It is determined and declared to be necessary and conductive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the City to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the City’s treatment works. The proceeds of such charge so derived will be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining and retiring the debt for such public wastewater treatment works.

(Ord. 630; Code 2012)

Unless otherwise indicated by the specific context, the meanings of the terms used in this ordinance are as follows:

(a)   BOD (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) - The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at 20 deg C, expressed in milligrams per liter.

(b)   CITY - The City of Moundridge, Kansas.

(c)   GOVERNING BODY - The Mayor and City Council of the City of Moundridge, Kansas.

(d)   OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE - All expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the wastewater works to achieve the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.

(e)   REPLACEMENT - Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary to maintain the capacity and performance during the service life of the treatment works for which such works were designed and constructed.

(f)   RESIDENTIAL USER - Any contributor to the City’s treatment works whose lot, parcel of real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.

(g)   SHALL is mandatory, MAY IS PERMISSIVE.

(h)   SUSPENDED SOLIDS (SS) - Solids that either float on the surface of, or are suspended in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

(i)    TREATMENT WORKS - Any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal wastewater or industrial wastes of a liquid nature to implement section 201 of 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 (Pub. L. 92-500) and pub. L. 93-243, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the useful life of the works, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, wastewater collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvement, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clearwell facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal or residues resulting from such treatment; or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste, including storm runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.

(j)    USEFUL LIFE - The estimated period during which treatment works will be operated.

(k)   USER - Any dwelling unit, business, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group which contributes wastewater either directly or indirectly to the treatment works.

(l)    USER CHARGE - That portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance, replacement and debt retirement of the wastewater treatment works.

(m)  WASTEWATER - A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface and storm waters that may be present.

(n)   WATER METER - A water volume measuring and recording device, furnished and/or installed by the City of Moundridge or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the City of Moundridge.

(Ord. 630; Code 2012)

(a)   The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay the costs of annual operation and maintenance including replacement and costs associated with debt retirement of bonded capital associated with financing the treatment works which the City may by ordinance designate to be paid by the user charge system. That portion of the total user charge which is designated for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works shall be established by this article.

(b)   That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for operation and maintenance including replacement purposes as established in ARTICLE IV, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT FUND and will be kept in two primary accounts as follows:

(1)   An account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs of the treatment works hereinafter known as the OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT.

(2)   An account designated for the specific purpose of ensuring the replacement needs over the useful life of the treatment works hereinafter known as the REPLACEMENT ACCOUNT. Deposits in the Replacement Account shall be made at least annually from the operation, maintenance and replacement revenue in the amount of $300 annually.

(c)   Fiscal year-end balances in the Operation and Maintenance Account and the Replacement Account shall be carried over to the same accounts in the subsequent fiscal year, and shall be used for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Moneys which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement Fund shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation maintenance and replacement. The user charge rates shall be adjusted such that the transferred moneys will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the moneys were borrowed.

(Ord. 630; Code 2012)

(a)   The minimum monthly charge for each user of sewer system and wastewater treatment facilities of the City of Moundridge shall be as set forth in subsection (b) below. In addition to the minimum monthly charge established herein, each contributor shall pay a monthly user charge as set forth in subsection (b).

(b)

(c)

(1)   For residential and small nonresidential contributors, monthly user charges will be based on the average monthly water usage during the winter quarter average, this monthly user charge shall be the median charge of all other residential contributors.

(2)   For large commercial and industrial contributors, user charges shall be based on water metered during the current month. If a commercial or industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water, or in some manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on a wastewater meter(s) or separate water meter(s) shall be open and available for inspection and reading by an authorized City representative.

(3)   For all schools, monthly user charges will be based on 81% of the average monthly water usage during the winter quarter each year. The charge ascertained shall be in effect for the next twelve-month period.

(d)   Any industrial or commercial user which discharges any toxic pollutants are subject to an additional Extra Strength Charge, which charge is set out in a separate Extra Strength Charge Ordinance.

(e)   The user charge rates established in this section apply to all users of the City's treatment works.

(Ord. 630; Ord. 700; Ord. 871; Code 2012; Ord. 954; Ord. 986; Ord. 1010; Ord. 1027)

Sewage discharged to the sanitary sewer system from each industrial or commercial user shall be subject to an extra strength charge when the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration exceeds three hundred milligrams per liter, the suspended solids (SS) exceeds a concentration of three hundred fifty milligrams per liter, or the oil and grease concentration exceeds one hundred milligrams per liter, as determined by Environmental Protection Agency Methodology stipulated in 40 CFR Part 136 analysis procedures. Sample collection methodology will be as specified by the Waste Water Superintendent. Extra strength charges shall be calculated per the formula:

S = V (0.00834) (X(BOD-300) + Y(SS-350) + Z(O&G-100))

