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0615 Water and Sewage Disposal ORDINANCE NO. 615 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA AMENDING CHAPTER 18, CODE OF ORDINANCES WATER, SEWER AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL BY RESCINDING SAID CHAPTER AND DECLARING SAME NULL AND VOID; ENACTING A REVISED CHAPTER 18 ENTITLED "WATER AND SEWER REGULATIONS" AND DIVIDING SAID CHAPTER INTO ARTICLE I ENTITLED IN GENERAL, WITH SUBSECTIONS 18 -1 THROUGH 18 -29; ARTICLE II ENTITLED WATER SYSTEM, WITH SUBSECTIONS 18 -30 THROUGH 18 -59; ARTICLE III ENTITLED SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL, WITH SUBSECTIONS 18 -60 THROUGH 18 -75, (etc), FURTHER PROVIDING THAT WATER AND SEWER RATES AND FEES BE ENACTED BY RESOLUTION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS THE CITY COUNCIL HAS DETERMINES THAT DUE TO THE GROWTH OF THE CITY AND OUTLAYING AREAS THAT GREAT DEMANDS ARE PLACED ON THE CITY'S WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS, AND SUCH DEMAND WILL INCREASE INTO THE FUTURE; AND WHEREAS THE CITY COUNCIL DETERMINES THAT IN ORDER TO MEET SUCH DEMANDS AND GROWTH, TO SERVICE ADEQUATELY ALL ITS CUSTOMERS AND USERS, THAT THE PRESENT CHAPTER 18 ENTITLED "WATER SEWAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL" IS INADEQUATE TO SATISFY THE NEEDS OF THE CITY AND THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CITY THAT SAID CHAPTER BE RESCINDED AND TOTALLY REVISED TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS, IT IS THEREFORE; RESOLVED AND ENACTED THAT CHAPTER 18 CODE OF ORDINANCES IS RESCINDED AND IN ITS PLACE AND STEAD IS ENACTED A REVISED CHAPTER 18 ENTITLED "WATER AND SEWER REGULATIONS" WHICH SHALL READ AS FOLLOWS: (ORDINANCE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) NOV CHAPTER 18 WATER AND SEWER REGULATIONS ARTICLE I IN GENERAL ARTICLE II WATER SYSTEM ARTICLE III SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL ARTICLE I IN GENERAL 18 -1 INTENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT The City of Okeechobee, through its Public Utilities Department, declares its intention to provide water and or sewer service to the incorporated and the unincorporated areas of the County as requested on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis dependent on service capacity and cost effectiveness. It is a basic policy of the City of Okeechobee Department of Public Utilities, to operate, maintain and repair existing water and sewer systems and for the developers to provide to the City quality systems that will be economical to operate and maintain over the life of the facilities. The customers likewise is responsible for safe guarding the systems, especially as it pertains to the facilities, providing service to each one. The City is to operate and maintain the facilities at the most economical cost to all. The City will provide sound planning and professional development of the City's Utility Department, to serve the residence, businesses and other utilities as neces- sary. The City Utility Department will be required to develop short and long term planning addressing capital projects and equipment needs to be considered in the annual budgets. A long term master plan will be required to be updated at least every five years, during periods of significant development. 1 The City Utility Department, shall prior to August 1, of each year review the ordinance and rate structures and recommend revisions as necessary to professionally and fiscally operate and maintain its water and sewer systems. Any revisions to the ordinances, resolutions or rate structures shall be submitted through the City Administrator to the City Council for its approval. 18 -2 AUTHORISATION BY CITY COUNCIL The City Council authorizes the Department of Public Ut- ilities to perform the normal functions required to pro- perly and prudently conduct routine business matters wi- th governmental agencies, individuals and business ent- ities, including but not limited to such transactions as purchase requests, vehicle and communications requests, execution of work orders in accordance with previously approved contracts and payments therefore, individual water and sewer applications, and such transactions sh- all be carried out in accordance with and in compliance with all ordinances, resolutions or existing policies of the City Council. The City Council reserves unto itself all nonstandard or non routine functions in all matters related to policy decisions. 18 -3 DEFINITIONS Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows: 2 Abnormal strength wastes shall mean wastes containing BOD above three hundred (300) milligrams per liter and /or any waste containing fats, waxes, grease or oil in excess of one hundred (100) milligrams per liter and /or suspended solids above three hundred (300) milligrams per liter. BOD (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade, ex- pressed in milligrams per liter. Building drains shall mean that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from waste and other sanitary drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer beginning ten (10) feet outside the building wall. Building sewer or lateral shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal. Backflow prevention device shall mean a device installed in the potable water line to prevent cross connections or pollution to the citys' water system. C.O.D. (denotes chemical oxygen demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure. Collection system shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage. 3 Direct Discharge shall mean the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the State of Florida. Department shall mean the City of Okeechobee Public Utilities Department. Distribution System shall mean the network of water pipes that distribute drinking water to the customer of the City Public Utilities Department Dwelling Unit: A house, apartment, group of rooms or a single room occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure, and which quarters have either: (i) direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall; or (ii) complete kitchen facilities for the exclusive use of the oc- cupants. Director shall mean the director of public utilities of the City of Okeechobee or his authorized representative. Fire hydrant shall mean a hydrant that is connected to the Citys' water system and capable of furnishing water for fire protection to all properties near the location of the fire hydrant. Fire official shall mean the employee of the City of Okeechobee appointed by the City Council. 4 Force Bain shall mean the pipe connected to the lift station to transfer the wastewater pumped from the lift station toward the wastewater treatment plant. 201 Facilities planning area shall be that area described in the code and according to master plans. Garbage means every waste accumulation of animal or vegetable matter which attends the preparation, use, cooking, processing, handling or storage of meats, fish, fowl, fruits, vegetables or other matter which is subject to decomposition, decay, putrefaction or the generation of noxious or offensive gases or odors, or which, during or after decay may serve as breeding ground or feeding material for flies, insects or animals. Indirect discharge shall mean the discharge or the introduction of non domestic pollutants from any source into the POTW. Industrial wastes shall mean the liquid wastes resulting from the process employed in industrial, trade or business establishments. Lift Station shall mean a device that pumps the was- tewater collected in the system toward the wastewater treatment plant. Master meter shall mean a meter furnishing water to a development or building with more than one unit or pad on the customers side of the meter. 5 Multiple Dwellings: Structures occupied or intended for use as living quarters, containing more than one dwelling unit, not to include hotels, motels or similar living quarters which do not contain dwelling units as defined herein. Natural outlet shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater. Pads: Spaces, hook -ups, or facilities intended for use or used as locations for individual mobile homes or travel trailers which are occupied or intended for use as living quarters. Person shall mean any individual, firm, company, as- sociation, society, group or corporation, or the directors of a dissolved corporation. pH shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of Hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution. Pollutant shall mean any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water. Pollution shall mean the man made or man induced alteration the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water. POTW shall mean publicly owned treatment works, which is owned in this instance by the City. 6 Private sewage disposal system shall mean a watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of a drainage system or part thereof, and is designed and constructed so as to separate solids from the liquid, digest 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 or perforated piping, or disposal pit. Properly shredded garbage as garbage is defined herein shall mean that which has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particles greater than one half inch in any dimension. Public sewer shall mean a common sewer directly con- trolled by public authority. Residences: Structures occupied or intended for use as single family living quarters, containing no more than one dwelling unit. Reclaimed water shall mean treated wastewater used for the purpose of irrigation of approved sites. Sanitary sewage shall mean any combination of water carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments containing animal or vegetable matter or chemicals in suspension or solution, together with such ground water, surface and storm waters as may be unintentionally present. 