SEWERS
Art. I. Definitions
Art. II. Building sewers and connections
Art. III. Use of public sewers
Art IV. Protection from damage
Art. V. Powers and authority of inspectors
Art. VI. Penalties
Art. VII. Sewer user charges
Art. VIII. Validity
Art. IX. Sewers and drains
Art. X. Mandating Sewer Connections
Art. XI Pumping Station Acceptance Maintenance Fee
CHAPTER 14 - SEWERS
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows:
"The Act" shall mean the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) as amended by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500) and Public Law 93-243.
"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 20 C, expressed in milligrams per liter.
"Building Drain" shall mean 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 (5) feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
"Building Sewer" shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
"Combined Sewer" shall mean a sewer receiving both wastewater and surface runoff.
"District" shall mean the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District.
"Director" shall mean the Director of Public Works of Methuen.
"Domestic Wastewater" shall mean the wastewater derived principally from dwellings, business buildings, institutions and the like. It may or may not contain ground- water, surface water, or storm runoff.
"EPA" shall mean the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States Government.
"Excessive" shall mean amounts or concentrations of a constituent of wastewater which in the judgment of the Director; (a) will cause damage to any City facility; (b) will be harmful to a wastewater treatment process; (c) cannot be removed in the District treatment works to the degree required to meet the limiting standards of the EPA and/or State effluent standards; (d) can otherwise endanger life, limb or public property; and, (e) can constitute a nuisance.
"Facilities" shall include structures and conduits for the purpose of collecting, treating, neutralizing, stabilizing, or disposal of domestic wastewater and/or industrial or other wastewaters as are disposed of by means of such structures and conduits including treatment and disposal works, necessary intercepting, outfall, and outlet sewers, equipment, furnishings thereof and other appurtenances connected therewith.
"Garbage" shall mean the animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and serving of food. It is composed largely of putrescible organic matter and its natural moisture content.
"Incompatible Pollutant" shall mean any pollutant, other than biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, coliform bacteria, or additional pollutants identified in the permit, which the treatment works was not designed to treat and does not remove to a substantial degree.
"Industrial Wastewater" shall mean the waste- water in which the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, laboratory, trade or business predominates as distinct from domestic wastewater.
"Industry" shall mean an establishment with facilities for mechanical, testing, trade, or manufacturing purposes.
"Person" shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, group, or municipality.
"pH" shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter (gm/1) of solution.
"Properly Shredded Garbage" shall mean garbage that 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 particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
"Public Sewer" shall mean a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled by public authority.
"Receiving Waters" shall mean any watercourse, river, pond, ditch, lake, aquifer, or other body of surface or groundwater receiving discharge of wastewater.
"Sanitary Sewer" shall mean a sewer which carries wastewater, and to which storm, surface and ground-waters are not intentionally admitted.
"Sewer" shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying wastewater.
"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
"Slug" shall mean any discharge of water, wastewater, or industrial waste which is concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes, more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration, or flow, during normal operation.
"Storm Drain" shall mean a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes waste-water 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, wastewater, or other liquids, and which are
removable by laboratory filtering, and are referred to as non-filterable residue
in the laboratory test prescribed in "Standard Methods for the Examination
of Water and Wastewater".
"State" shall mean the Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control.
"Wastes" shall mean substances in liquid, solid or gaseous form that can be carried in water.
"Wastewater" shall mean the spent water of a community and may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present.
"Wastewater Treatment Works" shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating wastewater.
"Wastewater Works" shall mean all structures, equipment, and processes for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of wastewater.
"Watercourse" shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
Article II. Building Sewers and Connections
A. No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Director. Any person proposing a new discharge into the system or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into the system shall notify the Director at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed change or connection.
B. The owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the City. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Director. A permit and inspection fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for a Sewer Permit shall be paid to the City at the time the application is filed. Approval of commercial and industrial permits must be obtained from the District or after review and recommendation by the District before a permit can be issued.
