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Chapter 95

CHAPTER 95


SANITARY SEWER SERVICE POLICIES

95.01 Service Characteristics
95.02 Engineering Practice
95.03 Sewer Line Tap
95.04 Costs of Installation; Permit Required
95.05 Construction Materials and Methods

95.01 SERVICE CHARACTERISTICS. The Utility will accept and treat normal sanitary sewer waste per the requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The normal sanitary sewer discharges will be treated as required by law. Large sanitary sewer users or those with special discharges requiring special or additional pretreatment shall be handled on a case-by-case basis by contract with the City and IDNR.

95.02 ENGINEERING PRACTICE. Facilities of the Utility shall be constructed, installed, maintained and operated in accordance with accepted good engineering practice in the sewer industry to assure – as far as reasonably possible – continuity of service and safety of persons and property. The Utility shall require compliance with applicable provisions of the Iowa Plumbing Code for service line construction as the standards of accepted good practice.

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95.03 SEWER LINE TAP. The customer or plumber must make application with the City for a sewer tap prior to the installation of the sewer service. The plumbing contractor will make the sewer connection/tap. All excavation in preparation for the tap and backfill after the tap is completed shall be completed/paid for by the owner.

95.04 COSTS OF INSTALLATION; PERMIT REQUIRED. The owner of a property to be served must assume the responsibility and bear the entire cost of the sewer service line, which runs from the sewer main to the building. All sewer services shall be installed to comply with the Iowa Plumbing Code. The sewer service line shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the property owner. This service line includes the piping, and cleanouts. The Utility will not be responsible for the failure of any pipe or fixtures associated with the property owner’s service line. All owners, at their own expense, must keep their service lines (from the point of connection with the Utility’s main to their premises) in good working condition. Any failure of the service line during normal operation by a Utility employee shall be repaired and paid for by the service line owner. No person shall lay pipe in connection with or to be connected to the City sanitary sewer system without first obtaining a permit from the Public Works Director. There is no permit fee for this connection.

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95.05 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS.

  1. Material. Service pipes from the sewer mains onward shall be a minimum Schedule 40 PVC or other approved pipe by the Utility. The pipe diameter of any service shall be a minimum of four inches. Alternative materials may be used if approved by the City.
  2. Pipe Laying. The laying of pipe shall be commenced at the lowest point, with the spigot ends pointing in the direction of flow. All pipe shall be laid with ends abutting and true to line and grade. They shall be carefully centered, so that when laid they will form a sewer with a uniform invert.
  3. Minimum Pipe Slope. Pipe shall be laid accurately to the line and at a grade not less than one-eighth-inch fall per lineal foot.
  4. Depth of Lines. All service pipes shall be laid at least 42 inches below the surface of the ground.
  5. Abandoned Sewer Service Lines. All sewer services that become obsolete because of the laying of new or larger services must be cut and shut off at the main and reported to the Utility. When a building is to be torn down or moved, eliminating the need for a sewer service, the service must capped on the owner’s property. All expenses and work incurred in cutting and shutting the service off permanently is the responsibility of the owner.
  6. Repair; Replacement. When a repair is necessary on an old service pipe and such repair shall indicate the necessity for the replacement of more than one-half of the service pipe, an entire new service shall be installed to conform with the rules and regulations for new service. If less than one-half requires replacement, the new section shall conform to rules and regulations governing new services.
  7. Sanitary Sewer Connection Required. Every building intended for human habitation, occupancy or use on premises abutting on a street, alley or easement in which there is a public sewer within 500 feet shall have a connection with the public sewer, unless such sewer is otherwise unavailable for use as determined by the City. Notice shall be given to those owners requiring them to make connections as it becomes available. If the connections are not made by the property owners within the time fixed in the notice, the City Council shall proceed with assessment proceeding to cause such connections to be made and the cost thereof shall be assessed as a lien against the benefited property.
  8. Private Sewage Disposal Systems. When public sewer is not available within 500 feet or otherwise unavailable for use as determined by the City, an individual sewage disposal system shall be installed. The individual sewage disposal system shall be found to be adequate and of an approved design as recommended by the Iowa State Department of Health in Appendix B, Iowa State Plumbing Code. A sewer permit shall be required from the City and Sioux County Engineer. If and when such system has failed or once every 10 years, whichever occurs first, the required connection to public sewer shall be reevaluated according to the criteria above.
  9. Damage To Building or Public Sanitary Sewer. No person shall deposit by any means into the building sanitary sewer system any ashes, cinders, rags, inflammable, poisonous or explosive liquids, gases, oils or any other material which would or could obstruct, damage or overload the public sanitary sewer system.
  10. Special Waste Disposal. Wastes detrimental to the public sewer system or detrimental to the functioning of the sewage treatment plant shall be treated and disposed of as found necessary and directly by the Superintendent of Public Works.

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Editor’s Note:

For definitions of terms used in this chapter and in Chapter 96, see Chapter 110.
For Customer Service Policies, see Chapter 111.
For additional General Service Policies, see Chapter 112.
For Sewer Service Rates, see Chapter 113.