Reedley Municipal Code Ch. 4 Sewer Charges

For the purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as hereinafter set out unless it shall be apparent from the context that they have a different meaning:

BUILDING DRAIN: That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (5') outside the interface of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER: The extension from the building drain to the main sewer or other place of disposal.

CHARGE: The rental or other charges established by this title for service and facilities furnished by the city to any premises in connection with the operation of its sewerage facilities.

CITY: The city of Reedley.

CONSTRUCTION: As it relates to public sewerage facilities, shall mean the preliminary and design engineering, construction and construction engineering for wastewater treatment facilities or main sewers.

DWELLING UNIT: A suite of one or more rooms which is designated for occupancy by a family doing its own cooking, but not including hotels, motels or auto courts.

FAMILY: One or more persons living together.

MAIN SEWER: All sewer and appurtenances thereto in the city located and constructed in and along the streets, alleys, easements and public rights of way exclusive of any portion of the building sewer within said public right of way or easement. For purposes of this title, main sewer may also be referred to as public sewer.

PERMIT FOR DEVELOPMENT, REDEVELOPMENT OR CONSTRUCTION: The issuance of a building permit, approval of a planned unit development, conditional use permit or approval of a parcel map or final map.

PERSON: Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, business, association, institution or public agency. The singular shall include the plural.

PREMISES: Means and includes each and every unit of real property or portion thereof, both inside and outside the corporate limits of the city, which is directly or indirectly connected to any portion of the sanitary sewer facilities of the city or which is within the sewer service area of the city. (Ord. 659, 4-6-1982)

All premises connected to the city sewerage facilities and receiving sewerage services shall pay a sewer service charge. The city council may establish sewer service charge rates by ordinance, resolution or minute order.

Charges for sewerage services and sewerage facilities furnished to premises situated outside the corporate limits of the city shall be negotiated between the applicant for such service and the city and except as to existing contracts, the charges so arrived at shall be the same as those levied on properties within the corporate limits of the city for the same or similar uses and discharging wastewaters of similar strengths or constituent loadings. In addition to such charges, any costs for treatment of waste of special toxic characteristics or which may be liable to cause plant upset or require additional treatment or which creates hydraulic loads resulting in additional costs of operation and maintenance over and above that normally incurred for the wastewater treatment plant or collection facilities or any costs for conveyance of sewage from said premises which results in additional costs of operation and maintenance to the city allocatable to said premises, shall be charged to said premises.

Charges shall include costs of treatment and conveyance including replacement costs, bond or load repayment costs and operation and maintenance costs. (Ord. 659, 4-6-1982)

All charges for said sewer service shall be paid by and shall be the obligation of the person who is responsible for the payment of water charges and shall be paid at the same time as water charges are paid and may be billed on the same bill sent to water consumers. (Ord. 659, 4-6-1982)

The charges made by this chapter, if not paid by the sixth day of the month, shall become delinquent.

In the event that the charges made by this chapter become delinquent, water service may be discontinued by the city and such water service shall not be resumed until all delinquent charges, together with any service charges necessitated by resumption of water service, have been fully paid. (Ord. 659, 4-6-1982; amd. 2007 Code; Ord. 2019-009, 12-10-2019)

All monies received pursuant to any provision of this chapter shall be deposited by the city clerk in a fund known as the sewer fund, and shall be used solely for the replacement, maintenance and operation of the city sewerage facilities and to repay principal and interest on bonds issued or which may hereafter be issued for such purpose. (Ord. 659, 4-6-1982)