Antioch Municipal Code Art. 1 Sewage Disposal

For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

BACKWATER VALVE. Any check valve or other device to prevent the flow of sewage into a building.

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20°C, expressed in parts per million by weight.

BUILDING DRAIN. That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a sanitary sewerage drainage system which receives the discharge from other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer two feet outside the inner face of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER. The extension from the building drain to the public sanitary sewer.

CITY ENGINEER. The City Engineer of the city or his authorized deputy, agent, or representative.

CLERK. The City Clerk of the city.

CONNECTOR. The person who connects any building sewer or house lateral.

DOMESTIC SEWAGE. A combination of liquid or water-carrying human or kitchen wastes conducted away from the residence, business, commercial, or institutional building.

GARBAGE. Solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.

HOUSE LATERAL. That portion of the building sewer within a public street or public easement.

HOUSE SEWER. That portion of the building sewer within private property.

INDUSTRIAL SEWAGE (WASTE). A combination of liquid or water-carried waste resulting from a manufacturing process employed in industrial establishments, including the washing, cleaning, or drain water from such process. This includes wastes from commercial establishments which are not classified as domestic sewage.

INTERCEPTOR. A device designed and installed so as to separate and retain deleterious, hazardous, or undesirable matter from normal wastes and permit normal sewage or liquid wastes to discharge into the disposal terminal by gravity.

INSTALLER. Any person who installs main or trunk sewers within the city limits for connection to the city sewerage system.

MAIN SEWER. Any sewer constructed in a street or public easement to accommodate one or more building sewers or house laterals.

NATURAL OUTLET. Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or ground water.

OCCUPANT. Any person actually occupying any premises, whether as owner or tenant or under contract or otherwise.

OWNER. The person owning the fee title to any premises as shown by the official records of the County Recorder.

PERSON. Any individual, firm, partnership, company, corporation, association, or government agency.

pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal by weight of the hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

PREMISES. Any lot, or any piece or parcel of land comprising two or more lots of record in one ownership, or any building or other structure, or any part of any building or structure, used or useful for human habitation or for gatherings or for carrying on a business or occupation or any commercial or industrial activity.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE. The wastes from the preparation, cooking, and disposing of food which have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, and no particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension.

PUBLIC CORPORATION. The county, any political subdivision, city, county, district, the state, or the United States of America, or any department or agency thereof. The singular in each case shall include the plural.

PUBLIC SANITARY SEWER. A sanitary sewer directly controlled by public authority.

SANITARY SEWAGE. Any and all waste substances, liquids, or solids associated with human habitation, but excluding storm, surface, and ground waters and industrial wastes.

SANITARY SEWER. A sewer which carries sanitary sewage and to which storm, surface, and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

SEPTIC TANK. A watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of a drainage system, or part thereof, designed and constructed so as to retain the solids, digest the organic matter through a period of detention, and allow the liquids to discharge into the soil outside of the tank through a system of open joint piping or a seepage pit.

SEWAGE. A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments.

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT. Any arrangement of devices and structures used for the treatment of domestic and industrial sewage.

SEWERAGE SYSTEM. All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.

SEWER. A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

SEWER SERVICE. The services and facilities for the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage furnished or available to premises by the sewerage system.

STREET. Any public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, way, easement, or right-of-way.

STORM SEWER or STORM DRAIN. A sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage but excludes sanitary sewage and polluted industrial wastes.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS. Solids which either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

TRUNK SEWER. The sewer in the street constructed to accommodate more than one main sewer.

USER. Any owner or renter of any premises connected to a trunk sewer or main sewer for the purpose of disposing of any sewage from the premises.

WATERCOURSE. A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

('66 Code, § 6-4.101) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any insanitary manner upon public or private property or in any lake, river, or creek, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable waste.

('66 Code, § 6-4.102) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

(A) Permits required. It shall be unlawful for any person to make, attempt to make, alter or disturb, or cause to be made any connection with or opening into the public sanitary sewer lines of the city without first securing a written permit from the City Engineer.

(B) Consent of property owners. No such permit shall be issued which would result in an invasion of, or interference with, private property rights without the consent of at least one of the owners of the private property involved or unless the issuance of such permit shall be approved by the Council at a duly held meeting.

(C) Discharge permits; procedure.

(1) Each person discharging anything except domestic sewage into the sewer system on August 9, 1979, shall submit an application for discharge to the office of the City Engineer.

