CHAPTER VII. PUBLIC UTILITIESCHAPTER VII. PUBLIC UTILITIES\Article 6. Private Sewer Systems

Where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of this article, the building sewer shall be connected to a private wastewater disposal system complying with the provisions of this article.

(Ord. 3114)

Before commencement of construction of a private wastewater disposal system, the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the Director of Public Works. The application for such permit shall be made on a form furnished by the city, which the applicant shall supplement by any plans, specifications, and other information as are deemed necessary by the Director of Public Works or KSOR or an authorized representative. A permit and inspection fee as prescribed in section 1-310 shall be paid to the City Clerk at the time the application is filed.

(Ord. 3114; Ord. 3425)

A permit for a private wastewater disposal system shall not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works, who shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the Director of Public Works when the work is ready for final inspection, and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made within ninety-six (96) hours of the receipt of notice by the Director of Public Works or an authorized representative.

(Ord. 3114)

The type, capacities, location, and layout of a private wastewater disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. No permit shall be issued for any private wastewater disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than 20,000 square feet, when a public water supply is used. In the case of a private water supply, the minimum lot size will be 40,000 square feet. No septic tank or cesspool system shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.

(Ord. 3114)

The owner shall operate and maintain the private wastewater disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the city.

(Ord. 3114)

At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system, as provided in this article, the building sewer shall be connected to said sewer within sixty (60) days and the private wastewater disposal system shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with clean bank-run gravel, locally available chat, or soil.

(Ord. 3114)

A private sewer line may be installed across a public right-of-way when an adjacent public sewer service is not available. A right-of-way use agreement must be entered into by the property owner and City to include the follow provisions.

(a)   PERMIT AND AGREEMENT.

(1)   Procedure.

(A)  Prior to the preparation of the design drawings and permit, the consulting engineer and/or property owner shall meet with the Public Works Director and City Engineer to discuss the extent and nature of the project, the relevant information to be provided and the permit approval process. The information required may be adjusted to account for unique circumstances as agreed upon by the applicant and City Engineer.

(B)  The property owner must submit an engineer certified design and permit form which will be reviewed by the City Engineer for completeness and form.

(C)  The City Engineer will review the design and permit and will determine if the design is appropriate. If the City Engineer finds the design and permit acceptable, the permit will be approved and the applicant will be provided a Right-of-Way Use Agreement.

(D)  If the City Engineer determines that additional information is necessary, the submittal will be returned to the applicant with a request for additional information. The additional information request will clearly identified and describe the information sought.

(E)   Once the property owner signed the ROW Use Agreement, it will be forwarded to the City Manager for acceptance by the City.

(F)   The property owner is responsible to file a copy of the City Manager endorsed ROW Use Agreement in the Register of Deeds Office and said agreement is to be cited to the record of the subject property.

(G)  Approved drawings and supplemental information shall be attached to the connection permit, and ultimately filed with the ROW use agreement and in the Register of Deeds Office.

(H)  Any modifications to an approved permit must be submitted by the property owner and accepted by the City Engineer. All review processes of modifications are to follow the same procedure as required for the initial permit.

(I)    The property owner may appeal a permit denial or request for additional information to the City Manager. The appeal must be accompanied with a justification for the grounds of appeal. The City Manager may: uphold the permit denial or request for more information; or approve the design and permit. The determination of the City Manager may be appealed to the City Commission upon the receipt of a written appeal request from the property owner stating the grounds for appeal.

(2)   Submittals.

(A)  The permit must be filed with a one-time non-refundable fee as prescribed in section 1-310.

(B)  The design submittal shall be a surveyed and engineered drawing prepared by a licensed professional engineer in the State of Kansas. Improvement specifications must be included on the drawing.

(C)  The following information is required as a minimum and additional information may be requested by the City Engineer as stipulated in Section 7-607(a)(1)(D). The design submittal must:

(i)    Be in a plan and profile format;

(ii)   Be to scale at least a 1:20 scale and include a north arrow;

(iii)  Show the location of and identify ROW lines, property lines, public utilities, franchise utilities and easements within 40 feet either side of the proposed private sewer line;

(iv)  Location, size, material and directional flow of the private line;

(v)   Include letters from the utilities verifying the receipt of the submittal and identifying any conflict and its resolution shall be provided;

(vi)  Include contact information for the property owner and engineer; and

(vii) Traffic control shall be illustrated on the drawings.

(b)   REQUIREMENTS.

(1)   Design

(A)  The design must include a tracing wire along the sewer line.

(B)  Street ROW crossings, regardless of the surface composition of the street shall be backfilled with flowable fill or bored and cased under the street improvement.

(C)  When currently published KDHE standards are applicable to the project, the design drawing and accompanying documentation must comply with KDHE requirements.

(2)   Maintenance, Liability and Assurances

(A)  All costs associated with the installation, maintenance and removal of the private sewer line, including the necessary replacement, relocation or repair of disturbed public facilities (water lines, public sewer lines, streets, curbs, drainage improvements, electrical facilities, gas lines, telephone lines, television lines, etc.) are to be the responsibility of the property owner.

(B)  The property owner accepts all liability associated with the private sewer line and any modifications to public facilities necessitated by the installation, removal, replacement or maintenance of the private sewer line, to include repairs to public facilities damaged as a result of failure of the private sewer line.

(C)  The property owner or the future assignees of the property will not allow any additional users to connect to the private sewer line.

(D)  A certificate of insurance and bond or surety in the amount of $1,000,000 will be provided payable to the City. City shall be held harmless.

(c)   INSTALLATION AND INSPECTION.

(1)   Installation of the line must follow the design as approved in the permit.

(2)   The property owner will be responsible to ensure that all public utilities are located and marked prior to beginning the installation of the sewer line.

(3)   The property owner must provide notice to the Public Works Director and property owners adjacent to the project at least one week prior to the commencing of excavation.

(4)   The approved traffic control measures must be provided during construction.

(5)   The City Engineer and City Inspector must be notified and conduct an inspection of the sewer line and connection to the public sewer line prior to burying of the line. Burial of the line can not commence until the improvement passes inspection by the City Inspector.

(6)   Repetitive failure to pass inspection will result in revocation of the permit and requirement to remove the sewer line and repair to all grounds and improvements disturbed due to the installation.

(d)   SUBSEQUENT CONNECTION. - The property owner will abandon and remove the private sewer lines and install a new private service line at such time as a public sewer line is made available adjacent to the subject property. This work must be completed within sixty (60) days of the public line being made available.

(Ord. 3114; Ord. 3425)