Wastewater Utilities - 13.12

1. “Building drain” means that part of the lowest 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 two feet outside the building wall.
2. “Building sewer” means that part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system which extends from the end of the building drain which receives the discharge of the building and conveys in to the public wastewater collection line or private wastewater collection line that discharges into a public wastewater collection line. Responsibility for maintenance and repair of a building sewer shall rest with the building owner.
3. “Cooling water” means clean and unpolluted wastewater, from air conditioning, industrial cooling, condensing and similar apparatus, and hydraulically powered equipment.
4. “Domestic wastewater” means that common liquid or water-carried wastes from human dwellings and from toilets, lavatory fixtures, and other facilities in buildings other than dwellings.
5. “Dwelling” means a building or structure designed or used as the living quarters for one or more families and shall include mobile homes and recreation vehicles but not motels, hotels, or rooming houses.
6. “Dwelling unit” means one (1) or more rooms providing complete living facilities for one family, including equipment and facilities for cooking and room or rooms for living, sleeping, and eating.
7. “Family” means a single individual or a collective body of persons living together in a domestic bond occupying a dwelling unit.
8. “Garbage” means solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce. Properly shredded garbage shall mean garbage that has been shredded to such degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public wastewater collection lines with no particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension.
9. “Hotel/motel” means a building containing rooms intended or designed to be used or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests, and where kitchen or dining facilities, if any, are provided at a common location within the building or in an accessory building.
10. “Industrial wastewater” means any liquid or water-­carried wastes resulting from an industrial, trade, or business process and carrying quantities of oils, grease, fats, abrasives, chemicals, hydrocarbons, toxic materials, and other substances not fitting the definition of domestic wastewater.
11. "Non-residential unit” means each twelve hundred square feet (1,200) of floor area in any building or structure used for purposes other than for a dwelling. Floor area includes all areas primary to the functioning of such use and excludes stairwells, hallways, corridors, dead storage, and space occupied by heating, air-conditioning, and other utility equipment.
12. “Plant investment fee” means a share of the capital cost of the wastewater collection system and wastewater treatment plant.
13. “Pretreatment” shall mean the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants in wastewater prior to discharge into a public wastewater collection line.
14. “Rooming house” means any dwelling in which more than three (3) persons; either individually or as a family, are housed or lodged for hire, with or without meals. A boarding house or furnished room house shall be deemed a “rooming house”.
15. “Service unit” means any dwelling unit and any other unit other than a dwelling unit used in the calculation of sewer service charges.
16. “Slug” shall mean any discharge of domestic or industrial wastewater which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration or flows during normal operations.
17. “Storm water” means the runoff or discharge of rain, snow melt, and other clean water from roofs, land surfaces, whether pubic or private, or elsewhere, but not including the flow from a watercourse.
18. “Wastewater collection line” means a pipe conduit, manholes, and other appurtenances, but not including a building sewer, intended to convey only domestic wastewater and, as specifically authorized by the town, industrial wastewater.
19. “Wastewater collection system” means wastewater collection lines, pumping stations, force mains, and other facilities necessary and incidental to the collection of wastewater.
20. “Wastewater facilities” means the wastewater collection system and wastewater treatment plant including all devices, equipment, wastewater collection lines, and other facilities associated with the collection, pumping, treating, and disposing of wastewater.
21. “Watercourse” means a draw, creek, or other channel in which a natural flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

There shall be within the plan of administrative organization as proposed by the Town manager and approved by the Town council provision for such departments and officers as may be deemed necessary for the proper operation of wastewater facilities.

The Town council shall establish policies for the operation of public wastewater facilities, including adoption of charges, rates, rules, and regulations, and shall hold the Town manager responsible for the prudent, efficient, and economical management of the public wastewater facilities.

No person shall discharge, place, deposit, or permit to be deposited upon public or private property or into any watercourse within the Town any domestic or industrial wastes, wastewaters or other polluted waters, or other objectionable wastes.