(2) All applicants for permits to discharge anything except domestic sewage to the sewer system shall fill out and file with the City Engineer an industrial waste questionnaire as a prerequisite for the consideration of such a permit. The following is a partial listing of the information to be furnished by the applicant for a permit:

(a) The details of production, number of employees, water consumption and usage, waste disposal facilities, and other pertinent data to enable the City Engineer to properly determine the nature of the waste being discharged;

(b) A plan of the properties showing accurately all sewers, drains, and sewer connections;

(c) A laboratory determination of the characteristics of the sewage, industrial waste, or other waste discharged to the sewer system, when required by the City Engineer. To assist with the development of the industrial waste law and the permit program, such laboratory determination shall be performed at the expense of the applicant;

(d) The installation and maintenance by the discharger, at his own expense, of a suitable control manhole in the portion of the building sewer located on private property to facilitate the observation, sampling, and measurement of the waste. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans and approved by the City Engineer;

(e) The installation and maintenance by the discharger, at his own expense, of grease, oil, and sand interceptors or traps that are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes, containing grease and excessive amounts of any inflammable waste, and other harmful ingredients. All interceptors or traps shall be of an approved type and capacity and shall be so located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection; and

(f) A plan view and schematic flow diagram of the existing and/or proposed industrial waste pretreatment facilities, showing the sizes and design capacities of the various treatment units and including a verbal description of how such facilities operate.

('66 Code, § 6-4.103) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

The City Engineer may deny a permit or direct the discontinuation of sewer service to a user if the City Engineer determines that one or more of the following conditions apply:

(A) The applicant has not fully answered the application for the permit or furnished the information required by this article in connection therewith;

(B) The application for the permit contains false statements or misrepresentations;

(C) The applicant's existing or proposed discharge does not conform to the provisions of this article;

(D) For the violation of any provision of this article or of any directive or regulation issued pursuant thereto; and

(E) The user has discharged or is discharging to the sewerage system any waste that may cause the city to violate the discharge requirements established by the State Regional Water Quality Control Board.

('66 Code, § 6-4.104) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

Prior to the suspension or revocation of a permit and the termination of service and disconnection of sanitary and waste disposal facilities, the City Engineer shall notify, in writing, the owner and tenant, if any, of the property affected and for which the permit was issued. The notice shall advise that the Council will consider the suspension or revocation of the permit, termination of service, or disconnec-tion. The notice shall state the date of the proposed suspension or revocation, termination of service, or proposed disconnection of service and the reason therefor and the time, date, and place the Council shall hold a hearing upon the proposed suspension, revocation, termination, or disconnection. The hearing shall not be less than 10 days subsequent to the giving of notice as required in this section. The notice shall be mailed to the owner at the address shown on the records of the County Assessor or, as known to the City Engineer, and a copy shall be delivered to the tenant or be posted conspicuously on the property affected. The city may, but shall not be required to, give such further or additional notice as, in the discretion of the City Engineer, is convenient or desirable. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the Council shall adopt a resolution determining whether grounds exist for suspension or revocation, for termination, or for the disconnection of service. If such grounds are found to exist, the permit shall forthwith be suspended or revoked (as said resolution shall so determine), and service shall forthwith be terminated and sanitary and waste disposal facilities forthwith disconnected. A copy of the resolution shall be mailed to the owner at the address shown on the records of the County Assessor or as known to the City Engineer, and a copy shall be delivered to the tenant or be posted conspicuously on the property; provided, however, the service of the copy of the resolution shall not be a condition precedent or subsequent to suspension or revocation, termination, or disconnection.

('66 Code, § 6-4.105) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

(A) Upon the suspension or revocation of sewer service, the city shall terminate services and shall disconnect any sanitary or industrial waste connection.

(B) The city may continue sewer service and may continue sanitary and waste disposal connection facilities upon the removal of the grounds for the suspension of sewer service by the discharger and upon such other terms and conditions that shall be authorized by this article and imposed by the City Engineer.

('66 Code, § 6-4.106) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

(A) Any person whose permit has been suspended or revoked under the provisions of this article, or for whom service has been terminated and disconnection effected under the provisions of this article, may petition the Council for the reinstatement of the permit and reinstatement of service. The petition shall be verified under the oath or declaration, under penalty of perjury, of the person petitioning. The petition shall contain a detailed statement of the corrective action taken by the petitioner or others to remove the grounds for suspension or revocation, termination, and disconnec-tion, and of the corrective measures or devices to prevent a repetition of the offense, and of the proposed security against further violation. The petition shall contain the name and address of the petitioner for the purposes of receiving notice. The petition shall be filed with the City Engineer.