(Amended by Ord. #289, effective July 13th, 1989)
B.1. In addition to the information required to be submitted in Article II, Section B, to the Director, in the instance where there is a conversion from a private sub-service disposal system proposed to be made for a connection into a sewer system, the Director shall insure that the Plumbing Inspector has made a pre-sewer entry inspection and has approved the same. Said Plumbing Inspector, in issuing the inspection approval, shall insure that the plumbing system of the building proposed to be connected has an adequate drain waste vent system so as to insure proper trapping and ventilation.
(Ord. #539, Eff. May 18th, 1995)
C. All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
D. A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building.
E. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Director, to meet all requirements of this ordinance. Any costs involved in examinations and tests shall be paid by the person making the application for a permit.
F. 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, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the A.S.T.M. And W.P.C.F. Manual of Practice No. 9, shall apply.
G. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, wastewater carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
H. No person shall make connection 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 sewer.
I. The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City, or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the A.S.T.M. and W.P.C.F. Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Director before installation.
J. The applicant for the Building Sewer Permit shall notify the Director when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The sewer connection shall be made under the supervision of the Director or his representative.
K. All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City.
Article III. Use of Public Sewers
A. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
B. Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Director. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Director, to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or natural outlet.
C. 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 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.
(3) Any water or wastes having a pH lower than (5.5), or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works.
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, ash, ashes, cinders, sand,
mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground
garbage, whole blood, paun manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes,
cups, milk containers, etc. either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
E. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, water, 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 stream, 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 treatment process, capa 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) F, sixty-five (65) C.
(2) Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one-hundred (100) mg/1 or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) and one-hundred fifty (150) F (0 and 65 C).
(3) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the District.
(4) Any water 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 sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the District for such materials.
(6) Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste or odor producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established be the District as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage to meet the requirements of the State, Federal, or other public agencies or jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.
(7) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the District in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.
(8) Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.
(9) Materials which exert or cause:
(a) Unusual concentration of inert suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, Fullers 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, chemical oxygen demand 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.
(10) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment process employed, or are amenable to treatment 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.
F. Industries who desire to discharge industrial wastewaters into City facilities or facilities appurtenant thereto, shall make their requests in writing to the District.
G. Limiting acceptable amounts and concentrations of the constituents of wastewater to be discharged to City facilities are such as to meet the District Rules and Regulations adopted June 1971, and as amended.
H. If any wastewater liquid from septic tanks, 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 D. of this Article, and which in the judgment of the District, 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 District 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/or,
(d) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of Section J. of this Article.
If the District permits the pretreatment of equalization of waste flows, the
design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the
review and approval of the District, and subject to the requirements of all
applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
I. Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion
of the District, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes
containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other
harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for
private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type
and capacity approved by the Director and shall be located as to be readily
and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
J. 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.
K. When required by the District, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install 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, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the District. 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.
L. All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this ordinance 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. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four (24) hour composite of all outfalls of a premise is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH's are determined from periodic grab samples.)
(1) All industries discharging into a public sewer shall perform such monitoring of their discharges as the Director or District and/or other duly authorized employees of the City may reasonably require, including installation, use, and maintenance of monitoring equipment, keeping records and reporting the results of such monitoring to the Director or District. Such records shall be made available upon request by the Director or District to other agencies having jurisdiction over discharges to the receiving waters.
M. 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, therefor, by the industrial concern.
N. Future connections to facilities constructed by the City shall be designed by criteria established by the Director and constructed by the person desiring the additional connection after review and approval of the plans and specifications by the Director.
Article IV. Protection from Damage
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is part of the wastewater works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
Article V. Powers and Authority of Inspectors
A. The Director and other duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.
The Director, or his representative, 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 wastes treatment.
B. While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in
Article V, Section A., above, the Director or duly authorized employees of the
City shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by
the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the
City employees, except such as may be caused by negligence or failure of the
company to maintain safe conditions as required in Article III,
Section I.
C. The Director and other duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper
credentials and identification, shall be permitted to enter all private properties
through which the City holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of,
but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair and
maintenance of any portion of the wastewater works lying within said easement.