7 Sanitary sewer shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and to which storm water, surface water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted. Sewer shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage, industrial wastes or storm water. Shall is mandatory, may is permissive. Slug shall mean any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds more than five (5) times the average twenty four hour concentration or flows during normal operation. Storm drain, also termed storm sewer, shall mean a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water. Suspended solids shall mean solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering. Sole proprietor fire protection system shall mean a water service that furnishes water to a fire sprinkler system, hose cabinet, stand pipe or any other device used exclusively for fire protection on private property. Wastewater treatment plant shall mean any arrangements of devices and structures used for treating sewage. 8 Wholesale customer shall mean a customer purchasing water and or wastewater service from the city utility department with an approved contract with the city. Wastewater connection fees shall mean a fee or charge paid to the City Utility Department by a developer /appli- cant for the purpose of obtaining wastewater service capacity. Connection fees will be utilized for the operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection system and to pay for related services to the property. A developer /applicant shall pay to the City a full fee when installed by the City and shall pay 25% of the full fee when installed by the developer /applicant, as found in Rate Resolution. Water shortage plan shall mean the plan adopted by the city to conserve available water resources during a declared water shortage and water shortage emergency. Wastewater system capacity means the rate of wastewater flow on an average daily basis measured in gallons per day, which can be treated and disposed of according to a wastewater facilities design. System capacity fees will be utilized for the acquisition, improvement, expansion and construction of facilities deemed necessary by the department to furnish wastewater capacity to the property and to adequately fund capital equipment and improvements in and for the system. Water connection fees shall mean a fee or charge paid to the City Utility Department by a developer /applicant for the purpose of obtaining water service capacity. Connec- t tion fees will be utilized for the operation and maintenance of the water distribution system and to pay 9 for related services to the property. A developer /applic- ant shall pay to the City a full fee when installed by the City and shall pay 25% of the full fee when installed by the developer /applicant, as found in the Rate Resolu- tion. Water system capacity shall mean the amount of water which can be pumped from the lake, treated, transmitted and distributed on an average daily basis, where such amount is reserved in gallons per day and includes fire flow. System capacity fees will be utilized for the acquisition, improvement, expansion and construction of facilities deemed necessary by the department to furnish water capacity to the property and to adequately fund capital equipment and improvements in and for the system Watercourse shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs either continuously or intermittently. 18 -4 RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT The owner, tenant or other person occupying the premises served by the city utility department and to which ser- vices are provided and billed shall be responsible for the payment of the consolidated bill. If the premises are leased and occupied by one or more tenants, the dep- artment may not refuse services or discontinue utility, water or sewer services for non payment of service char- ges by a former occupant. Further, any such unpaid ser- vice charges incurred by a former tenant will not be the basis for any lien against the rental property or legal action against the present tenant or owner, unless the present tenant or owner benefited directly from the ser- vice provided to the former occupant. These provisions 10 do not apply if the former occupant did not contract for the service with the department, or if the department provided services without knowledge of the former occup- ants name and the period such occupant was provided the services. The department may contract with a landlord /property owner to allow the landlord /property owner to be liable for a tenant's, or future tenant's, payment of monthly bills and service charges. The department shall withdraw and expend the security deposit collected by the department from any occupant or tenant for the provision of utility, water or sewer sys- tems for non payment of services by such occupant or te- nant. In the event a tenant fails to make payment for such se- rvices, the department shall notify the landlord /property owner, if known who may there upon commence eviction proceedings. The department shall discontinue service after non -pay- ment by the tenant or owner. 18 -5 BILLING ESTABLISHED; WHEN DUE AND WHERE PAYABLE The billing for garbage and trash collections service, water and sewer service, and other services provided by the City, shall be billed in a monthly consolidated bill, and the full amount thereof shall be due and payable when billed. All consolidated bills for City services are due upon receipt and shall be paid at the Office of the Public Utilities Department or at such other place as the City 11 may direct by resolution of the City Council. 18 -6 DELINQUENCY PENALTY If any consolidated bill is not paid by the past due date posted on such bill, which is 10 days after bill is mailed, there shall be assessed a penalty against such bill;the amount of penalty is stated in the fee resolu- tion as adopted by the City Council, provided that this penalty may be waived for any residence of a customer who is 65 years of age or older provided proof of age is furnished to public utility department. A final bill will be mailed and a service charge added to each customer who has not paid the bill by the past due date notifying the customer that services will be discontinued if not paid by the cut off date posted on the bill. The service charge is set forth in the Rate Resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -7 DISCONTINUING SERVICES FOR DELINQUENCY If any portion of a consolidated bill for all City ser- vices is not paid by the cut off date posted on such bill, which is 20 days after bill is mailed, all or any of the services provided by such billing shall be discontinued until all fees and penalties are paid in full. There shall be added to each such account a water disconnection or turn off charge as stated in rate resolution, as well as any additional expense incurred in providing notices of delinquent account. 12 There shall be a service charge for each of the follow- ing: A. Water turn on for new customers B. Water turned off when such turn off is done at the request of the customer or C. When the customer closes the account D. for reconnecting water service after such service has been discontinued at the customers request E. For reconnecting water service after such service has been discontinued for delinquency in payment of a bill for City services or F. For failure to pay an increased deposit as required, G.As well as any additional expense incurred in providing notices of delinquent account. This service charge shall be in addition to other charges and penalties established by the City. See rate resolution 18 -8 PENALTY; COSTS. (a) Civil penalties. Any user who is found to have violated an order of the city council or who willfully or negligently failed to comply with any provision of this code, and the orders, rules, regulations hereunder, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each offense. Each day on which a violation shall occur or continue shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. In addition to the penalties provided herein, the city may recover reasonable attorneys' fees, including appeals, court costs, court reporters' fees and other expenses of litigation by appropriate suit at law against the person found to have violated this article or the orders, rules and regulations hereunder. 