Pacifica Municipal Code Art. 4 Use of the Public Sewers

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaininated cooling water, or uncontaminated industrial process water to any sanitary sewer.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13 1976)

Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Director. Industrial cooling water or uncontaminated process water may be discharged on the approval of the Director to a storm sewer or natural outlet.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewer:

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

(b) 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 two (2) mg/l as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer;

(c) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than five and five-tenths (5.5) or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to the structures, equipment, or personnel of the sewage works; and

(d) 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 whole or ground paper, dishes, cups, milk containers, and the like.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into any sewer 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 plant process, or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or otherwise endanger life, limb, or public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of such wastes, the Director will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to the 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:

(a) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Centigrade);

(b) Any water or waste containing fat, wax, grease, or oil, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) degrees and 150 degrees Fahrenheit (0 and 65 degrees Centigrade);

(c) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of ¾ HP (0.76 HP metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Director;

(d) Any waters or wastes containing strong acid, iron picking wastes, or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not;

(e) 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;

(f) 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 compost sewage, to meet the requirements of the State, Federal, or other public agencies of jurisdiction of such discharge to the receiving waters;

(g) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed the limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations;

(h) Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of nine and five-tenths (9.5);

(i) Materials which exert or cause:

(1) Unusual concentrations of suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, Fullers earth, lime slurries, and lime residues and organic materials) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, starch, sugar, sodium chloride, and sodium sulfate);

(2) Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions);

(3) Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works; and

(4) Unusual volumes of flow or concentrations of wastes constituting slugs; and

(j) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed or which are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over the discharge to the receiving waters.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

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 Section 6-10.404 of this article, and which, in the judgment of the Director, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Director may:

(a) Reject the wastes;

(b) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;

(c) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and

(d) Require a payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under any other provision of this chapter.

If the Director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review, inspection, and approval of the Director and to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

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 excess 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 so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Failure by the owner to properly clean and maintain such interceptors shall be considered sufficient cause for the disconnection of the premises from the public sewer or punitive action as provided for in this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

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.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

The owner of any premises serviced by a building sewer carrying over 10,000 gallons per day of industrial waste may be required by the Director to install a suitable device for continuously recording the flow discharged to the City's sewer, together with a suitable control man- hole to facilitate the observation and sampling of the waste. Such manholes and measuring devices, when required, shall be accessible and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Director. They shall be of such design and construction as to prevent infiltration by ground and surface waters or the introduction of slugs of solids to the sewer. The installation of screens with maximum openings of one inch, but of sufficient fineness to prevent the entrance of objectionable slugs of solids to the sewer, may be required. The facilities shall be so maintained by the person discharging industrial waste that any authorized representative or employee of the City may readily and safely measure the volume or obtain samples of the flow at all times. The manhole and the measuring device shall be installed by the applicant, at his expense, for all existing facilities or before discharging wastes for all premises not connected.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter 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 said 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.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)

No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment by the industrial concern of agreed additional charges.

(§ 1, Ord. 181-C.S., eff. September 13, 1976)