The owner or developer of any dwelling, building, or structure in the Town that produces or may produce industrial or domestic wastewater shall be required at his expense to connect to a public wastewater collection line as a condition of occupancy of said dwelling, building, or structure if it is within five hundred (500) feet of a public wastewater collection line unless a waiver is recommended by the Town manager and granted by the Town council.

No person shall willfully, maliciously, carelessly, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with the wastewater facilities of the Town, including but not limited to removing manhole covers, entering manholes or placing sticks, debris, and rubbish in wastewater collection lines or manholes.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged directly or indirectly any storm water, cooling water, subsurface drainage, or unpolluted industrial process water into a wastewater collection line.

No person or entity shall discharge or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, into any wastewater collection line any of the following: any substances or object likely to damage, or cause an obstruction in the wastewater facilities; any stick, stones; coarse rubbish, rags, un-shredded garbage, or other refuse more than one-half (½) inch in diameter; unusual volume or flow or concentration of wastes constituting a slug; any materials that exert or cause unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids, excessive discoloration, or unusual biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements so as to constitute a significant load on the wastewater treatment plant; or any industrial waste or wastewater unless specifically authorized in writing by the Town manager.

No person or entity shall discharge industrial wastewater into a wastewater collection line unless specifically authorized in writing by the Town manager. The person seeking to discharge such wastewater into a wastewater collection line shall provide such information as the Town Manager may request as to on quantity, nature, and frequency of discharge of such proposed industrial wastes. As a condition of the written authorization of such discharge, the Town manager shall require pretreatment of such wastewater to an acceptable condition prior to discharge; controls, including testing, measurements, and analysis over the quantity, nature, and rate of discharge; installation of approved devices and equipment such as traps, separators, diluting devices, storage facilities, screens, and flow measuring devices; and/or payment of a surcharge to the Town to defray any unusual or abnormal costs incurred by the Town for treatment of such wastes.

Whenever the Town manager deems it necessary, he may enter upon any property connected to a wastewater collection line for the purposes of inspection, measurement, observation, sampling, and testing in order to carry out and determine conformance with the provisions of this chapter.

Pursuant to section 31-35-402 C.R.S., the Town is authorized to provide municipal wastewater service outside Town limits. The same terms and conditions shall apply to wastewater services outside Town limits as within Town limits, with the following exceptions and additional requirements:

1. The owner of any property to be served shall execute a standard agreement for the provision of municipal wastewater service beyond the corporate limits of the Town, such agreement providing, among other things, that the owner shall be bound by all rules, regulations, and provisions of this Code relating to the wastewater utility.
2. The owner of any property to be served that satisfies statutory criteria for annexation and is located within the Town annexation area as recommended by the planning and zoning commission and approved by the Town council shall submit a petition for annexation of said property acceptable to the Town manager.
3. The owner of any property to be served that does not immediately satisfy statutory criteria for annexation but which is located within said annexation area shall execute a pre-annexation agreement acceptable to the Town manager calling for annexation at such time that said criteria are satisfied.

The same term and conditions shall apply to the wastewater facilities outside Town limits as within Town limits, with the following exceptions and additional requirements.

1. Plant investment fees shall be twice those charged within Town limits unless the Town council has approved and authorized the execution by the owner or agent of the property served of a Standard Agreement for the Provision of Public Wastewater Facilities beyond the Corporate Limits of the Town, such agreement providing, among other things, for in--Town fees to be applied to any property the owner of which has executed a valid annexation agreement with the Town.
2. Approval by the Town council after consideration of the recommendation of the Town manager and the planning and zoning Commission is required.
3. In the case of annexation by the Town, there is no obligation by the Town to make an extension of the wastewater collection system to serve properties that are annexed.