(B) The petition shall be heard within 35 days after the date of filing with the City Engineer. Notice of the time, date, and place of the hearing shall be given to the petitioner at least 10 days before the hearing, in writing, mailed to the petitioner at the address shown on the petition; provided, however, the petitioner may waive the notice in writing.

(C) At the hearing the Council shall consider the evidence presented by the petitioner in support of his petition and evidence in opposition.

(D) The Council, in its discretion, may restore the permit, service, and connection if the Council finds by resolution that the grounds for suspension, revocation, termination, or disconnection have been corrected and that there is adequate assurance from the petitioner of corrective measures or devices to prevent a repetition of the offense for which the permit was suspended or revoked and service terminated or disconnected.

(E) The Council, as a condition to the restoration of the permit, service, and connection, may:

(1) Require the petitioner to provide reasonable safeguards and security to avoid a repetition of the offense for which the permit was suspended or revoked and service terminated and disconnected;

(2) Impose reasonable charges in accordance with the schedule adopted by the city to compensate the city for expenses incurred by the city in connection with the suspension, revocation, termination, and disconnection and in connection with the reinstatement of the permit and the restoration of service and reconnection;

(3) Impose reasonable charges in accordance with the schedule adopted by the city to compensate the city for any damage to its facilities or any overload to its facilities which the petitioner should equitably be required to pay or which the petitioner would have been required to pay under the provisions of this article;

(4) Impose such other reasonable conditions or regulations as shall be necessary to protect the public health, safety, and property and to prevent a nuisance; and

(5) Impose such reasonable conditions or regulations as shall be necessary to comply with the requirements of the State Regional Water Quality Control Board, or State Water Resources Control Board, or Contra Costa County Sanitation District No. 7-A, or the city.

('66 Code, § 6-4.107) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any substances, materials, waters, or wastes if such wastes can harm either the sewers or the sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, cause the city to violate the discharge requirements established by the State Regional Water Quality Control Board, or can otherwise endanger the health, safety, or public property or constitute a nuisance.

('66 Code, § 6-4.108) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

Except as provided in this article, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sanitary sewer or storm sewer:

(A) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150°F;

(B) Any waters or wastes containing:

(1) Floatable grease, oil, or fat of animal or vegetable origin in excess of 25 milligrams per liter;

(2) Floatable grease, oil, or fat of mineral origin in excess of 10 milligrams per liter; and

(3) Dispersed grease, oil, or fat in excess of 200 milligrams per liter;

(C) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas;

(D) Any garbage which has not been properly shredded;

(E) Any ashes, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewerage system;

(F) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to the structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewerage works;

(G) (1) Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant. The following is a partial list of toxic substances and their maximum concentration allowable for admission into the public sewer system:

Maximum Allowable Toxic Concentration Substances (mg/liter)

Alcohols 100

Aldehyde 5.0

Aluminum 5.0

Arsenic and arsenicals 1.0

Barium 5.0

Beryllium 5.0

Boron 10.0

Bromine, iodine, and chlorine 50.0

• Cadmium 0.1

• Chromium and chromium salts 0.5

• Copper and copper salts 0.5

• Creosols and creosotes 2.0

• Cyanides and nitriles 0.2

Fluorine 1.5

Formaldehyde 5.0

Iron 5.0

Lead 0.5

Manganese 0.5

Mercury and mercurials (as mercury) 0.01

Methyl ethyl ketone and related substances 5.0

Nickel 5.0

Phenols and their derivatives 0.5

Selenium 2.0

Silver and silver compounds (as silver) 0.05

Toluene 5.0

Xylene 5.0

Zinc compounds (as zinc) 1.0

(2) None of the following substances will be allowed unless specifically approved in writing by the City Engineer: algacides, antibiotics, bacteri-cides, fungicides, insecticides, sulfonamides, and dyes; strong oxidizing agents, such as chromates, dichromates, permanganates, peroxides, and the like; and strong reducing agents, such as nitrates, sulfides, sulfites, thiosulfates, and the like.

(3) The maximum allowable concentration of toxic or potentially toxic materials not listed in this division will be determined by the City Engineer on an individual basis.

(4) In no event shall any individual waste discharged to the public sewers have a 96 hour median tolerance limit (TLm), as determined by the Routine Fish Bioassay Method, of less than 25%.