       Where:

S = Extra strength charge in dollars

V = Sewage volume in thousands of gallons

0.00834 = Conversion factor for thousands of gallons to million pounds

X = Applicable unit charge for BOD in dollars per pound from the schedule below

BOD = BOD strength index in parts per million by weight or mg/l

300 = Allowable BOD strength under normal volume charges in parts per million by weight or mg/l

Y = Applicable unit charge for suspended solids in dollars per pound from the schedule below

SS = Suspended solids strength index in parts per million by weight or mg/l

350 = Allowable suspended solids strength under normal volume charges in parts per million by weight or mg/l

Z = Applicable unit charge for oil and grease in dollars per pound from the schedule below

O&G = Oil and grease index in parts per million by weight or mg/l

100 = Allowable oil and grease under normal volume charges in parts per million by weight or mg/l

EXTRA STRENGTH UNIT CHARGES ESTABLISHED AS SHOWN IN SCHEDULE BELOW:

 

TOXIC POLLUTANT CHARGE.

Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City's treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances causes identifiable increases in the cost of operation, maintenance or replacement of the treatment works, shall pay for such increased costs. The charge to each such user shall be as determined by the wastewater superintendent and approved by the Governing Body.

Discharging of any toxic pollutants is prohibited under City Code Section 15-405 If any such waters or wastes enter into the municipal sewer system which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City's treatment plants and/or collection system, the discharger shall pay for the increased costs, and will be subject to the penalties ascribed in Chapter 1-117 and Chapter 15-405(e)4.

WASTEWATER ANALYSIS.

Samples and measurements will be taken by the City, as required by the wastewater Superintendent or their authorized representative. The strength of the sewage discharge by the industrial or commercial user will be determined by the analyses of said samples.

The user, at their expense, may be required at the sole discretion of the wastewater superintendent to provide monitoring and flow measurement facilities which coincide at the point at which effluent limits apply. Sampling locations must be safe, convenient, and accessible to the industrial user and wastewater utilities personnel.

If any industrial or commercial user chooses not to accept the analytical determination made by the City for a billing period, such user shall, prior to the date on which payment of the charges for such billing is due, notify the wastewater superintendent in writing and, at their sole expense, employ an independent laboratory which is certified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and acceptable to the wastewater superintendent, to conduct sampling and analysis of their sewage.

The time period, location, and method for the collection of the samples shall be designated by the City. The City and the independent laboratory shall both preside over the collection of the samples and shall equally divide the samples so that duplicate analysis may be performed.

If results of the analysis of the sewage sample made by both the City and the independent laboratory are not comparable, the wastewater superintendent may appoint a second independent laboratory certified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to analyze the sewage. The sampling procedures used will be the same as those outlined above. The results of these analyses, together with the previous results, shall be used to determine the actual extra strength charges for the subject billing period. The fee for the second independent laboratory analyses shall be paid for by the user.

MONITORING CHARGE.

When regulations, Federal, State or City, require monitoring of the waste from an industry, that industry shall pay a monitoring charge.

The monitoring charge shall consist of all costs for personnel, material and equipment used to collect and analyze samples from the user's wastewater. The exact charge shall be based on actual costs and shall be determined by the wastewater superintendent

CHANGES BY RESOLUTION.

The Governing Body of the City of Moundridge, Kansas, is hereby authorized to adopt by Resolution new extra charge sewer rates to go into effect upon the passage of such Resolution.

The monthly service charge as provided in section 15-304 herein shall be payable as the Utility Bill is due and payable, and the bill for service shall appear on the Utility Bill.

(Ord. 630; Code 2012)

(a)   The City shall review the user charge system annually and revise user charge rates as necessary to ensure that the system generates adequate revenues to pay the costs of operation and maintenance including replacement and that the system continues to provide for the proportional distribution of operation and maintenance including replacement costs among users and user classes.

(b)   The City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation, maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.

(Ord. 630; Code 2012)

(a)   The connection charge for connecting each sanitary sewer service shall be, and the same is hereby fixed at $150.00, and said connection charge shall be paid in advance at the time of obtaining a permit as hereinafter provided.

(b)   Prior to connecting any sewer service lateral with any City sanitary sewer main or lateral, the person, firm or corporation desiring such connection to be made shall first make application at the Moundridge City Office. Upon approval by the Sewer Superintendent, the City Clerk shall issue a permit authorizing the proposed connection. The receipt issued by the City Clerk evidencing the payment of the connection charge shall constitute and be the sewer permit.

(c)   Each connection of a sewer service lateral with a City sanitary sewer main or lateral shall be inspected and approved by the City Sewer Supt. prior to the back-filling of said sanitary sewer lateral.

(Ord. 708; Ord. 841; Code 2012; Ord. 1024)