All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement, shall
be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining
to the private property involved.
A. Any person found to be violating any provisions of this ordinance shall be served by the City with written notice, stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, cease all violations.
B. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Article VI, Section A, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the amount not exceeding Twenty Dollars ($20.00) for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
C. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the City by reason of such violation.
Article VII. Sewer User Charges
A. Sewer Fees and Charges; Public Hearings; Council Action
The City Council of the City of Methuen may establish such fees, charges and costs for the operation of the sewer system provided that no such fee, charge or cost may be implemented until a public hearing shall be held by it. Said hearing shall be held within forty-five (45) days of the submission to the City Council of a resolution to establish such fee, charge or cost. Said public hearing shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in said City at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing. The City Council shall take action on such proposed fee, charge or cost within thirty (30) days after said hearing. Provided that no such increase shall take effect excepting as may be approved by a two-thirds vote of the full City Council.
B. No adjustments are to be granted for water used which is not eventually disposed of in a sanitary sewer, unless the customer:
(a) In the case of maintenance of lawns and the like, at his own expense, installs a water meter to measure such usage; or
(b) In the case of swimming pools, such adjustment may be made for filling the pool on the basis of either (1) reading the existing water meter by City personnel before and after filling, or (2) by determining the capacity of the pool by City personnel. The Director of Public Works is empowered to utilize either of the above methods in determining the amount to be adjusted.
C. That, for the purposes of abatement, the Director of Public Works shall be determined to be the officer having control of the Sewer Department (Division) within the meaning of Chapter 83, Section 16E of the General Laws.
A. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
B. The invalidity of any section, clause, sentence or provision of this ordinance shall not affect the validity of any other part of this ordinance which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts.
Any drain or sewer laid in any land or way, public or private, which is opened or proposed to be opened for public travel and accommodation shall be a main drain or common sewer.
(1973 Ord., as amended by Ord. #46, March, 1976, as further amended by Ord. #50, Oct., 1976, as further amended by Ord. #56, Aug., 1977; as further amended by Ord., #96, Sept. 1981; and as further amended by Ord. #289, June, 1988; and as further amended by Initiative Petition (an Ordinance Abolishing the Sewer and Water Commission, Abolishing the Sewer and Water Enterprise Fund, and Establishing a Procedure for Rates and Charges for Sewer and Water) approved by the voters November, 1991; and as further amended by Ord. #443, June, 1992).
Article X. Mandating Sewer Connections
A. All new construction of residential and commercial buildings upon land abutting a public or private way in which there is a common sewer shall connect the same therewith by a sufficient drain. This requirement shall apply to all lots on a subdivision where such subdivision abuts a public or private way in which there is a common sewer.
B. The owner or occupant of any building upon land abutting a public or private way in which there is a common sewer and whose septic system has failed shall connect the same therewith by a sufficient drain within three months of said failure.
C. A variance from the requirements of Sections A. and B. herein may be granted by the Board of Health on the following conditions: that said land, by reason of its grade or level or any other cause, cannot be drained into such sewer, until such incapacity is removed, and, further, provided that the present septic system will be repaired or replaced which meets the requirements of the Board of Health; said variance to be only for so long as said system continues to meet those requirements as they may be amended or revised.
(Ord. #575, Eff. July 31st, 1996)
Article XI. Pumping Station Maintenance Fee
A. It shall be the policy of the City of Methuen not to accept pumping stations which have been established as part of the subdivision process excepting in the instance where the individual seeking the municipal acceptance of the same shall, simultaneously with the request, submit to the City of Methuen the sum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) to represent the maintenance fee for the pumping station. Said monies shall be held in a separate account and utilized under authority of the Mayor and Department of Public Works Director for the maintenance of such pumping station.
B. The Community Development Department is directed to notify all parties during the permitting process who may utilize a pumping station that said pumping station will not be accepted unless said fee is paid.
(Ord. #739, Eff. June 20, 2002)