Forms and fee schedules shall be available to an owner, or agent of an owner, seeking a new sewer service. Such forms shall show the property to be served or benefited by the sewer service. The Town manager may promulgate such rules and procedures, as he deems necessary to implement this section. Application for a new sewer service shall be made by the owner of the property to be served or his duly authorized agent. Only plumbers licensed by the State may make taps to a public wastewater collection line.

1. As a condition of a new sewer service within the Town limits, a plant investment fee shall be paid to the Town prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy for new buildings or structures or expansion of existing buildings or structures. Expansion shall not only mean physical expansion of a building or structure but also conversions from one use to another and expansion of existing uses within a building. Such fees shall be calculated at a rate of seven hundred dollars ($700) per dwelling unit or non-residential unit.
2. Outside Town limits plant investment fees shall be paid at the time a new wastewater service is applied for, or, in cases of existing services, when new buildings or expansion of existing structures or buildings become known to the Town manager. Failure on the part of the owner upon notification to pay such fees may result in discontinuance of water service.
3. Plant investment fees outside Town limits shall be twice those charged within Town limits except that in-town fees shall apply when an owner of property to be served has submitted a petition for annexation as provided in Section 13.12.110 Services outside Town limits of this Chapter.

The Town council may authorize as part of a subdivision approval or as a separate project the extension of the wastewater collection system by an owner at his expense proposed to serve his property after consideration of the recommendations of the Town manager and the planning and zoning commission. The Town council may not require, after consideration of the recommendations of said manager and commission, an owner to extend a wastewater collection system if the Town council finds it would not be in the public interest to allow such system to be extended or installed to serve the owner’s property in a particular instance.

In the event an owner is authorized or required to extend the wastewater collection system, he shall execute with the Town a Wastewater Collection System Extension Agreement as approved by the Town council, such agreement to include, among other things as determined by the Town council, the following requirements:

1. Minimum size of the wastewater collection line shall be eight (8) inches.
2. Materials and installation shall be in accordance with standard specifications approved by the Town council.
3. Wastewater collection system shall be run to the furthest point on the property or to a point, which will allow reasonable extension in the future.
4. Payment shall be made by owner to the Town of three percent (3%) of the costs of such extension as an inspection fee.
5. The owner shall dedicate the wastewater collection system extension to the Town upon acceptance by the Town, including any rights of way required by the Town.
6. The owner shall execute a Standard Agreement for the Provision of Wastewater collection system beyond Town limits, if applicable.

At the option of the Town council, a provision may be included in the Wastewater Collection System Extension Agreement for reimbursement to owner for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the date of preliminary acceptance of the extension, of the costs of the extension where the extension passes through or by the properties of other owners. Such reimbursement shall be in the form of a surcharge added to the plant investment fee collected from such other owners as they connect to the line; such surcharge shall be collected by the Town and turned over to the owner. The costs of such extension shall be determined annually on or about January 1st by the Town manager, shall be incorporated in all agreements executed through December 31st of that year, and shall be based on costs to the Town of similar installations, costs of similar work performed in the area, and estimates of material and installation costs provided by the contractors. Such costs shall be divided by the total number of units that the properties of others can accommodate in accordance with densities and uses shown on the zoning map or Town plan of development. The result is the surcharge to be added to the plant investment fee collected as such properties of others develop. The total amount collected and turned over to the owner shall in no case exceed the costs of the extension as contained in the agreement. The Town does not guarantee that the total costs of such extension passing through or by properties of owners shall be reimbursed to the owner.

All users of the municipal wastewater system shall be billed a sewer service charge based on service units. Each service unit within the Town limits shall be twenty four dollars and fourteen cents ($24.14) per month. Each service unit outside the Town limits shall be forty eight dollars and twenty-eight cents ($48.28) per month except that in-Town rates shall apply where an owner of property to be served has submitted a petition for annexation as provided in Section 13.12.110 Services outside Town limits of this Chapter. Service units shall be as follows:

The service units listed above may be modified by the Town council and service units for any use not listed above shall be established on a case-by-case basis by the Town council.

