§ 12.12.050. Building sewers and connections.

(a)

No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the public works director.

(b)

There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: (1) residential and nonresidential domestic service, and (2) service to nondomestic dischargers producing industrial wastewater. In either case, the owner or his/her 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 public works director. Permit and inspection fees shall be paid as required by applicable provisions of this code.

(c)

All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify and hold harmless the city from any loss or damage that may directly, or indirectly, be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer. The owner shall utilize only those construction contractors, which are adequately licensed and bonded in accordance with the city's requirements at the time of connection to the sewer.

(d)

A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building, and only on each buildings' separate and independent lot, except under the following circumstances:

(1)

Where one building stands in the rear of another building on an interior lot and no private or public sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining court, yard, or driveway the building drain from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer; or

(2)

Where other circumstances, established to the satisfaction of the public works director, indicate the need for a single sewer connection between separate and independent lots and there is a legally valid easement over the subservient lot.

The city does not and will not assume any obligation or responsibility for damage caused by or resulting from any single or multiple connection.

(e)

Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the public works director, to be in good repair, sized for the number of fixtures per the plumbing code most recently adopted by the city, to be suitable for this purpose, and to meet all requirements of this chapter.

(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 edition of the plumbing code most recently adopted by the city.

(g)

Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the 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 any approved means described in the edition of the plumbing code most recently adopted by the city and found acceptable by the public works director, and discharged to the building sewer.

(h)

No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff, storm water, or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sewer, or maintain such a connection.

(i)

The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the editions of the building code and plumbing code most recently adopted by the city. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight and verified by proper testing. The public works director must approve any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials before installation.

(j)

The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the public works director when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection and testing shall be made under the supervision of the public works director or his/her representative.

(k)

All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights 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.

(l)

A properly functioning backwater valve shall be required in any building containing a basement, except in those situations which would not require a backwater valve as described in the edition of the building code most recently adopted by the city. The permit to install a backwater valve can be obtained from the public works director or his/her representative. The city shall not be liable for damage due to wastewater backing up into a building where a properly functioning backwater valve has not been installed. The city also shall not be liable for damage due to wastewater backing up into a building where a backwater valve has been installed but has not been properly maintained or repaired.

(Ord. 2565 § 1 (part), 2008)