Colusa Municipal Code Ch. 15 Sewers and Sewage Disposal

Footnotes:

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As to Plumbing Code, see § 6-12 of this Code. As to water, see ch. 20.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Premises. A lot, parcel of land, building or establishment.

Sewage. A combination of liquid and water carried human waste conducted away from premises, which is known as domestic sewage, together with the liquid or water-carried waste resulting from a manufacturing process employed in industrial establishments; including the washing, cleaning or drain water from such process, which is known as industrial waste.

(Ord. No. 133, § 1.)

(a) Connect to Public Facilities. The owner of all houses, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the city and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of the city, is required at the owner's expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter within ninety days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within one hundred feet of the property line.

(b) Fees for providing for sewer services shall be collected by placing such charges on the same statement with water bills whenever it is possible to do so and shall be payable at the same time and in the same manner as such bills. Whenever it is not possible to add fees for providing for sewer services, bills shall be rendered for such fees and payment thereof shall be made monthly to the city.

(Ord. No. 133, § 2; Ord. No. 239, § 1; Ord. No. 272, § 1; Ord. No. 395, § 2; Ord. No. 436, § 4.)

(a) The sewer service or connection charges imposed pursuant to these regulations constitute a lien upon the parcel of real property to which such service was rendered.

(b) Lien Recorded—Procedure.

(1) Notwithstanding any provision in this Code to the contrary, any sewer service charges which have become delinquent shall cause the owner of such property to be subject to a lien on the property pursuant to the procedure provided in this section. Any such lien shall be recorded with the county recorder.

(2) Prior to the recordation of a lien for delinquent charges, the public works director shall cause the notice of an opportunity for hearing on the delinquent charges to be mailed to the owner. For purposes of this section, the term "owner" shall have the meaning given it in these regulations. If the owner desires a hearing thereon, he shall request such a hearing by notifying the city clerk thereof in writing within ten days after the date shown on the notice. Any such hearing shall be set not earlier than ten days after receipt of the owner's request. The hearing shall be held before the city council. The decision of the city council shall be final and conclusive.

(3) At the expiration of the time within which to request a hearing, or upon a decision adverse to the owner after hearing, the city council shall cause such lien to be recorded with the county recorder in the form and manner prescribed by law. Thereafter, such lien shall not be released by the director of finance unless and until it is fully and completely paid or an acceptable arrangement with the city has been agreed to by the city.

(4) The director of finance is authorized to determine the administrative cost of the delinquency, including costs associated with processing the delinquent account, which will be subject to an individual lien pursuant to the recording procedures of this section. Delinquent charges will be collected as a special assessment. Not less often than once a year, the public works director may initiate proceedings to make delinquent sewer service/connection charges a special assessment against the parcels of property to which such service was rendered.

(5) The public works director shall transmit through the city manager to council, a report of delinquent charges.

(6) Hearing. Upon receipt of the report, the city manager shall fix a time, date and place for the city council to hear the report, and any protests or objections thereto. At the time fixed for consideration of the report, the council shall hear it with any objections of the property owners liable to be assessed for delinquent accounts. The council may make such revisions, corrections, or modifications of the report as it may deem just; and in the event the council is satisfied with the correctness of the report (as submitted or as revised, corrected or modified), it shall be confirmed or rejected by resolution. The decision of the city council on the report and on all protests or objections thereto shall be final and conclusive.

(7) Method of Collection; Applicability of Other Liens, Laws, etc.

(A) Upon confirmation of the report by the council, the delinquent charges contained therein shall constitute a special assessment against the property at which the services were rendered. Thereafter, such assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary property taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and same procedure of sale as provided for delinquent ordinary property taxes.

(B) The assessments shall be subordinate to all existing special assessment liens previously imposed upon the property, and paramount to all other liens except those for state, county and municipal taxes with which it shall be upon parity. The lien shall continue until the assessment and all interest and penalties due and payable thereon are paid. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of property taxes shall be applicable to the special assessments.

(8) Report Transmitted to Auditor. A certified copy of the confirmed report shall be filed annually with the county auditor on or before August 15th. The descriptions of the parcels subject to the special assessment shall be those used for the same parcels on the county assessor's map books for the current years.

(Ord. No. 436, § 6.)

(a) The property owner, as determined by the real property tax roll of the Colusa County assessor, is liable for payment of sewer use and connection charges, where connections currently exist or where new connections are made, for services by connection with the city system of sewerage whereby sewerage, industrial waste, or both are disposed of by the city, either through the city sewerage treatment and disposal works, or otherwise. The charges shall be in such amount and manner as shall be established and fixed from time to time by resolution of the city council and shall be for services furnished to the property by the city.