13 (b) Falsifying information. Any person who knowingly makes any false statements, representation or certifica- tion in any application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained pursuant to this article or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or by both. 18 -9 CHARGE FOR WORTHLESS CHECKS In the event any check received in payment for City ser- vices, or for a required deposit for any City service, shall be returned by the bank or depository upon which it was drawn for reasons of insufficient funds or closed account, a service charge shall be imposed for the hand- ling of each such check and services will be discontinu- ed immediately. Such penalty is set forth in the rate resolution adopted by the City Council. In the event Florida Statutes, Section 832.07, shall be amended to provide for a service charge for worthless checks greater than the service charge established here- by, the service charge mentioned above shall be increa- sed to the amount of the service charge provided in such said Section 832.07, as amended, without requirement of amendment to this section or the rate resolution. 18 -10 CONTRACT BETWEEN CITY AND CUSTOMER All applicable rules and regulations as set forth in the City Code of Ordinances, are hereby made a part of the contract between the City of Okeechobee and every 14 consumer or applicant for water and /or sewer service fr- om the City, and the consumer or applicant shall be presumed to have knowledge of all rules and regulations and bound thereby. 18 -11 APPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES Applications for water and or sewer, must be made to the utility department on appropriate forms furnished for that purpose and same must be signed by the owner of the property. Before applications can be approved for prope- rty located outside the City Limits, the owner of the property must provide a copy of the property deed and complete an annexation agreement. Having received payment and completed an application for service, the City will promptly schedule such service to be activated and in no case shall service be initiated more than five working days after receipt of the applic- ation, provided a permit is not required from the Coun- ty Road Department, Florida Department of Transportation or the Department of Environmental Regulation or any ot- her governmental agency. In the event a permit is requ- ired, the service shall be installed as soon as possible after receipt of the approved permit. The applicant shall be advised and acknowledge that the City upon preliminary approval of an applicant's plan for construction or installation of utility lines and routes, shall not be responsible for such additional re- quirements or alterations as may be mandated by a gover- nmental agency for such construction or installation in a permitting process. 15 18 -12 USE OF CITY SERVICES Utility Service purchased from the City shall be used by the customer only and the customer shall not sell or ot- herwise dispose of such service supplied by the City unless customer has an approved wholesale agreement with the city. In no case shall a customer, except with a written consent of the City, as to size and type in accordance with the master plan, extend his lines across a street, alley, lane, court, property, avenue, or other way, in order to furnish utilities service for adjacent property, even though such adjacent property is owned by him. 18 -13 DISCLAIMER OF CITY LIABILITY The City Utility Department, will at all times use rea- sonable diligence to provide continuous service, and ha- ving used reasonable diligence, shall not be liable to the customer for failure or interruption of continuous water and or sewer service. The City shall not be liable for any act or omissions caused directly or indirectly by strikes, labor troubles, repairs or adjustments, acts of sabotage, enemies of the United States, wars, federal, state, municipal or other governmental interference, acts of God or causes beyond its control. By applying for city services or utilities, the customer grants access and the duly authorized agents of the City, shall have access at all reasonable hours to the premises and lands of the customer for purpose of installing, maintaining, repairing and inspecting or removing the City's property, reading meters and other purposes incident to performance under or termination of the City's agreement with the customer, and in such perfor- 16 mance shall not be liable to the customer or owner for trespass, or other occurrence. 18 -14 CONNECTIONS REQUIRED All buildings and structures inhabited or used and loca- ted in the City or within the area served by the water and or sewer system of the City or where such system is available must be connected with such system by the pro- perty owners or the person in charge or responsible for such property within 30 days from the time such system is available unless exempt by the City Council as a hardship case. Violation shall be punishable as provided in Section 18.23. 18 -15 CHANGE LOCATION OF SERVICE Changes to the customers location of water or sewer service installation will be made when deemed necessary by the utility department, at the City's expense. If requested by the customer or if a customer service installation needs to be moved due to the customers construction, said change will be at customers expense. Any fee or cost for such changes are set forth in the rate resolution adopted by the City Council. 18 -16 GRANTING OF EASEMENTS, PERMITS AND PRIVILEGES By applying for city services or utilities, the customer shall grant access across his property to the City as may be necessary. The customer and or property owner shall grant or cause to be granted to the City and without cost to the City all rights, easements, permits and privileges N which are necessary for the rendering of service includ- ing operation and maintenance and repair of the City 17 facilities. Where easements or rights of way are required, such documents, prepared by the owner or developer, shall be executed by the landowner, with pay- ment to the City of all recording and filing fees by the customer and /or landowner, prior to the commencement of service. 18 17 DAMAGING, TAMPERING WITH PROPERTY It shall be unlawful for any person to damage, destroy, deface, tamper with or interfere with the operation of any pipe, machinery, valve, structure or other property of the City, constituting a part of the City's water and or sewer system or used in conjunction therewith. Viola- tion shall be punishable as provided in Section 18 -23, or by Florida Statutes 806.13 and 812.14. 18 18 UTILITY DEPOSITS PRE REQUISITE TO SERVICE The City through its Department of Public Utilities sh- all collect a deposit from any persons, be it tenants, owners or otherwise, securing water and or sewer service with City's utility system which shall include any ser- vices as well as turnon's of old connections. Such deposits are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. The deposit shall be and will constitute a guarantee to the City that all sums of money due by virtue of the fu- rnishing of any and all City services to the person mak- ing such deposit guarantee are fully paid. Upon the pa- yment of all such sums, the City shall upon the discon- nection of water services, refund and return to the per- son making such deposit the amount of such deposit or the net amount thereof, without interest. loor 18 Applications for securing water and or sewer service sh- ill all include and require information concerning the property such as; owner of property, renter or tenant, verbal or written lease, length of lease. In the event the customer, at the termination of servic- es be it voluntary or involuntary, owe to the City any fees, (water, sewer, garbage) assessments, penalties or repair costs for equipment damaged during the period such customer was being provided service, the deposit being held by the City shall be applied for payment of such items. Any amounts remaining after application of the deposit monies towards these items shall be refunded to the owner, without interest. There is hereby created and established a separate fund to be known as the Public Utilities Deposit Fund, and all deposits made under the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited therein. Provided further that if any depo- sitor entitled to a refund of deposit shall not present his deposit receipt and request such refund within one year from the date such refund is due, then such deposit balance shall be forfeited to the City and shall be paid as required by Florida Laws. 18 19 PROVISIONS UNDER REICH DEPOSIT MAY BE INCREASED Should any residential or commercial users account bec- ome past due and remain past due for 15 or more days th- ree times within any 12 month period, said user shall be required to increase his existing deposit within 30 days to the extent necessary to bring the deposit up to the established minimum required deposit or an average two month utility bill which is to include charges for wate- r, sewer and garbage, whichever is greater. 