(H) Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant;

(I) Any noxious or malodorous substances which by themselves or by interaction with other wastes may create a nuisance or hazard or make human entry into the sewers extraordinarily hazardous;

(J) Any garbage or any fruit, vegetable, animal, or other solid material from any food-processing plant or other industrial plant, irrespective of whether or not the same has been first passed through a mechanical grinder, and no person shall install, operate, use, or maintain upon the premises of any food-processing plant, or any other industrial plant, any mechanical garbage or waste grinder that is connected directly or indirectly to the sanitary sewer system of the city, or any part thereof;

(K) Any water or waste having a five day bio-chemical oxygen demand greater than 300 milligrams per liter;

(L) Any water or waste which exerts or causes excessive discoloration;

(M) Any water or waste having greater than 350 milligrams per liter of suspended solids;

(N) Any unusual volume of flow or concentra-tion of wastes constituting a “slug” where “slug” is defined as any discharge of water, sewage, or industrial waste 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 24 hour concentration or flow during normal operation;

(O) Any water or wastes containing dissolved sulfides in excess of 1.0 milligram per liter;

(P) Any water or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the discharge requirements established by the State Water Resources Control Board or the Regional Water Quality Control Board;

(Q) (1) Any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process water;

(2) UNPOLLUTED WATER shall mean any water within the following limits of quality:

pH 7.0 min., 8.5 max.

Dissolved solids 1,000 mg/liter, max.

Biochemical oxygen demand 5 mg/liter, max.

Suspended solids 5 mg/liter, max.

Settleable solids 0.1 mg/liter, per hour, max.

Grease of oil None

Color or odor None

Toxic None

(R) River water which has not been contaminated by industrial or other use.

('66 Code, § 6-4.109) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

When the volume of waste discharge from any single industrial establishment is greater than 10% of the average daily sewage flow to the treatment plant, the City Engineer may impose separate or special concentration limits more stringent than those set forth in this article.

('66 Code, § 6-4.110) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

Any physical connection to a public sewer, or to a private sewer connected to a public sewer, from vessels, tanks, or containers receiving any of the materials and substances mentioned in this article from which quantities of such prohibited materials or substances could accidentally be discharged directly or indirectly into the public sewers shall be prohibited. Precautions shall be taken to prevent the accidental spillage of any of the materials mentioned in this article to floor drains, basins, downspouts, gutters, and the like from any manufacturing process or storage vessel.

('66 Code, § 6-4.111) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

(A) May be required. Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the City Engineer, 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.

(B) Approval and location. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the City Engineer and shall be so located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

(C) Construction. Grease and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be of substantial construc-tion, watertight, and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, shall be gastight and watertight.

(D) Maintenance by owners. Where installed, all grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be maintained by the owner, at his expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.

('66 Code, § 6-4.112) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

(A) May be required. When required by the City Engineer, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying wastes of unusual strength or character shall install and maintain, at no cost to the city, a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate the observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes.

(B) Location, installation, and maintenance by owners. Such manholes, when required, shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the City Engineer. 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.

('66 Code, § 6-4.113) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, wilfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the municipal sewerage system.

('66 Code, § 6-4.114) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

The City Engineer and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing sewage dis-charges and all improvements related the related thereto in accordance with the provisions of this article.

('66 Code, § 6-4.115) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79) Penalty, see §§ 1-2.01 et seq.

All measurements, tests, and analyses of 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 Waste-water, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be performed upon suitable samples taken at the control manholes. In the event no special manhole has been provided, 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 sewerage works and to determine the existence of any potential hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare.

('66 Code, § 6-4.116) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

The city is empowered to adopt reasonable rules and regulations or to impose reasonable conditions, in addition to those specifically authorized by this article, upon any permit issued for the purpose of implementing this article. A copy of the rules and regulations shall be maintained in the office of the City Engineer and shall be available for inspection upon the request of any member of the public. Copies of the rules and regulations shall be reproduced for sale to members of the public at a reasonable charge. Without limitation to the generality of any other provision of this article, a violation of the rules and regulations shall be grounds for the suspension or revocation of a permit.

('66 Code, § 6-4.117) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)

No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any commercial or industrial concern whereby any waste of unusual strength or character may be conditionally accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefor by the discharger.

('66 Code, § 6-4.118) (Ord. 409-C-S, passed 8-9-79)