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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Revising Sanitary Sewer Rates s ORDINANCE NO. 2924 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF AMES, IOWA, BY REPEALING SECTIONS 28.36 THROUGH 28.39, AND ENACTING NEW SECTIONS 28.36 THROUGH 28.39, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVISING AND ESTABLISHING RATES AND POLICIES PERTAINING TO THE CITY SANITARY SEWER SERVICE WHEREAS, the City of Ames is providing wastewater treatment service; and WHEREAS, it is the City's intent to establish proportionate user charges that place the costs of abatement directly on the sources of pollution, con- serve potable water, and maintain financial self-sufficiency, and WHEREAS, the City must pay all expenses associated with said treat- ment works and charge the users of said treatment works accordingly; BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that: Section One. The Municipal Code of the City of Ames, Iowa, be, and the same is hereby amended by repealing Sections 28.36 through 28.39 and enacting new Sections 28.36 through 28.39 as follows: "Sec. 28.36. SEWER RATE POLICY. It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare, and con- venience of the City of Ames to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the City's treatment works. The pro- ceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and retiring the debt for such public wastewater treatment works. Sec. 28.37. DEFINITIONS. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the mean- ing of terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows: (1) 'BOD' (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxida- tion of organic matter under standard laboratory proce- dure in five (5) days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/1). (2) 'NH ' or 'NH 3-N' (denoting Ammonia) shall mean that portion of nitrogen in the form of proteins or inter- mediate decomposition products which is determined by standard laboratory procedure for analysis of ammonia nitrogen, expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/1) . 2 (3) 'Normal Domestic Wastewater' shall mean wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than 250 mg/1 average and 400 mg/1 maximum; and a suspended solids concentration of not more than 300 mg/1 average and 450 mg/1 maximum; and an ammonia concentration of not more than 40 mg/1 average and 60 mg/l maximum. (4) 'Operation and Maintenance' shall mean those functions that result in expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities, and other items which are necessary for managing and for which such works were designed and constructed. The term 'operation and maintenance' includes replacement as defined in (5). (5) 'Replacement' shall mean expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treat- ment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. (6) 'Residential User' shall mean any contributor to the City's treatment works whose lot, parcel or real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only. (7) 'Shall' is mandatory; 'May' is permissive. (8) 'SS' (denoting Suspended Solids) shall mean solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering, as expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/1). (9) 'Treatment Works' shall mean any devices and systems for the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage, or liquid industrial wastes. These include intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pump- ing, power, and other equipment and their appurte- nances; extensions, improvement, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well 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 of residues resulting from such treatment (including land for composting sludge, temporary storage of such com- post, and land used for the storage of treated waste- water in land treatment systems before land application); or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating, or disposing of municipal waste or industrial waste. 3 (10) 'Useful Life' shall mean the estimated period during which a treatment works will be operated. (11) 'User Charge' shall mean that portion of the total waste- water service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, main- tenance, and replacement of a designated part of the wastewater treatment works. (12) 'Water Meter' shall mean a water volume measuring and recording device. Sec. 28.38. USE OF RATE REVENUE. The user charge system shall generate adequate annual reve- nues to pay 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 treat- ment works, shall be established by this ordinance. That portion of the total user charge collected which is desig- nated for operation and maintenance, including replacement, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the WPC Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Fund. Fiscal year-end balances in the operation, maintenance, and replacement fund shall be used for no other purposes than those designated. Monies 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 rate(s) shall be adjusted such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective accounts within six months of the fiscal year in which the monies were borrowed. Sec. 28.39. SEWER RATES ESTABLISHED. (1) Each user shall pay for the services provided by the City based on his use of the treatment works as deter- mined by water meter readings or other appropriate methods acceptable to the City. (2) For all users, monthly user charges shall be based on actual water usage, except where a practical method of wastewater measurement is available. If a user has a consumptive use of water, or in some other manner uses water which is not discharged into the wastewater collec- tion system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on readings of a wastewater meter(s) or separate water meter(s) installed and maintained at the user's expense and in a manner acceptable to the City. (3) The minimum charge per month shall be $3.00 for the first 100 cubic feet of water used per month. In addi- tion, for all water metered after the first 100 cubic feet per month, each user shall pay: (a) a treatment user charge rate for operation and maintenance, including replacement, of $0.24/100 cu. ft. of water used per month, (b) a sewer user charge rate for operation and main- tenance, including replacement, of $0.30/100 cu. ft. of water used per month, (c) a capital charge rate for debt retirement of $1.16/100 cu. ft. of water used per month The sewer user charge and the capital charge may be adjusted to better reflect actual benefit to the contribu- tor. (4) For those users whose wastewater has a greater strength than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition to the normal user charge will be collected. The surcharge for operation and maintenance including replacement is: $0.08 per pound BOD $0.14 per pound SS $0.20 per pound NH3 (5) Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants (as defined in the Sewer Use Ordinance) 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 appropriate financial personnel and approved by the City Council. � 5 (6) The City will review the user charge system at least every two years and revise user charge rates as neces- sary 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. The City will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charg- ed for operation and maintenance including replacement of the treatment works. (7) Where a customer wishes to use water for watering a lawn or garden, filling a swimming pool, or for existing single-pass air conditioning or other such use and that water does not reach the sanitary sewer system, the customer may at his option apply for and have installed a 'yard meter'. A 'yard meter' is defined as a second water meter or sub-meter on the premises installed downstream of the first or master water meter. It will be so placed as to meter outdoor water use described above which does not reach the sanitary sewer system. The 'yard meter' shall have a remote reading register outdoors as required for the master water meter. The full cost of the 'yard meter' and any associated Plumbing changes shall be the responsibility of the customer. The 'yard meter' shall be furnished and owned by the City and so located as to be easily acces- sible at all times. Maintenance and replacement of the 'yard meter shall be governed by the same requirements applying to all other water meters owned by the City. The sewer service charge will be billed only on the difference between the two water meter readings. No minimum monthly bill for either water or sewer service shall apply to the 'yard meter'. (8) Where a 'yard meter' is not installed, but it appears in any month that more than two thousand (2,000) cubic feet of water was used by the customer in a way that the water did not reach the sanitary sewer, that amount of water shall be exempt from the sewer rate on applica- tion to the city manager. Section Two. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law. Passed this _ 28th day of May 19 . Nk--+V s, City Clerk Paul Goodland, Mayor