19 All new residential and commercial accounts shall be re- quired to make a utility deposit with the City before utility service is extended and provided. All deposit requirements are found in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 20 OKEECHOBEE 201 FACILITIES PLANNING AREA The City of Okeechobee, hereby declares the Okeechobee 201 Facilities Planning Area, to conform in all respects with the zone or area requirements set out in Chapter 180.02, sub paragraph 3, Florida Statutes, and the City is authorized to conduct, within this area, any of the purposes contained in Chapter 180.06, sub paragraphs 1 through 9 and for the accomplishment of same is authori- zed to establish reasonable rules and regulations relat- ing to those purposes. Legal description of the 201 Facilities Planning Area is as follows: Being all of sections 27, 28, 33, and 34, township 36 south, range 35 east and all of sections 3 through 30, and sections 32 through 36, township 37 south range 35 east and the west half of section 29, all of sections 30 and 31 and the northwest quarter of section 32, township 37 south range 36 east, and the north half of section 6, township 38 south range 36 east lying north of Lake Oke- echobee and all sections 3, 4 and north half of 5, town- ship 38 south range 35 east lying north of Lake Okeecho- bee. All w 20 Subject to the limitations and exceptions in this code each person owning any building inhabited or used within the 201 facilities planning area, by human beings as a place of residence, business or otherwise that shall be connected with any line of the sanitary sewerage system or, although not connected with any line of the sanitary sewerage system, has had for more than one (1) year a sanitary sewerage line available for the use of such property, shall be considered to be, for the purpose of the enforcement of this chapter, a user of such system and be subject to and pay such fees, rates and charges applicable therefore as set forth in the rate resolution adopted by the City Council. Further, such person or user shall be subject to the penalties as set forth in Section 4-8 2°3 herein, as well as all applicable State or Federal Laws. 18 -21 SEVERABILITY (VALIDITY CLAUSE) If any provision, paragraph, work, section or article of this code is invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions, paragraphs, words and sections shall not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect. 18 -22 CONFLICT All other ordinances and parts of other ordinances inconsistent or conflicting with any part of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency or conflict. 18 -23 THROUGH 18 -29 RESERVED 21 ARTICLE II WATER SYSTEM 18 -30 CONNECTION TO CITY WATER SYSTEM Where the same is available, the owner of every lot or parcel of land within the area served by the City's wa- ter systems, shall have the plumbing of any building or buildings thereon to be connected with the City's water system and use the facilities of such water system. All such connections shall be made in accordance with the rules and regulations which shall be adopted from time to time by the City Council, and upon payment of the connection fees and systems capacity charges and other related fees provided for in the sections of this code. All fees and costs for such connection are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -31 SEPARATE CONNECTIONS REQUIRED FOR EACH UNIT; SEPARATE METERS REQUIRED; EXCEPTIONS FOR MASTER METERS Every residential unit or commercial unit shall be con- nected and metered separately. Where a connection has been made to a single building which contains multiple offices and /or multiple dwellings, the charges shall be imposed, billed and collected on each and every multiple office and /or multiple dwelling as if each had its own separate meter. The individual placing the water depo- sit with the City of Okeechobee, will be responsible for the entire bill even when the bill contains charges for multiple offices and /or multiple dwellings. 22 Master meters may be used to serve governmental agencies such as housing authorities or industrial authorities or wholesale customer with approved contract and when auth- orized by the City Council. Master meters may also be used to serve individual buildings which contain multi- ple offices or dwellings such as office buildings or ap- artments. Master meters may serve mobile home developmen- ts provided the development enters into an agreement with the city and agreement is approved by City Council. Minimum charges for a master meter shall be in accordan- ce with the existing rates listed in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -32 CONNECTIONS BY CITY All connections with the water mains located within the street right of ways or alley, shall be made by the City. All connection fees, system capacity charges, and other related service charges shall be paid in full before such connection shall be made. All water meters shall be furnished and installed by the City and shall be used on service lines except fire services. All meters shall belong to the City and the right is reserved to the City to remove any meter at any time from any premises when it is deemed necessary by giving due notice in writing one hour previous to the removal of such meter. 18 -33 FREE SERVICE PROHIBITED No water shall be furnished free of charge to any person whatsoever, and the City and each and every agency, department or anyone which uses the water works systems shall pay therefore at the rates fixed by this ordinance and resolutions, without exception. 23 18 -34 ALLOWANCE FOR VACANT BUILDING No allowance for monthly service availability charge for water shall be made for vacant houses or vacant commercial units, unless a request in writing to have the water turned off and meter removed during such vacancy is received by the Public Utilities Office, prior to the period for which the allowance is desired. No allowance will be made for any vacancy where the water remains turned off less than a period of 30 days. Upon receipt of written request, the City will turn water service off and remove water meter for a period of up to 365 days. A fee will be charged to remove and replace water meter. The monthly bill for services must be paid if written request is not received by the City to discontinue water and or sewer service. However, this section shall not effect any charge made on the account for the monthly Debt Service, which shall be due and payable, as set forth in the Rate Resolution adopted by the City Council, regardless whether the property is vacant, or the meter removed for the time periods allowed herein. Any property that does not re- connected to the water services and begin paying the monthly water and or sewer service availability charges for such service within the 365 days will forfeit the service and the service will be removed by city forces. After the removal of the service, the full connection fee and systems capacity charges for all services received shall be paid to city along with any other related charges before such services are installed. Any fee or cost for disconnection and re- connections are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. w 24 18 -35 BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICES REQUIRED; ALL CROSS CONNECTIONS PROHIBITED Backflow Prevention Devices, shall be required by the Director and all premises likely to have cross connec- tions as described in American Water Works Association M -14, Backflow Prevention Manual, 1972 edition. This manual sets forth potential cross connection between the consumers water system and certain types of equipment, specialized installations and water uses which afford opportunity for backflow into the public water system. All such facilities and systems as set forth in the manual shall have backflow prevention devices unless it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that no opportunity exist for backflow of water from the consumers system into the public water system of the City. In addition, backflow prevention devices shall be installed at the service connection or within any premises where, in the discretion of the Director the nature and extend of the activities on the premises or the materials used in connection with the activities or materials stored on the premises, would present an immediate and dangerous hazard to health, should a cross connection occur, even though such cross connection does not exist at the time the backflow prevention device is to be installed. The type of protection device to be installed depend on the degree of hazard which exist, or may occur, in the discretion of the Director, and any protective device installed shall be approved by the Director. A double check valve assembly, atmospheric vacuum breaker, pressure vacuum breaker or a reduced pressure backflow 25 preventer will have to meet or exceed any of the follow- 41, ing standards in specialized installation methods: 1. University of Southern California Foundation for Cr- oss Connection Control and Hydraulic Research Spec- ifications of Backflow Preventions Devices, No 69 -2, or the most current issue. 