Applicants for connection permits must comply with all provisions of Part 2 of this chapter and any applicable law or laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relating to sewage and industrial wastes.
No unauthorized 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 Health.
[Amended 6-13-1963 by Ord. No. 1099; 11-10-1976 by Ord. No. 1437, 3-12-1981 by Ord. No. 1523; 10-8-1981 by Ord. No. 1528; 1-13-1983 by Ord. No. 1559; 3-11-1993 by Ord. No. 1726]
There shall be two classes of building sewer connection permits: for residential service and for service to commercial establishments and establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or agent of the owner shall make application on a special form furnished by the Township. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Plumbing Inspector. The Department of Public Health is hereby authorized to adopt and, from time to time, change such rules and regulations as may be necessary, and the same, when promulgated by the Department and approved, shall have the same force and effect as if set out at length in Part 2 of this chapter. The Department of Public Health is further authorized to provide for the connection of the building sewer in the public street or right-of-way at the expense of the property owners applying for such connection. Permit and inspection fees shall be designated by resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Abington, which fees shall be established from time to time. A permit shall not be issued until the designated fees have been paid. Failure to pay designated fees shall be considered a violation of this code.
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 Township against any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
A separate and independent building sanitary sewer shall be provided for every building, except 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 Plumbing Inspector, to meet all requirements of Part 2 of this chapter.
[Amended 3-10-1977 by Ord. No. 1443]
The building sewer shall be cast-iron bell and spigot soil pipe and fittings. All joints shall be tight and waterproof.
The size and slope of the building sewer shall be subject to the approval of the Plumbing Inspector, but in no event shall the diameter be less than four inches. The slope of such pipe shall be not less than 1/4 inch per foot.
[Amended 6-16-1958 by Ord. No. 908; 3-10-1997 by Ord. No. 1443; 3-13-1997 by Ord. No. 1787]
A. 
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 a uniform grade and in a straight alignment. Changes in direction shall be made with the proper degree fittings. Any building sewer installed or repaired after the date of this Part 2 shall have a cleanout fitting installed at the curb.
B. 
Any building in which basement plumbing fixtures are installed, revised, renovated, expanded or altered after the date of this Part 2, or any building having a basement elevation such that the plumbing fixtures located therein may be subject to flooding by sewage in the event of surcharging of the sanitary sewer system, shall be required to have installed and properly maintained in its sanitary drainage system a backwater valve of a type and size approved by the Plumbing Inspector. Said backwater valve shall be installed at a location in the piping system approved by the Plumbing Inspector and maintained in operable condition. Any building owner required to have a backwater valve installed under this provision shall be responsible for damages resulting from sewage backups through basement plumbing fixtures.
In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such drain shall be lifted by approved artificial means and discharged to the building sewer.
All excavations required for the installation of a building sewer shall be open trenchwork unless otherwise approved by the Plumbing Inspector. Pipe laying and backfilling shall be performed in accordance with standard practices, except that no backfill shall be placed until the work has been inspected and approved.
A. 
All joints and connections shall be made gas- and watertight. No coatings shall be permitted on the jointing material until after the joints have been inspected and approved.
[Amended 3-10-1977 by Ord. No. 1443]
B. 
Cast-iron soil pipes.
[Amended 3-10-1977 by Ord. No. 1443; 3-11-1982 by Ord. No. 1537]
(1) 
Cast-iron soil pipe joints shall be firmly packed with oakum or hemp (asbestos rope to be used with acid-resisting cast iron) and filled with molten lead, not less than one inch deep. Molten lead shall be run in one pouring and caulked tight.
(2) 
Gasket joints with cast-iron soil pipe may only be used underground or outside of a building, with permission of the Plumbing Inspector when conditions warrant their use.
C. 
All joints between vitrified clay pipe and metals shall be made with approved hot-poured jointing material as specified below. All such joints shall be entirely encased in concrete. Cement mortar joints may be used under certain conditions as and when permitted or directed by the Plumbing Inspector.
D. 
Material for hot-poured joints shall not soften sufficiently to destroy the effectiveness of the joint when subjected to a temperature of 160° F.
E. 
Cement joints when permitted shall be made by packing a closely twisted jute or oakum gasket of suitable size to fill partly the annular space between the pipes. The remaining space shall be filled and firmly compacted with mortar composed of one part portland cement and two parts mortar sand. The material shall be mixed dry; only sufficient water shall be added to make the mixture workable. Mortar which has begun to set shall not be used or retempered.
The applicant for the building sewer connection permit shall notify the Plumbing Inspector when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The removal of the stopper in or tapping of the public sewer shall be made under the supervision of the Plumbing Inspector or the representative of the Inspector.
All excavations for building sewer installations shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Township.