(b) The liability of the property owner for these charges exists even if the user of the sewer service is not the owner of the property. An occupant other than the owner may pay the charges on the behalf of the owner. All new service accounts shall be in the property owner's name.

(c) It is the responsibility of the owner of the real property to provide the city finance director with the current billing address and to notify the city finance director of any changes of address.

(d) The fees for the sewer and connection charges established by this article shall be payable to the city.

(e) It shall be the duty of the finance department to the city to collect all charges provided for in this chapter.

(Ord. No. 133, §§ 3, 4; Ord. No. 239, § 2; Ord. No. 436, § 5.)

(Ord. No. 494, § 1, 11-5-2013)

In the event that any person shall fail to pay any charge provided under this chapter when the same becomes due, the city may, in addition to any other remedies it has by law or ordinance, cut off any of such sewer services and facilities and shall not resume the same until all delinquent charges together with any charges necessitated by resumption of such services have been fully paid.

(Ord. No. 133, § 5.)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system of the city any of the following materials, wastes or waters:

(a) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

(b) Any waters or waste which contain grease, oil, or other hydrocarbon substances which will become discernibly viscous or objectionable at temperatures between thirty-two degrees and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

(c) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, mineral oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

(d) Any household garbage that has not been properly comminuted or triturated. All ground garbage shall be capable of passing through a one-half inch mesh screen before being introduced in the sewer system.

(e) All ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tars, plastics, wood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, lime slurry, lime residues, chemical residues, paint residues, unscreened cannery waste, bulk solids, or any other solid or viscous substance capable of causing an obstruction to flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewer system.

(f) Any waters or waste, acid or alkaline in reaction, having corrosive properties capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, or personnel. Free acids and alkalies shall be neutralized at all times to within a permissible pH range of 5.5 to 9.0.

(g) Any waters of nonsewage or nonindustrial waste origin, such as waters from water well developments and storm water, except by special permit issued by the city sewer superintendent.

(h) Chemicals or enzymes of any kind designed to break down greases and scums in grease traps.

(i) Any other substances deemed harmful to the collection system or sewage treatment system.

(Ord. No. 251, § 1; Ord. No. 354, §§ 1, 2.)

All cooling water discharged into the city sanitary sewer system shall meet the specifications contained in section 15-7.

(Ord. No. 251, § 2.)

(a) No cooling nor condensate waste water from any type of cooling unit, air conditioning unit such as a refrigeration unit, evaporative cooler or other type wherefrom waste water totals ten gallons or more of water per hour shall be connected to the sewer system of the city. No such unit using less than ten gallons of water per hour shall be connected to the sewer system of the city without first obtaining a permit therefor from the superintendent of the water department. Application for such permit shall be made in writing to the superintendent of the water department and shall contain such information pertaining to such unit as he shall require. No fee shall be charged for such a permit.

(b) The water charges for use of water by any air conditioning unit using unmetered water are fixed and established as follows:

.025 cents per ton of rated cooling unit capacity per day, plus thirty-three and one-third percent of the total water charge for connection to and discharge of waste water through the sewerage system of the city.

Such charges are payable monthly throughout the year and do not depend on whether the unit is in operation or not and shall be in addition to any other water charges provided by this Code or any other ordinances of the city.

(c) All revenue derived from the water service set forth in subsection (b) of this section shall be used only for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of the sewer system and sanitation and sewerage facilities of the city, as provided in section 5471 of the Health and Safety Code of the state.

(Ord. No. 182, §§ 1, 2, 3.)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 493, § 1, adopted Nov. 5, 2013, repealed § 15-9 which pertained to grease, oil and sand interceptors and derived from § 4 of Ord. No. 251.

When required by the sewer superintendent, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial waste shall install a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the waste. Such manhole shall be easily accessible and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the sewer superintendent. The manhole shall be installed and maintained at the owner's expense, and shall be safe and accessible at all times.

(Ord. No. 251, § 5.)

The sewer superintendent and other duly authorized representatives of the city, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. All connections made to a city sewer main shall be subject to approval by the sewer superintendent, who shall be given at least twenty-four hours notice to inspect such connection. The excavation where such connection is made shall not be filled in until inspected by the sewer superintendent.

(Ord. No. 251, § 6.)