2. American Water Works Association Standard C506 -78 "Revision of C506 -69 An air gap separation or a reduced pressure principal backflow prevention device shall be installed where the water supply may be contaminated with sewage industrial waste of a toxic nature, or other contamination which would cause a health or water system hazard, in the dis- cretion of the Director. In the case of a substance which may be objectionable but not hazardous to health, a double check valve assembly, air gap separation, atmospheric vacuum breaker, pressure vacuum breaker or a reduced pressure principal backflow prevention device shall be installed. Backflow prevention devices shall be installed on the consumers side of the water meter at the location desig- nated by the Director. The device shall be located so as to be readily accessible for maintenance and testing and where no part of the device will be submerged. Backflow prevention devices shall be installed by the City at the consumers expense in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Director. See rate resolution w 26 Backflow prevention devices shall be inspected annually and tested by the Department The device shall be repaired, overhauled or replaced by the Department whenever such devices are found to be defective. Insp- ections, test and records thereof shall be maintained by the Department. Failure of the consumer to permit the installation, ma- intenance, testing or inspection of backflow prevention devices, by the City, all as required in this chapter shall be grounds for termination of the water service to the premises, by the City. In the case of an immediate hazard to the public health, the water service may be terminated without notice to the consumer immediately, although a hearing before the Director shall be im- mediately scheduled, upon the request of the consumer, to determine justness and fairness of the water service termination.In enforcing the provisions of this chapter, the Director may call upon the Chief of the Police De- partment to assist him in enforcing any of the provisions of this chapter. The owner or general agent of a building or premises, where a violation of any provisions of this article has been committed or still exist, or the lessee or tenant of the entire building or leased premises where a viola- tion has been committed or shall exist, or the owner, general agent, lessee or tenant of any part of any bui- lding or premises in which such violation has been com- mitted or shall exist, or the general agent of any per- son who commits, takes part in, or assist in such viola- tion, or maintains any building or premises in which su- ch violations shall exist, shall be guilty of violating this section, which violation shall be punishable as pr- ovided herein. 27 All cross connections, whether or not such cross connec- tions are controlled by automatic devices such as check valves or by hand operated mechanisms such as gate val- ves or other type valves, are hereby prohibited from fu- ture installations and on existing installations. All cross connections shall be removed and replaced with ap- proved backflow prevention devices. The Director or his duly authorized agent in cooperation with the appropriate Health Department Official and local Plumbing Inspectors, will make periodic inspections of premises served by the water supply to check for the presence of cross connections. Any cross connections found during such inspections, shall be ordered removed by the Director or inspector. If an immediate hazard to health is caused by the cross connection, water service to the premises may be discontinued, in the discretion of the Director, until the cross connection has been removed by the consumer. 18 -36 DISCONTINUING WATER SERVICE FOR VIOLATIONS The Director shall discontinue water services to any premises on which a violation of this chapter or any rule or regulation relating to the City's water system has been or is being, committed. Such service shall not be reconnected until the violation has been corrected, and until the consumer has paid a re- connection charge together with all fines and penalties in the amount provided in Section 18 -23. Any fee or cost pertinent to such violation is set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 28 18 -37 EXTENSION OF WATER SYSTEM All extensions of the water system shall be installed with no expense to the City, according to City, County, or State specifications, as the case may be. All water mains that are extended within the municipal boundaries of the City must be of sufficient size to provide for fire protection through the installation of hydrants, if required by the City, which size shall also be determined by considering future growth in the area of extension, or other on -site fire protection services or devices. All requirements for fire flow must comply with the current edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) manuals. All extension into an area outside the municipal boundaries of the City must include water mains of sufficient size to provide for fire protection through the installation of fire hydrants, if required by the City, which size shall also be determined by considering future growth into the area of extension, or other on- site fire protection services or devises. All require- ments for fire flow must comply with the current edition of such fire safety code as adopted by the County. All requests for extensions shall be submitted to the Public Utilities Department, and approved by the Director, and the appropriate Fire Official or Fire Safety Officer. The City reserves the right to dictate pipe diameters and such other route and connection requirements as may be mandated by applicable Federal, State, local code, comprehensive plan, master plan, or to address future growth concerns in the area of the extension. The City also reserves the right to enter into agreements with the developer /applicant to partially reimburse extension Alb. expenses by future connected charges in the area of the extension. Any plan and approval furnished by the City is subject to the customer obtaining all necessary 29 permitting and approval from governmental agencies and 41/ the city shall not be responsible for plans or specific- ations required to be altered by such agencies. Before an extension is approved for construction, the City and Owner or Developer, must sign an agreement and agreement must be approved by City Council. The agreement must outline the type of extension, size and length of extension, location, cost and any other pertinent information required to complete the agreement. Fees for plan review is listed in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -38 CONNECTIONS TO FIRE HYDRANT FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN FIGHTING FIRES All connections to a fire hydrant for any purpose other than fighting fire must be approved by the Director prior to the connection to the fire hydrant. Before any connection is made to a fire hydrant the per- son or company requesting the service through the fire hydrant must pay the appropriate fees and the City will install a temporary meter on the fire hydrant. The ap- plicant shall agree that such temporary service may be discontinued by the City at any time for emergen- cy usage of the fire hydrant without any liability to the City whatsoever for such discontinuance of service. The charges for this temporary water service delivered through a fire hydrant are listed in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 30 18 -39 SOLE PROPRIETOR FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM The City, through its utility department, shall bill mo- nthly for a sole proprietor fire protection system. Th- is service will include service to private sprinkler sys- tems, hose cabinets, stand pipes or any other device used exclusively for fire protection. The monthly charge for a sole proprietor fire protection system will be includ- ed on the monthly consolidated bill and will become part of the consolidated bill as defined in these regulations. The charges for a sole proprietor fire protection system is included in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -40 INSTALLATION OF NEW FIRE HYDRANTS All fire hydrants installed by a owner /developer must meet city specifications and be approved by the City. In addition all fire hydrants installed outside the City Limits must be approved by Resolution of the Okeechobee County Commissions or by Perpetual Contract