§ 19-100 - Establishment of wastewater rates or charges.
(a) General. Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City of Cape Coral based on his or her use of the treatment works as determined by water meter readings.
(b) Monthly uniform schedule of charges.
(1) City Council shall, after a duly noticed public hearing, establish and adopt by resolution a uniform schedule of charges for the use, or reasonable availability for use, of the services and facilities of the municipal sanitary wastewater system, by each establishment, public building or other type of private building producing wastewater and/or wastes. The uniform schedule of charges for residential dwellings shall consist of a fixed charge component and a volume charge component based on metered water consumption or metered wastewater flows. For commercial and industrial users of the municipal sanitary wastewater system the uniform schedule of charges shall consist of a fixed charge component and a volume charge component based on metered water consumption or metered wastewater flows. The City Council may modify the wastewater system rate schedule from time to time by resolution.
(2) The monthly uniform schedule of charges described in the rate resolution adopted by Council shall apply to all users except as noted herein.
a. For commercial and industrial users where water use may exceed wastewater contribution to the utility system, the wastewater volume billing may be determined through an engineering analysis. This analysis shall be provided by the requesting user and shall at minimum include the following information:
1. Certified design/construction drawings clearly identifying all plumbing facilities;
2. Manufacturer's description of the system process; and
3. Current certified independent test results for the specific systems for which the wastewater billing adjustment is being made. The results must clearly quantify the water influent and wastewater effluent streams and specifically support the users' request.
(3) The city may, at its sole discretion, witness the test(s), request additional testing, or conduct its own test(s) to verify the results. If it is necessary for the city to conduct tests, the requesting user will be responsible for all costs to the city.
(4) The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall have final approval over any wastewater billing adjustment resulting from the engineering analysis.
(5) Any wastewater billing adjustment resulting from the engineering analysis described above shall be for the remainder of the calendar year in which the adjustment is granted. Each year thereafter, the adjustment may be renewed as follows:
a. The city will notify the property owner that the city has previously approved or granted an adjustment to wastewater billing on the utility account and will describe the nature of the justification for the adjustment, and that to continue the adjustment to the utility account, the property owner shall send to the city, within 30 days of the notification described above, a written statement that:
1. They have not altered, in any way, the recycling system, or any other portion of the plumbing system installed at the site as represented in the original application for the adjustment.
2. That the recycling system, or another portion of the plumbing system, installed at the site is operating as originally approved; and
3. They understand that, in the future, the City of Cape Coral reserves the right to inspect the recycling system periodically to confirm the flow of wastewater generated by the facility.
b. If, at any time, an inspection by the city demonstrates that any alteration to the recycling system has been made that results in increased discharge into the wastewater system, the owner will be responsible for compensating the city for its inspection costs. The owner will also be responsible for any wastewater charges based on the difference between what was billed and what would have been billed in the absence of the billing adjustment for the preceding 12 months or to the last inspection date, whichever is the most recent date. In addition, any adjustment on future wastewater bills will be subject to the entire approval process, including review by the City Manager or his or her designee.
c. If the city inspection reveals that the wastewater contribution has increased but no determination can be made as to whether there have been alterations made to the system, there will be no charge for the inspection. In that instance, the owner will be responsible for charges based on the difference between what was billed and what would have been billed in the absence of the billing adjustment for the preceding 12 months or to the last inspection date, whichever is the most recent date. In addition, any adjustment on future sewer bills will be subject to the entire approval process, including review by the City Manager or his or her designee.
d. Upon the sale of any property that has been previously approved for or granted a wastewater billing adjustment, the city will notify the new owner of the following:
1. That the city has previously approved or granted to the previous owner an adjustment to wastewater billing on the utility account and describing the reason for the adjustment.
2. That to continue the adjustment to the utility account for the remainder of the calendar year, the new owner must send to the city, within 30 days of the notification, a written statement that:
A. They are presently the owner of the facility at the site location;
B. They have not altered, in any way, the recycling system, or any other portion of the plumbing system installed at the site as represented in the original application for adjustment; and
C. They understand that, in the future, the City of Cape Coral reserves the right to inspect the recycling system periodically to confirm the flow of wastewater generated by the facility.
e. If any inspections at any time by the city demonstrate that there has been any alteration to the recycling system that results in increased discharge into the wastewater system, the owner will be responsible for compensating the city for the city's inspection costs. The owner will be responsible for any additional wastewater charges based on the difference between what was billed and what would have been billed in the absence of the billing adjustment for the preceding 12 months or to the last inspection date, whichever is the most recent date. In addition, any adjustment on future sewer bills will be subject to the entire approval process, including review by the City Manager or his or her designee.
f. If the city inspection reveals that the wastewater contribution has increased but no alterations can be determined by the city, there is no charge for the inspection. The owner will be responsible for any additional wastewater charges based on the difference between what was billed and what would have been billed in the absence of the billing adjustment for the preceding 12 months or to the last inspection date, whichever is the most recent date. In addition, any adjustment on future sewer bills will be subject to the entire approval process, including review by the City Manager or his or her designee.
g. If the city does not receive the requested statement from the property owner within the time period prescribed, then the adjustment that was approved will be suspended until the requested statement is received.
(c) Increased costs. Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants (as defined herein) which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent of the sludge from the City of Cape Coral's treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increases in the cost of operation, maintenance or replacement of the treatment works, shall pay for the increased costs.
(d) Application. The user charge rates established in this article apply to all users of the City of Cape Coral's treatment works.
(e) Payment.
(1) Effective October 1, 1996, all city owned and operated facilities shall pay all appropriate charges and fees associated with wastewater described in Chapter 19 of the City of Cape Coral Code of Ordinances. Where a city owned facility water use may exceed its wastewater contribution to the utility system the wastewater volume may be determined through an engineering analysis. City Council shall have final approval over any wastewater billing resulting from the engineering analysis.
(2) Since these services represent a cost of doing business and are accounted for through consumers rates, this requirement shall not apply to facilities of the Utility Division that function in the provision of utility service.
(Ord. 63-89, 10-10-1989; Ord. 80-00, 8-28-2000; Ord. 45-04, 4-26-2004; Ord. 38-10, 4-12-2010) (Ord. 45-04, 4-26-2004) (Ord. 97-86, § 1, 1-26-1987) (Ord. 5-96, 1-22-1996)
