City Code Section
- The following definitions apply to this Chapter:
- A. “Billing Error” means an instance in which a calculation used by the City for billing is not consistent, in the determination of the City, with adopted City Code and Administrative Rules for billing sewer volume and stormwater management charges.
- B. "Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter per Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants, contained in 40 CFR 136.
- C. “Branch” means the public portion of the horizontal piping system connecting from the plumbing system of a building or buildings to a public or private sewer.
- D. “Branch Charge” means a connection charge that reimburses the City for the costs of designing and constructing a public sewer extension and providing individual service laterals.
- E. “Congregate Housing Facility” means a building, collection of buildings, or a portion of a building that includes separate bedrooms and individual or shared bathrooms and that includes no more than one kitchen per 12 bedrooms. A congregate housing facility is not a dwelling unit.
- F. “Connection Charge” means a charge assessed by the City for providing public sewer and stormwater management services to a property. A connection charge may include a line charge, branch charge, sanitary sewer system development charge, and a stormwater system development charge. Connection charges are for use or expansion of use of City sanitary or stormwater management services.
- G. "Director” means the Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services or the Director’s designee.
- H. "Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU)" means the estimated average sanitary flow from a single-dwelling development, also referred to as a single-family dwelling charged to a sewer account.
- I. “Extra Strength Charge” means the additional charge to wastewater dischargers who have constituent discharges at concentrations above levels normally expected in domestic wastewater, as determined by this Chapter and general ordinance.
- J. “Groundwater” means subsurface water that occurs in soils and geological formations that are fully saturated. Groundwater fluctuates seasonally and includes perched groundwater.
- K. “Groundwater Discharge” means a discharge of water pumped or directed from the ground. Groundwater discharges include but are not limited to subsurface water from site remediation and investigations, well development, Brownfield development, discharges from footing and foundation drains, and subsurface water associated with construction or property management dewatering activities.
- L. “Impervious Area” means the area of a property that does not allow rainwater to percolate naturally into the ground.
- M. “ITE Manual” means the manual used per Section 17.15.020 to determine transportation system development charges.
- N. “Line Charge” means a connection charge that reimburses the City for the costs of designing and constructing sanitary sewer lines that serve multiple connecting properties.
- O. “Net New Impervious Area” means the difference between existing impervious area on a property, and any increase in impervious area that results from a proposed use(s) of the property.
- P. “Net New Vehicular Trips” means the difference between the vehicular trips generated by the existing use of a property, and any increased number of the vehicular trips generated from a proposed use(s) of the property.
- Q. “Non-Routine Discharge” means a definable/explainable uncontrolled release or spill to the sanitary sewer system that is not representative of the normal or expected characteristics of a facility’s wastewater discharge and that may include discharges defined as slugloads under Chapter 17.34.
- R. “Rate” means the multiplication factor used to generate a connection or user charge based on cost-per-unit proxies such as gallons of discharge, square feet, or feet of road frontage. Rates can be multiplied by other factors
- S. “Ratepayer” means a person who has the right to possession of a property and:
- 1. Who causes or permits the discharge of sanitary sewage into the public sewer system, or
- 2. Whose use of the property directly or indirectly benefits from stormwater management services provided by the City.
- T. "Rolling Average" means the average of the 10 most recent monthly averages of representative City- and/or self-monitoring events for the purpose of calculating an extra-strength sewage charge rate, unless another period is approved by the Director.
- U. “Sanitary Sewage” means wastewater discharged to the public sewer system by permit or other approval of the Director and includes, but is not limited to, domestic wastewater, industrial and commercial process wastewater and contaminated stormwater.
- V. “Sanitary Sewer Conversion Charge” means the charge to convert a nonconforming sewer, as that term is defined in Chapter 17.33. This charge is assessed in lieu of line and branch connection charges.
- W. “Sanitary System Development Charge (SDC)” means a connection charge for new or increased demand of the public sewer system. This charge reimburses the City for an equitable portion of the costs of major sewer facilities such as wastewater treatment facilities, pump stations and interceptor sewers.
- X. “Seed” means a population of microorganisms capable of oxidizing biodegradable organic matter that is added to a wastewater sample as part of the analysis of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Only seed prepared using primary effluent from the City’s Columbia Boulevard Waste Water Treatment Plant may be used for this analysis.
- Y. “Stormwater Management Facility” means a facility or other technique used to reduce volume, flow rate, or pollutants from stormwater runoff. Stormwater facilities may reuse, collect, convey, detain, retain, or provide a discharge point for stormwater runoff.
- Z. “Stormwater Management Services” means services and actions used to collect, convey, detain, retain, treat or dispose of stormwater. These services include managing stormwater runoff from public streets, mitigating flooding, preventing erosion, improving water quality of stormwater runoff, collecting and conveying stormwater runoff from private properties when runoff exceeds the capacity of private facilities to manage stormwater onsite, mitigating impacts to natural habitats caused by stormwater runoff, and protecting properties and natural habitats from hazardous soils and materials that are discharged from private properties and public rights-of-way.
- AA. “Stormwater System Development Charge (SDC)” means a connection charge for new or increased demand of the public stormwater and drainage system. This charge reimburses the City for an equitable portion of the costs of public stormwater management facilities such as collection and conveyance facilities, detention and disposal facilities, and water pollution reduction facilities.
- BB. "Temporary Connection" means a connection to the sanitary sewer system where the duration of the connection is less than three years and connection and disconnection occur only once. Connections made to the public sewer, stormwater or drainage system made for the purpose of environmental remediation will not be considered a temporary connection unless approved by the Director.
- CC. "Temporary Structure" means a structure that is separate and distinct from all other structures and is created and removed in its entirety within 3 years, including all impervious area associated with the structure.
- DD. "Total Suspended Solids (TSS)" means the total suspended matter that either floats on the surface or is suspended in water or wastewater and that is removable by laboratory filtering in accordance with 40 CFR 136 Table B.
- EE. “Transportation SDC Study” means the transportation system development methodology established by Chapter 17.15.
- FF. “User Charge” means a charge paid by a ratepayer for the use of public sanitary or stormwater management services. User charges are calculated on a routine basis such as monthly or annually.