Determination of sewer service charge.

Tulsa Revised Ordinances tit. 11-C, § 703

in effect

Section 703. - Determination of sewer service charge. The City of Tulsa finds that in most instances it is impractical to measure the volume of domestic sewage discharged into the sanitary sewer system for the purpose of billing under this chapter. Therefore, the volume of domestic sewage, upon which the sewer service charges shall be calculated, shall prima facie be the amount of water which is metered to the user of both water service and sanitary sewer service, except in cases where treatment facilities are furnished by others in which cases sanitary sewer service and sewer service charges therefor shall be rendered pursuant to contract. The following provisions shall apply to the determination of sewer service charges, and the rates established in this section shall become operative on October 1, 2022, for all billing cycles provided in this title with "service from date" on or after October 1, 2022. A. All sanitary sewer service billing periods shall coincide with the billing periods of water service to the same user or premises. B. The monthly sewer service charge or industrial user waste charge to each user shall be calculated by applying the rates of user charge as established by the applicable provisions of this chapter, to the base use for each user. C. In the event sanitary sewer service is commenced to a new user after annual sewer base uses have been established and such user was a water customer of the City for more than twelve (12) months, but less than sixty (60) months, the base use shall be calculated on the average monthly gallons of water billed to the user for all periods ending in December, January and February. D. In the event sanitary sewer service is commenced to a new user after annual sewer base uses have been established and such user was not a water customer of the City during the previous twelve (12) months, the Director shall establish a temporary base use for such customer which shall be predicated upon actual use, adjusted for seasonal variation, and shall remain in effect until a new base use is established. E. In the event a customer transfers from one service address to another, the base use of such customer at the billing address from which transferred may be the base use for the customer at the new location until a new base use is established. F. If in the opinion of the Director the base use established in accordance with the applicable provisions of this chapter does not reasonably approximate the actual discharge of wastewater into the public sanitary sewer system by such user, the Director shall determine the average monthly discharge of such user based upon actual consumption of water, less the water consumed but not discharged into the sanitary sewer system. The average so established shall be reviewed by the Director at least annually. G. Any sanitary sewer user who is not also a water customer of the City shall pay a flat charge of Sixty-Nine and 07/100 th Dollars ($69.07) per month if the user is within the City limits, and Eighty-One and 41/100 th Dollars ($81.41) per month if the user is outside the City limits. However, if such charge does not, in the opinion of the Director, fully compensate the City for the transporting and treating of sewage discharged by such user at the rates of user charges established by applicable provisions of this chapter, the Director shall determine, from such information as may be available to him, the average monthly discharge from such user. The average so established shall be the base use for such customer. The base use so established shall be reviewed by the Director at least annually. H. The determination of base use made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be final and binding upon all users, provided, that any user may, at the user's own expense, install metering or measuring devices of a type and installed in a manner approved by the Director. Billings after installation of a meter or measuring device shall be based upon actual usage measured in accordance with the schedule or rates of user charges set forth in the applicable provisions of this chapter. I. Every water customer of the City to whom sanitary sewer service is available, except purchasers of water for resale, shall be deemed a user or sanitary sewer user unless the water customer produces evidence to the contrary. J. The user charges provided in this section shall take precedence over any terms or conditions of agreements or contracts between the City and users (including industrial users, special districts, other municipalities, or federal agencies or installations) which are inconsistent with this chapter. (Ord. Nos. 17739, 17959, 18721, 19292, 19863, 20606, 21317, 21573, 21584; Ord. No. 21842, § 1, 6-26-2008; Ord. No. 22086, § 1, 6-18-2009; Ord. No. 22264, § 2, 6-17-2010; Ord. No. 22462, § 2, 6-23-2011; Ord. No. 22698, § 3, 6-14-2012, eff. 10-1-2012; Ord. No. 22896, § 3, 6-20-2013, eff. 10-1-2013; Ord. No. 23124, § 9, 6-12-2014, eff. 10-1-2014; Ord. No. 23306, § 9, 6-11-2015, eff. 10-1-2015; Ord. No. 23499, § 2, 6-9-2016, eff. 10-1-2016; Ord. No. 23704, § 9, 6-7-2017; Ord. No. 23942, § 9, 6-13-2018; Ord. No. 24402, § 2, 6-17-2020; Ord. No. 24853, § 2, 6-15-2022; Ord. No. 25074, § 9, 6-14-2023, eff. 10-1-2023; Ord. No. 25348, § 9, 6-12-2024; Ord. No. 25600, § 9, 6-11-2025)

Source: City of Tulsa, Revised Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/tulsa/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT11-CWASE_CH7SASEUSCHSY_S703DESESECHFetched: 10/28/2026