§ 31-16. Definitions.

As used in this article and as defined below, all terms in this section are as defined in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 403 which is adopted hereby and incorporated by reference herein and a copy of which shall be maintained in the office of the city secretary:

Abnormal industrial waste means any industrial waste having a TSS, COD, or BOD content in excess of that found in normal waste, but which is otherwise acceptable into a sanitary sewer under the terms of this article.

Apartment house means a collection of family residences grouped together in one (1) building, each family residence being a section of such building.

Approved methods means the analytical procedures published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR 136.

Approving authority means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and/or TCEQ.

Best management practices (BMPs) means scheduled activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the amount of pollution entering the sanitary sewer system.

Boarding house means a place where one obtains food or lodging, or both, in another's house for a stipulated price.

BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) means the quantity of oxygen by weight, expressed in mg/l, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five (5) days at a temperature of twenty (20) degrees Centigrade.

Building sewer means the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal (also called house lateral and house connection).

Bypass means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.

City means the city or any authorized person acting in its behalf.

COD (chemical oxygen demand) means measure of the oxygen consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in the water or wastewater expressed in mg/l as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test, but not differentiating between stable and unstable organic matter and thus not necessarily correlating with biochemical oxygen demand.

Commercial customer means any structure or premises other than residential or multifamily structures as defined in this section and shall include the following:

(1)

All retail, wholesale and industrial business establishments;

(2)

All office buildings;

(3)

Professional businesses and service businesses;

(4)

Hotels, motels, inns, rooming houses, boardinghouses, whether private, public or quasi-public;

(5)

Hospitals, whether public or private, charitable or otherwise;

(6)

Fraternal organizations, public or private clubs, associations or organizations, and whether profit or nonprofit;

(7)

All other charitable and/or tax-supported organizations;

(8)

Church-related hall or church-related school, whether on the same or on different premises as the church to which affiliated;

(9)

All operations that manufacture, package, prepare, provide, serve, or make available any food or meals; and

(10)

Any and all other types or forms of public or private concerns, organizations or institutions not otherwise herein provided for.

Comminuted garbage means garbage that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in sanitary sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (½) inch in any dimension.

Connection means each and every joining of a sewer line leading from any building or structure with a part of the sanitary sewer system of the city; provided that, if there are two (2) or more buildings or structures on the same lot or adjoining lots and their respective sewer lines join on such lot or either adjoining lot and then one line joins the sanitary sewer system of the city, each such building or structure shall be considered as having a separate connection to the sanitary sewer system of the city.

Control manhole means a manhole giving access to a building sewer at some point before the building sewer discharge mixes with other discharges in the public sewer.

Control point means a point of access to a course of discharge before the discharge mixes with other discharges in the public sewer.

Director means the director of the city utilities department (or other official designated by the city manager) or the director's authorized representative, unless otherwise specified.

Drainage water means stormwater; roof run-off water; subsurface and subsoil uncontaminated drainage water; drainage from down spouts; water from yard drains; water from fountains, ponds and swimming pools; water from lawn sprays, rainwater leaders, and areaways, and overflows from cisterns and water tanks.

E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of that agency.

Family means any number of individuals living together as a single household unit.

Fats, oils, or grease (FOGs) means organic polar compounds derived from animal and/or plant source that contain multiple carbon chain triglyceride molecules. FOGs are sometimes referred to herein as "grease" or "greases."

FPE or FPEs is a food processing establishment(s) where food for human consumption is manufactured or packed.

FSE or FSEs is a food service establishment(s) that prepares, provides, serves, or makes available for human consumption meals, or any food.

Garbage means animal and vegetable wastes and residue from preparation, cooking and dispensing of food; and from the handling, processing, storage and sale of food products and produce.

Grab sample means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

Grease trap/interceptor means a device designated to use differences in specific gravities to separate and retain light density liquids, waterborne fats, oils, and greases prior to the wastewater entering the sanitary sewer collection system. These devices also serve to collect settleable solids, generated by and from food preparation activities, prior to the water exiting the trap/interceptor and entering the sanitary sewer collection system.

Hazardous waste means those substances which if otherwise disposed of would be hazardous waste as set forth in 40 CFR 261.

Holding tank waste means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum pump tank trucks.

Illegal connection means any connection between the water tap and the home, business or irrigation system not using a city-issued or approved meter.

Industrial or high strength wastes means liquids or other character of wastes resulting from any commercial, manufacturing or industrial operations or processes that in strength concentration or character exceeds that of normal domestic sanitary sewage.

Industrial user means a source of indirect discharge which does not constitute a "discharge of pollutants" under regulations issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act.

Industrial waste or high strength surcharge means the charge made on those operations who discharge industrial or high strength wastes into the city's sewage system.

Industrial waste permit means a permit to deposit or discharge industrial waste into the sanitary sewer. The permit charge is to cover the cost to issue the permit and to inspect the facility. This permit shall not grant a waiver to allow discharge of any wastes that exceed the limits or violate the requirements of this article.

