Commission shall review, at least every two years, the wastewater contribution of its sewer users, the operation and maintenance expenses of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities and the sewer service charge system. Based on this review, the Utility Commission shall revise the sewer service charge system, if necessary, to accomplish the following:
(1) 
Maintain a proportionate distribution of operation and maintenance expenses among sewer users based on the wastewater volume and pollutant loadings discharged by the users.
(2) 
Generate sufficient revenues to pay the operation and maintenance expenses of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities.
(3) 
Apply excess revenues collected from a class of users to the operation and maintenance expenses attributable to that class of users for the next year and adjust the sewer service charge rates accordingly.
(b) 
Annual notification. The Utility Commission shall notify its sewer users annually about the sewer service charge rates. The notification shall show what portion of the rates are attributable to the operation and maintenance expenses and debt service costs of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities. The notification may occur in conjunction with a regular bill or by publication.
(c) 
Records. The Utility Commission shall maintain records regarding wastewater flows and loadings, costs of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities, sampling programs and other information which is necessary to document compliance with 40 CFR 35, subpart E, of the Clean Water Act.
[Code 1992, § 13.55; amended 3-13-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
(a) 
Right of entry. The Director of Utilities or other authorized employee of the Utility Commission bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation or testing in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) 
Safety. While performing the necessary work on private premises referred to in Subsection (a) of this section, the authorized Utility Commission employee shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the person.
(c) 
Identification; right to enter easements. The Director of Utilities or authorized employee of the Utility Commission, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City holds an easement for the purpose of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works lying within such easement, subject to the terms of such easement.