Bills shall be dated the first day of a month and shall be mailed as close to that date as practicable. Bills shall be due no later than the close of business of the last working day of the same month and shall become delinquent if not paid by that date. In the event that a bill becomes delinquent; a late charge of two percent (2%) of the amount owing shall be added to the amount due on such delinquent bill for each full month that such bill remains unpaid. Any user whose bill becomes delinquent shall be sent a notice by mail demanding payment within ten (10) calendar days. Where an owner of property is not the same as the user, such owner may request a copy of such notice to be mailed to him. Should such payment not be made or some contractual payment schedule agreeable to the Town manager not be made, the water services to that user shall be shut off.

1. All rates, fees, charges, and assessments provided by this Chapter concerning the Town’s wastewater collection system from the time the same shall be due and payable shall become and remain a lien on the premises until said rates, fees, charges, and assessments have been paid to the Town. This lien on the premises may be foreclosed by an action at law or in equity in the name of the Town in any court having jurisdiction thereof. If the Town must resort to court action for collection of amounts due it under this chapter, the Town shall also be entitled to its reasonable attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred in such action if the Town prevails.
2. In the event said rates, fees, or charges and assessments are not aid when due, the Town Manager may certify the amount of the same to the County treasurer, to be placed on the tax list for the current year and collected in the same manner as other taxes are collected, with ten percent (10%) added thereto to defray the cost of collection pursuant to Section 31-20-105 C.R.S. All laws of this State for the assessment of general taxes, including the sale of property for taxes and redemption of the same shall apply.

The Town shall require as a condition of provision providing water, gas, and/or wastewater service, either singly or in any combination, a cash deposit of one hundred dollars ($100) as security for billing rendered. For the time the deposit is with the Town and the utility connection maintained, interest will be allowed the depositor as determined by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for customer utility deposits, or in the absence of such determination, by the Town manager and based on the average interest earnings obtained by the Town on its investments. If over any period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months a review of the customer’s account shows that no more than four (4) monthly billings have been paid after the due date and that no utility service has been shut off for non-payment of a billing, the deposit with accrued interest shall be returned to the customer. In case of a shut off of a utility service for non-payment of a billing to a customer to whom a deposit has been returned, such service shall not be restored until there shall has been placed with the Town a deposit in the same amount and in the same manner as if the customer were new. Such deposit, if it has not been returned to the customer, may be credited to the customer’s account in case of non-payment of utility bills or discontinuance of service.

No water service shall be restored by the Town until all unpaid bills rendered on behalf of the wastewater utility have been paid or some contractual payment schedule agreeable to the Town manager has been made, nor shall water service be turned on for any customer who may have unpaid bills in his name from wastewater service at some other property within the service area of the wastewater facilities until such time as such unpaid bills are paid in full.

In addition to discontinuance for non-payment of bills for sewer service, the Town may discontinue water service in accordance with regulations adopted by the Town council for the following reasons:

1. Violation of the provisions of Sections 13.12.060 Damage to wastewater facilities, 13.12.070 Discharge of non-wastewater, 13.12.080 Certain discharges not permitted, and 13.12.090 Industrial wastewater permitted under certain conditions of this Chapter;
2. Non-payment of bills rendered on behalf of the wastewater utility for purposes other than sewer service; and
3. For violation of any other rules and regulations applicable to the wastewater facilities.

All regulations contained in this chapter shall be considered a part of the contract of every person provided wastewater facilities, and every person provided such facilities shall be considered as having expressly consented to be bound thereby.

If the Town is fined by the State Department of Health or United States Environmental Protection Agency for a violation of its NPDES permit, such violation resulting from an unauthorized discharge of industrial wastewater, the person or entity responsible for such discharge shall reimburse the Town in the amount of such fines and for any legal fees incurred by the Town, plus a ten percent (10%) surcharge.