between County and Developer before installation. All fees required by County must be paid to the County after which County will pay fees to City Utilities Department. Any fee or cost for such hydrants are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -41 RECHECKING A WATER METER READING; VERIFICATION OF USER; TESTING OF METERS There shall be an administrative charge for each reche- cking of a water meter reading. In the event, however, it is determined upon rechecking that the water meter in question is not functioning properly or that a municipal administrative error has resulted in an overcharge then, in that event, the administrative charge required in th- 31 is section shall be waived. The administrative charge is included in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. There shall be administrative charge for verification, on a per meter basis, as to a determination as to which water meter services a particular dwelling unit or com- mercial unit. The administrative charge is included in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. All meters shall be carefully tested before installation and after installation should any customer question the accuracy of the meter through which he is served, the utility department shall, upon his written application submit the application to the City Council. The City Council will determine if a fee is to be charged for the meter test. If a fee is required by the City Council, customer will pay the fee to the Utility Department after which the meter in question will be removed and tested with a copy of the test report furnished to the customer. If the test shows that the meter has been over register- ing more than 1 -1/2% at normal flow limits the deposit shall be returned to the consumer and the bill rendered based on the last reading of such meter, shall be corrected accordingly. If the test shows that the meter is not over registering more than 1 -1/2% at normal flow limits, the deposit shall be retained by the City. All meter flow tests shall follow the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Standard C700 -77 or current revision. The charge for such testing is set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. w 32 18 -42 WATERING PRIVILEGES; RESTRICTED WHEN NECESSARY The privilege of using the water supply for non essential purposes on lawns, streets, gardens, washing of houses and cars and for purposes other than drinking water, may be restricted or curtailed during a water shortage emergency that would effect the City of Okeechobee. It is the desire of the City Council of the City of Okeecho- bee to provide the South Florida Water Management District with all possible assistance in the enforcement of the provisions of the water shortage plan during a water shortage or a water shortage emergency, as describ- ed in Florida Statute Chapter 373. The City Council may adjust water rates during a water shortage emergency. The adjusted rate schedule is set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 -43 WATER SYSTEM ENLARGEMENT AND EXPANSION TRUST FUND The City has established a systems capacity charge for new customers connecting to the City's water system. The purpose of the charge is to establish a fund to re- place the water capacity taken by new customers by exp- ansion and enlargement of the water system, and capital improvements therefore such funds are to be deposited into the improvement and replacement fund and the funds are to be used only for the purpose of improvements and replacements of the equipment, capital items of the wa- ter treatment and distribution system. These funds may be invested as other funds of the City and may be com- mingled in order to obtain the maximum amount of inter- est provided, however, that separate books of account may be established to precisely identify the funds of this account. The interest accruing from the investment of these funds shall accrue to this fund and shall be used 33 for no other purpose than the improvement and replacement of the City water system. 18 -44 THROUGH 18 -59 RESERVED ARTICLE III SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL 18 -60 PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES AND POLICY This article sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the City of Okeechobee and environs and enables the area covered to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the general pretreatment regula- tions (40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 403). The objectives of this article are: (a) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the area wide wastewater system which will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge. (b) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the area wide wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system. (c) To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludge from the system; and (d) To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the area wide wastewater system. 34 This article provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the area wide wastewater system of certain non domestic users and through enforcement of general requirements for the other users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting, assumes that existing customer's will not be pre empted, and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein. This article shall apply to the City of Okeechobee and to persons outside the city who are, users of the area wide POTW Except as otherwise provided herein, the Director of the area wide POTW shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. 18 -61 Use of public sewers required. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property with the 201 facilities planning area, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste. (b) It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City of Okeechobee, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City of Okeechobee, any sewage except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with the provisions of this article. (c) Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage. All private means of sewage disposal shall be removed at the expense of the owner. 35 (d) Flush toilets shall be required within the 201 facilities planning area in all houses, buildings or structures used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes and such flush toilets shall be connected within (90) days, after receiving official notice from the city, to the public sanitary sewer at the owner's expense, subject however to the following exceptions and limitations: If said house, building or structure is not situated on property abutting a street, alley or road right -of -way wherein there is located a public sanitary sewer or if said property is not within one hundred (100) feet of said public sanitary sewer, such connections shall not be required; and further if the connection of said house, building or structure requires unusual and costly plumbing such as a lift station, force main or similar plumbing facilities, then no connection shall be required. (e) All extensions of the sewer system shall be installed at no expense to the City and according to city specific- ations, as listed in the manual of minimum standards for the City and specified in the master plan, all requests for extensions shall be submitted to the public utilities department and approved by the Director. The City retains the right to dictate pipe diameter, depth of pipe, depth of lift stations if required and such other route and connection requirements as may be mandated by applicable Federal, State, local codes, comprehensive plan, master plan or to meet future growth for the City. Any plan and approval furnished by the City is subject to the customer obtaining all necessary permitting and approval from governmental agencies. 36 "Before an extension is approved for construction, the City and Owner or Developer, must sign a written agree- ment outlining all aspects of the construction, including allocation of expenses, and such agreement be presented to, and approved by, the City Council. The agreement must also include and outline the type of extension, cost type of easement or access for maintenance of the extension if necessary, and any other pertinent information required to complete the agreement. Any fees for this plan review and agreement are set forth in the rate resolution adopted by the City Council." 