Sec. 11-96. - Use of the public sewers.
(a) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
(b) Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the director. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the director, to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or natural outlet.
(c) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
(1) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas.
(2) Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of 0.05 milligrams per liter as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.
(3) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.0, or having nay other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works.
(4) Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works such as, but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc.; either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
(d) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters, or wastes if it appears likely in the opinion of the director that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process, or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the director will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant, and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:
(1) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred twenty (120) degrees Fahrenheit, forty-nine (49) degrees Celsius.
(2) Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred fifty (150) milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) and one hundred fifty (150) degrees Fahrenheit, (zero and sixty-five (65) degrees Celsius).
(3) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-quarter horsepower (0.76 horsepower metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the director.
(4) Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions whether neutralized or not.
(5) Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement; to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the director for such materials. (For industrial process wastes, see subsection (e).)
(6) Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the director as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the state, federal, or other public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
(7) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life concentration as may exceed limits established by the director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(8) Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 8.5 or below 5.0.
(9) Materials which exert or cause:
a. Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, Fuller's earth, lime slurries, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).
b. Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
c. Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.
d. Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs as defined herein.
(10) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amendable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving water.
(11) Any waste prohibited by Environmental Protection Agency standards, 40 Code of Federal Regulations 128.
(e) All industrial and commercial process waste shall be pretreated prior to discharge to the public sewers, if necessary, in accordance with the provisions of the United States Environmental Agency, the Bureau of Pollution Control, and/or the city, whichever is more stringent. The minimum pretreatment requirements are as follows:
Parameter | Maximum concentration (mg/l)
BOD 5 | 400.0*
Suspended solids (SS) | 400.0*
TKN | 30.0*
Arsenic | 0.05
Barium | 5.0
Baron | 1.0
Cadmium | 0.02
Chromium | 0.05
Copper | 0.02
Cyanide | 0.05
Lead | 0.10
Manganese | 0.50
Mercury | 0.002
Nickel | 0.08
Selenium | 0.02
Silver | 0.01
Zinc | 0.05
*BOD 5 , SS and TKN may be increased by written approval of the director for limited periods of time.
As a condition for authorization to dispose of industrial wastes through the municipal system, the industrial applicant for a sewer permit shall provide the city with information describing wastewater constituents and characteristics, and the type of activity and quantity of production.
(f) If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in subsections (d) and (e), and which in the judgement of the director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise created a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the director may:
(1) Reject the wastes;
(2) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(3) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(4) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of subsection (j).
If the director permits the pretreatment of equalization of wastes flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the director, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
(g) Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes, containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the director, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(h) Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.
(i) When required by the director, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the director. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(j) All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this article shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at the control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. (Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from twenty-four-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH's are determined with periodic grab samples).
(k) No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any industrial concern from entering a special agreement with the city whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the industrial concern.
(l) No persons shall discharge waste from a vacuum truck or other similar container, either directly or indirectly, to any part of the sewage collection system; and any person found to be violating or to have been in violation, either directly or indirectly, of discharging into the city sewer collection system hereof, relating to the discharge of waste from a vacuum truck or similar container into any part of the sewage collection system shall be subject to arrest for the violation of this subsection. On notice of any such violation, the offender shall immediately and permanently cease all violations of this subsection. Any person who shall be found guilty of such violation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Additionally, any violation after the first offense may result in termination of the septage disposal permit. Any person violating any provisions of this article shall become liable to the city for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the city by reason of any such violation. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the city nor the Harrison County Wastewater District from obtaining injunctive relief, in addition to any other penalties or other provisions hereof, to prevent any violation of this subsection or protect property of the district or any member thereof.
(Code 1963, § 29-84; Ord. No. 1827, § 1, 1-3-89; Ord. No. 2030, § 1, 10-3-95; Ord. No. 2180, § 14, 6-8-99)
