13.16.360 Sewer use charge.
A. Unit rate. The Common Council shall set by resolution a unit rate that includes operating, maintenance and capital expenses. Rates shall be effective on the date as set by Council, and rates shall be applied based upon the rate in effect on the billing date, not usage date.
B. Meter charge. A total meter charge, based upon the size of the non-irrigation water meter serving the user, shall be billed to each account for sewer service. This total meter charge shall include a charge associated with operating, maintenance and capital expenses plus a surcharge associated with an environmental fee. The environmental fee surcharge covers the tax imposed by the state as an environmental fee upon municipal sewage collection systems. The meter charge shall be set by resolution of the Common Council.
C. Rate determination. All wastewater and industrial waste discharged to the wastewater facilities shall be charged to the owner of the property. The methods used for determining the sewer use charge shall be as follows:
1. Residential users. All residential users of wastewater as defined in § 13.04.010 shall be assessed a monthly meter charge per subsection B. of this section. The wastewater flow from residential connections shall be determined each year from the metered water use for 3 winter months using the water meter readings showing usage in December, January, and February.
a. The average monthly use calculated by this method shall be multiplied by the rate set by the Common Council pursuant to subsection A. of this section to determine the monthly sewer use charge for the 12-month period commencing April 1.
b. A request to transfer service from one premises to another premises shall be considered as a request to set up a new utility service, and applicants shall be treated as a new residential user. Usage from previous premises will not be used to calculate wastewater flow at the new premises.
c. New residential users, any users who do not have a meter reading, and users who have a meter reading showing zero usage in any month in the 3-month averaging period shall be assigned the average single-family residential water use of 500 cubic feet per month per dwelling unit served for each month a meter reading is not available or has a reading of zero usage.
d. An intermittent residential user whose residence is unoccupied during the averaging period or users who experienced a water leak during the averaging period may petition for an adjustment to the monthly sewer use charge, using a process determined by the Public Works Director. Alternately, a user may request to use the average of the total monthly usage for the previous calendar year when requesting an adjustment. When granted, adjustments will be applied to future bills; if appropriate, adjustments may also be applied to the previous month’s bill but shall not otherwise be applied retroactively.
e. Residents with city sewer service only (i.e., no city water) shall pay a city use charge of 700 cubic feet per month. The resident may elect to install a potable water meter and radio read as an alternative to the 700 cubic feet per month and be charged per the normal winter use average as identified within this chapter.
2. Commercial and institutional users discharging domestic wastewater. All commercial and institutional wastewater users shall be assessed a monthly meter charge per subsection B. of this section. The sewer use charge for commercial and institutional connections discharging wastewaters similar in physical, biological and chemical quality to domestic wastewater shall be determined by multiplying the monthly wastewater volume in units by the rate established by the Common Council pursuant to subsection A. The wastewater volume shall be determined from the monthly metered water use from a city approved water meter unless special allowances are made or the wastewater is metered as provided herein.
3. Industrial users. All industrial wastewater users shall be assessed a monthly meter charge per subsection B. of this section. The sewer charge for industrial connections shall be determined by multiplying the monthly wastewater volume measured in units by the rate set by the Common Council pursuant to subsection A. of this section, whenever the BOD concentration is less than 260 mg/l and the suspended solids concentration is less than 250 mg/l based on the average of flow proportioned, composite samples, collected at the times, frequencies and in the manner designated by the Director. Whenever the BOD concentration exceeds 260 mg/l or the suspended solids concentration exceeds 250 mg/l, based on the sampling and testing program specified by the Director, a surcharge will be assessed per pound of BOD and TSS on the portion of wastes in excess of 260 mg/l BOD or 250 mg/l TSS. The surcharge shall be set by resolution of the Common Council.
4. The rate to be paid for sewer service through lines owned by a governmental entity other than the city may be established by contract.
D. Non-residential rate adjustments. Non-residential users may receive an adjustment to their sewer charge for non-irrigation water that is not discharged to the sanitary sewer. Such an adjustment shall only be made if the water is not used for irrigation and if the amount of water that is prevented from being discharged into the sanitary sewer system is metered, or if the actual sewage flow is metered.
E. Utility Rate Relief Program. Residential utility account holder users can apply for rate relief on monthly utility service charges, under the Utility Rate Relief Program as provided in § 13.08.400.C.
F. Monitoring. All categorical and significant industrial users shall, at their own expense, monitor their wastewater discharge to determine their sewer use rate. Any other industrial user choosing to monitor its discharge may do so at its own expense.
G. Exempt from monitoring. All minor industrial users shall be exempt from self-monitoring for the purposes of this section.
H. Wastewater volume measurement.
1. Any industrial user may choose to measure the actual wastewater flow in lieu of basing the wastewater use charges on the metered water. In such cases, the conditions set forth herein shall apply.
2. Any industrial user receiving non-metered water shall either install water meters for all non-metered sources or provide wastewater flow measurement in accordance to the conditions set forth herein.
3. All meters for non-metered water sources and wastewater flow measurement devices shall be installed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Director. All costs for design and installation shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall guarantee the city access to the meter or meters for periodic meter reading.
I. Review of each user’s wastewater service charge. If an industrial user has completed in-plant modifications which would change the user’s wastewater characteristics or flows, the user can request that the Public Works Director adjust the industrial user’s surcharge rate. The Public Works Director’s decision can be appealed to the Common Council in a manner designated in § 13.16.400.