18 -62 Private sewage disposal. (a) Where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of this section, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system comply- ing with the provisions of Okeechobee County Building Department and Health Department and Laws of Florida. (b) Before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system, the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the appropriate building official. The application for such permit shall be made on a form furnished by the Okeechobee County Building Department, which the applicant shall supplement by any plans, specifications and other information as are deemed necessary by the building official. (c) The type, capacities, location and layout of a private disposal system shall comply with all recommenda- tions of the Department of Public Health of the State of Florida. w 37 (d) The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times at no expense to the City or County of Okeechobee. (e) No statement contained in this section shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the health officer of Okeechobee County, Florida. 18 -63 Building sewers and connections. (a) All Connections shall be performed by authorized persons only. No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or openings into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances thereof. All connections to the public sewer shall be performed by the City. (b) All costs and expenses for connections are the responsibility of, and incident to the owner. The owner shall indemnify and hold harmless the City of Okeechobee from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer. (c) Separate sewer required for each building; exception. A separate and independent sewer shall be provided for every building except where one building has multiple offices or dwellings or where there exists a group of buildings or town houses that are grouped in such a way that one separate and independent sewer could more effectively serve the structures, however all fees and monthly charges shall be billed and collected on a per unit basis as if each unit or dwelling had its own separate sewer connection. w 38 (d) Old building sewers. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the building official, to meet all requirements of this chapter. (e) Specifications. The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench within the 201 facilities planning area, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the County of Okeechobee. (f) Elevation of connection; lift systems. Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below any basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer at no cost to the City. (g) Prohibited connections. No person shall make connec- tion of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer. (h) Conformation with building, plumbing codes, other regulations. The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer within the 201 facilities planning area, Nor shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations 39 of the County of Okeechobee. All such connection shall be made gastight and water tight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the building official before installation. (i) Inspections. The applicant for the sewer permit shall notify the building official when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the sanitary sewer. The connection shall be made under the inspection and approval of the building official or his representa- tive. (j) Barricades and lights for excavations; restoration or property. All excavations for building sewer installa- tion shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights at the expense of the customer so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City and County of Okeechobee. 18 -64 Discharges to public sewers regulated. (a) Prohibited discharges to sanitary sewer. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsur- face drainage or unpolluted cooling water to any sanitary sewer and shall be subject to the penalties and costs set forth in Section 18 -23 herein for violation of any subsection hereunder. (b) Discharges to storm drains and natural outlets. Storm water and all unpolluted drainage shall be discharges to storm drains or to a natural outlet approved by the city Public Works Department. Unpolluted industrial cooling 40 water or unpolluted industrial cooling water or unpol- luted industrial process water may be discharged, on approval of the Director of Public Works, to a storm drain or natural outlet. Within the unincorporated area of the 201 facilities planning area the county engineer shall approve such discharges. (c) Prohibited discharges to any public sewer. 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 in interaction with other wastes, to injure or interface 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 0.00 milligrams per liter as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer. (3) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 8.5 and having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewerage works. 41 (4) Solids 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 sewerage 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, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc. (d) Limited discharges to public sewer. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to any public 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 process, or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving waters, 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 treat- ment 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 fifty (150) degrees Fahrenheit (sixty -five (65) degrees centigrade) or a flash point lower than one hundred eighty (180) degrees Fahrenheit (ASTM Open Cup). 42 (2) Any waters or wastes containing fats, wax, grease or oil, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) 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 (0) degrees and sixty five (65) degrees centigrad- e). (3) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three fourths horsepower or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the building official. (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 treatment plant exceeds the limits established by the federal, state or other public agency for such materials. (6) Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other 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 having jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters. 43 (7) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations. (8) 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 (in excess of three hundred (300) parts per million), suspended solids (in excess of three hundred (300) parts per million), COD, 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. (9) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treat- ment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters. (e) Options relative to substances listed in this code. If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters 44 contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in this code which in the judgment of the Director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewerage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise create a hazard to a 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. If the Director permits the pretreatment, the design and installation of the plans 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 and at no cost to the City. (f) Grease, oil, sand interceptors. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Director, they are necessary for the proper handling of sanitary sewage 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 building official and Director and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible, including manholes at entrance and discharge points, for cleaning and inspection. Where preliminary treatment is provided for any wastes, it shall be maintained con- tinuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense. Aft ler 45 (g) Control manholes. The owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall build 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 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. The owner shall install such manhole within thirty (30) days from the date the lateral connection is made to the sewer or, if no manhole was required at the time the building sewer was installed, the owner shall install such manhole. If such manhole is not installed within the time provided, the city shall have the right to enter into a contract for the installation of said manhole at the owner's expense, and the cost of installing said manhole together with the administrative cost to the city necessary to process the installation of said manhole shall be chargeable to the owner, and if not paid within thirty (30) days from the date such installation is completed, the unpaid costs together with the lawful interest thereon shall be a lien upon the property wherein the user is situated. The city shall be entitled to institute foreclosure proceedings for the collection of said unpaid costs and interest thereon, such proceed- ings to be in accordance with law, and the city shall be entitled to collect reasonable attorney's fees from the owner for services rendered by the city's attorneys in the institution and prosecution of such foreclosure proceedings. Liens created under this section shall, upon the request of the user and /or owner of the property af- fected, and upon payment of all installation and ad- ministrative costs and lawful interest thereon, be 46 released by a Release of Lien signed by the administra- tor or the mayor, or Director. of the city. The issuance of such Release of Lien shall constitute prima facie evidence of existence or nonexistence of any such unpaid costs, and shall, in the absence of fraud perpetrated by the party requesting same, be binding upon the city as to the existence and nonexistence of any lien created hereunder. (h) Measurements, tests, analyses. All measurements, test 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, from suitable samples taken at said control manhole. 