Milligrams per liter (mg/l) means the same as parts per million and is a weight-to-volume ratio; the milligram per liter value multiplied by the factor eight and thirty-four one-hundredths (8.34) shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.

Multi-family customer means the owner or occupant of property containing a multiple family dwelling unit composed of more than one (1) unit being serviced by one (1) water meter.

Natural outlet means any outlet into a watercourse, ditch, lake, or other body of surface water or groundwater.

NELAC means National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference and is a cooperative association of states and federal agencies, formed to establish and promote mutually acceptable performance standards for the operations of environmental laboratories. The standards cover both analytical testing of environmental samples and the laboratory accreditation process.

Normal domestic wastewater means wastewater excluding industrial wastewater discharged by a person or operation into sanitary sewers and in which the average concentration of TSS is not more than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l and BOD is not more than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l.

Overload means the imposition of organic or hydraulic loading on a treatment facility in excess of its engineered design capacity.

Person means any individual, business entity, partnership, corporation, governmental agency, political subdivision, or any other legal entity.

pH means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration.

Public sewer means pipe or conduit carrying wastewater or unpolluted drainage in which owners of abutting properties shall have the use, subject to control by the city.

Receiving stream means the waterway into which a wastewater treatment plant, operated by the city, discharges the treated effluent.

Residential connection means a connection served by one (1) water meter and used primarily as living quarters for a family. A building with living quarters located on the same premises and used by the owner or occupant for family purposes shall not be considered a separate living unit; provided however, that, if rental money is received from more than one (1) such unit, the same shall not be considered a residential connection, it will be a multi-family customer.

Rooming house means a house or building where there are two (2) or more bedrooms rented to persons for lodging.

Sanitary convenience means any plumbing fixture (except for a food waste disposal unit) not required to have a sand and/or grease trap (interceptor) according to provisions of the plumbing code.

Sanitary sewage means the waste from water closets, urinals, lavatories, sinks, bath tubs, showers, household laundries, basement floor drains, garage floor drains, store rooms, soda fountains, cuspidors, refrigerator drips, fountain and stable floor drains and all other similar fixtures and receptacles that discharge wastes into the sewerage system.

Sanitary sewer means a public sewer that conveys domestic wastewater or industrial wastes or a combination of both, and into which stormwater, surface water, groundwater, and other unpolluted wastes are not intentionally passed.

Shall and may are differentiated by the term "shall" understood to be mandatory. The use "may" is understood to be permissive.

Slug means any discharge of water, wastewater, or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for 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 operation.

Standard methods means the examination and analytical procedures set forth in the latest edition, at the time of analysis, of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" as prepared, approved and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation.

Storm sewer means a public sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage and into which domestic wastewater or industrial wastes are not intentionally passed.

Stormwater means rainfall or any other forms of precipitation.

Suspended solids means solids measured in mg/l that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, wastewater, or other liquids, and which are largely removable by a laboratory filtration device.

To discharge includes to deposit, conduct, drain, emit, throw, run, allow to seep, or otherwise release or dispose of, or to allow, permit, or suffer any of these acts or omissions.

Treatment plant upset means an inhibition or disruption of the treatment plant, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal which is a cause of or significantly contributes to:

(1)

A violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation);

(2)

The prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the treatment plant in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and city ordinances;

(3)

A decrease in the quality of the effluent being discharged from the treatment plant; or

(4)

A decrease in the performance of the treatment plant processes or operations.

Unpolluted wastewater means water containing:

(1)

No free or emulsified grease or oil;

(2)

No acids or alkalis;

(3)

No phenols or other substances producing taste or odor in receiving water;

(4)

No toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state, or solution;

(5)

No noxious or otherwise obnoxious or odorous gases;

(6)

No more than ten (10) mg/l each of suspended solids and BOD; and

(7)

Color not exceeding fifty (50) units as measured by the Platinum-Cobalt method of determination as specified in "Standard Methods."

Waste means rejected, unutilized or superfluous substances in liquid, gaseous, or solid form resulting from domestic, agricultural, or industrial activities.

Wastewater means a combination of the water-carried waste from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with any ground, surface and stormwater that may be present.

Wastewater facilities includes all facilities for collection, pumping, treating, and disposing of wastewater and industrial wastes.

Wastewater service charge means the charge on all industrial users of the public sewer system whose wastes do not exceed in strength the concentration values established as representative of normal wastewater.

Wastewater treatment plant means any city-owned facilities, devices, and structures used for receiving, processing and treating wastewater, industrial waste, and sludge's from the sanitary sewers.

Watercourse means a natural or manmade channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

(Ord. of 5-6-75, § 1; Ord. of 1-17-78, § 1; Ord. of 7-15-80, § I; Ord. No. 86-186, § 1, 10-20-86; Ord. No. 99-310, § 1, 10-18-99; Ord. No. 2001-O-128, § 1, 6-25-01; Ord. No. 2003-O-209, § 1, 9-2-03; Ord. No. 2016-O-086 , 8-1-16; Ord. No. 2018-O-030 , § 1, 2-5-18)

Cross reference

Rules of construction and definitions generally, § 1-2.