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 hazards to life, limb and property. The particular analysis involved will determine whether a twenty four hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is ap- propriate or whether a grab sample or other multiple samples should be taken. 18 65 Protection from damage. No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewerage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest for a misdemeanor punishable as provided herein or in Florida Statutes 806.13 or 812.14. 47 18 -66 Powers and authority of inspectors. (a) The Director and other duly authorized employees of the City of Okeechobee, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all proper- ties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The Director or his represen- tatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes, including metallurgical, chemical, oil refining, ceramic, paper or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment. (b) While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in subsection (a) above, the Director or duly authorized employees of the City of Okeechobee shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company. The company or owner shall provide reasonable and safe access to the premises to any employee of the City of Okeechobee, as well as direction and or supervision as to the areas or systems being inspected. (c) The Director and other duly authorized employees of the City of Okeechobee, bearing proper credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City of Okeechobee holds an easement for the purpose of, but not limited to, inspec- tion, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewerage works lying within said easement. All entries and subsequent work, if any, on said easements shall be done in full accor- 48 dance with the terms of the easement pertaining to the private property involved. The Director shall discontinue sewer services to any premises on which a violation of this chapter or any rule or regulation relating to the City's sewer system has been or is being, committed. Such service shall not be reconnected until the violation has been corrected, and until the consumer has paid a re- connection charge together with all fines and penalties in the amount provided herein. Any cost or fee for such violations are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 67 WASTEWATER SYSTEM ENLARGEMENT AND EXPANSION TRUST FUND The City has established a systems capacity charge for new customers connecting to the City's wastewater system. The purpose of the charge is to establish a fund to replace the wastewater capacity taken by new customers by expansion and enlargement of the wastewater system, and capital improvements, therefore such funds are to be deposited into the improvement and replacement fund and the funds are to be used only for the purpose of improve- ments and replacements of the equipment, capital items of the wastewater treatment and collection system. These funds may be invested as other funds of the City and may be commingled in order to obtain the maximum amount of interest provided, however, that separate books of account may be established to precisely identify the funds of this account. The interest accruing from the investment of these funds shall accrue to this fund and shall be used for no other purpose that the improvement IMF and replacement of the City wastewater system. 49 18 -68 MONTHLY SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGE The service availability charges listed in the rate resolution shall apply to all single family, multi- family, master metered and commercial units or pads whether occupied or not. Service availability charges shall be due and payable each month commencing on the issue date of a certificate of occupancy. A service availability charge shall apply to each meter if more than one meter is installed for a single unit. 18 69 ALLOWANCE FOR VACANT BUILDINGS No allowance for monthly service availability charge for sewer shall be made for vacant houses or vacant commer- cial units, unless a request in writing to have the water turned off and meter removed during such vacancy is received by the Public Utilities Office, prior to the period for which the allowance is desired. No allowance will be made for any vacancy where the water remains turned off less than a period of 30 days. Upon receipt of written request, the City will turn water service off and remove water meter for a period of up to 365 days. A fee will be charged to remove and replace water meter. The monthly bill for services must be paid if written request is not received by the City to discontinue water and sewer service. See rate resolution Any property that does not re- connect to the water services and begin paying the monthly water and or sewer service availability charges for such service within the 365 days will forfeit the water and or sewer service and the service will be removed by city forces. After the IMF removal of the service, the full connection fee and systems capacity charges for all services received shall 50 be paid to City along with any other related charges before such services are installed. Any fees and costs pertaining to this section are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 70 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT WATER METER SERVICE In the event a sewer customer, (building or premises) is discharging sewage, water or other liquid wastes into the city's sewer facilities and using water supplied on other than a metered basis from the City water system then in each such case the owner shall be required by the city to cause a water meter or other measuring device to be installed acceptable to the city, and the quantity of water used as measured by such meter shall serve as a basis for determining the sewer charge, and pending installation of such meter, rates and charges shall be based upon an estimated quantity of water used. Such rates and charges are set forth in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 71 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT SEWER SERVICE Rates and charges provided for in this section shall not apply to water billings for such meters as have been determined by the city to have no relationship to the use of the area wide sanitary sewer system. Aft w 51 18 -72 CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE INCORPORATED AREAS Sanitary sewer use rates for the unincorporated areas of the 201 facilities planning area are listed in the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. 18 73 UNAUTHORIZED USE OF SEWER SYSTEM It shall be unlawful for any person to tap, cut or in any way use any line, branch or part of the sanitary sewerage system without obtaining a written permit and paying all fees, rates and charges established by law or the rate resolution as adopted by the City Council. Any person violating this section or assisting or causing such violation shall be subject to penalties and costs as set forth in Section 18.23 herein. 18 -74 RENEWAL OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE SUBJECT TO ADEQUATE POLLUTION CONTROL FACILITIES After any occupational license is issued, a copy of the application shall be forwarded to the public utilities department, and if alteration of occupational activities would create pollution problems, modification of the facilities such as grease traps and other pretreatment facilities may be required. Where facilities require updating or additional equipment to meet pollution standards, such changes shall be made prior to the renewal of any occupational license at no expense to city. NOF 52 18 -75 LEGAL ACTION If any person discharges sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes into the city's wastewater disposal system contrary to the provisions of this article, federal or state pretreatment requirements or any order of the city, the city attorney may commence an action for appropriate legal and /or equitable relief in the circuit court of this county. This Ordinance shall take November 1, 1989. Introduced and passed on first reading this 5th. day of September 19 89 Mayor ATTEST: �r .lam i/ /�14 X14 City Clerk Passed on final reading after public hearing this 19th. day of September 1989. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk 53