(a)   “BOD” (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at 20 degrees C, expressed milligrams per liter.

(b)   “Building Drain” shall mean that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sanitary sewer, beginning five (5) feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

(c)   “Building Sanitary sewer” shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sanitary sewer or other place of disposal.

(d)   “Combined Sanitary sewer” shall mean a sanitary sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.

(e)   “Garbage” shall mean solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

(f)   “Industrial Wastes” shall mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade, or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.

(g)   “Natural Outlet” shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or groundwater.

(h)   “Person” shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, or group.

(i)    “pH” shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

(j)    “Properly Shredded Garbage” shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sanitary sewer, with no particle, greater than one-half (1/2) inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.

(k)   “Public Sanitary sewer” shall mean a sanitary sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and is controlled by public authority.

(l)    “Sanitary sewer” shall mean a sanitary sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface, and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.

(m)  “Sewage” shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residents, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and storm waters as may be present.

(n)   “Sewage Treatment Plant” shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

(o)   “Sewage Works” shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

(p)   “Sanitary sewer” shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

(q)   “Shall” is mandatory; “May” is permissive.

(r)    “Slug” shall mean any discharge of water, sewage, 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.

(s)   “Storm Drain” (sometimes termed “storm sanitary sewer”) shall mean a sanitary sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.

(t)    “Superintendent” shall mean City Personnel responsible for water control.

(u)   “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.

(v)   “Watercourse” shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sanitary sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Superintendent.

(b)   There shall be two (2) classes of building sanitary sewer permits: (a) for residential and commercial service, and (b) for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the City of Bennington. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Superintendent. A permit and inspection fee of ($25.00) Twenty-five dollars for a residential or commercial building sanitary sewer permit and ($50.00) Fifty dollars for an industrial building sanitary sewer permit shall be paid to the City at the time the application is filed.

(c)   No permit shall make connection of roof down spouts, interior and exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sanitary sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.

(d)   The applicant for the building sanitary sewer permit shall notify the Superintendent when the building sanitary sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sanitary sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Superintendent or his representative.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   The owner of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the City of Bennington and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary or combined sanitary sewer of the City of Bennington, is hereby required at his expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sanitary sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article, within ninety (90) days after the date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sanitary sewer is within one hundred (100) feet (30.5 meters) of the property line.

(b)   All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sanitary sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City of Bennington from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sanitary sewer.

(c)   A separate and independent building sanitary sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of another or an interior lot and no private sanitary sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court yard, or driveway, the building sanitary sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sanitary sewer.

(d)   Old building sanitary sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Superintendent, to meet all requirements of this article.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

Connection with the sanitary sewer system, may be provided to property owners outside the city limits, or outside the limits of the sanitary sewer district, if said patrons will furnish all lines from the existing sanitary sewer and water mains to their respective properties, which lines will be placed and laid without any expense to the city whatsoever, and the said property owners shall be responsible for obtaining all easements and rights-of-way for said lines from the city limits to their properties, and shall be responsible for maintenance of said lines outside of the city limits. Application for such service shall be made to the city council who may approve or reject such application at their discretion.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

Persons owning dwelling houses or buildings within the city, which building or buildings are, or shall be located near a sanitary sewer, or in a block within any sanitary sewer district in said city through which a sanitary sewer extends, shall be required to make such connections with said sanitary sewer system of said city as may be necessary in the judgment of the governing body for the protection of the health of the public, for the purpose of disposing of all substances from such building affecting the public health which may be lawfully and properly disposed of by means of a sanitary sewer.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

If any person shall fail, neglect or refuse to connect any building or buildings and premises with the sanitary sewer system, for more than ten (10) days after being notified in writing by the governing body of the city to do so, the governing body may cause the premises and buildings to be connected with the sanitary sewer system. The governing body shall thereupon advertise by one (1) publication in the official city paper, describing the premises and giving at least ten (10) days’ notice for bids for the construction and making of such sanitary sewer connections and shall contract therefor with the lowest responsible bidder or bidders, causing such premises to be connected with the city sanitary sewer system. The costs and expense thereof shall be assessed against the property and premises so connected, such assessment to be made in the same manner as other special assessments are made.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to connect to or drain into any city sanitary sewer, and slop hopper, septic tank or cesspool.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

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

(b)   Before commencement of construction of a private sanitary sewage disposal system the owner shall first obtain a written signed by the Superintendent. The application for such permit shall be made on a form furnished by the City of Bennington, which the applicant shall supplement by any plans, specifications, and other information as are deemed necessary by the Superintendent. A permit and inspection fee of ($25.00) Twenty-five dollars shall be paid to the City at the time the application is filed.

(c)   A permit for a private sanitary sewage disposal system shall not become effective until the installation is completed to the satisfaction of the Superintendent. He shall be allowed to inspect the work at any stage of construction and, in any event, the applicant for the permit shall notify the Superintendent when the work is ready for final inspection, and before any underground portions are covered. The inspection shall be made within 3 full business days of the receipt of notice by the Superintendent.

(d)   The type, capacities, location and layout of a private sanitary sewage disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the Department of Public Health of the State of Kansas. No permit shall be issued for any private sanitary sewage disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than (10,000) ten thousand square feet. No septic tank or cesspool shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet.

(e)   At such time as a public sanitary sewer becomes available to a property served by a private sanitary sewage disposal system, as provided in section 15-405, a direct connection shall be made to the public sanitary sewer in compliance with this article, and any septic tanks, cesspools, and similar private sanitary sewage disposal facilities shall be abandoned and filled with suitable material.

(f)   The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the City of Bennington.

(g)   No statement contained in this article shall be construed to interfere with any additional requirements that may be imposed by the Health Officer.

(h)   When a public sanitary sewer becomes available, the building sanitary sewer shall be connected to said sanitary sewer within sixty (60) days and the private sanitary sewage disposal system shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with clean bank-run gravel or dirt.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sanitary sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the City of Bennington. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the A.S.T.M. and W.P.C.F. Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.

(b)   Whenever possible, the building sanitary sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sanitary sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sanitary sewer.

(c)   All new or replaced sewer lines from main to the structure are required to have back flow prevention installed and tracer wire to be laid in the trench on top of the sewer line from the sewer main to the structure.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   All excavations for building sanitary sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the City.

(b)   No backfilling shall be done until the work has been inspected by the superintendent of utilities. The excavation in any road bed to the lateral or main shall be backfilled, tamped and water settled with water from a hose or other source within a reasonable time and maintained to conform with the proper level of the street.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, including interior and exterior foundation drains, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.

(b)   Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sanitary sewer as are specifically designated as combined sanitary sewers or storm sanitary sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Superintendent. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged on approval of the Superintendent, to a storm sanitary sewer, combined sanitary sewer, or natural outlet.

(Ord. 271; Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City of Bennington, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City of Bennington, any human or animal excrement, garbage, or other objectionable waste.

(b)   It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City of Bennington, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City of Bennington, any sewage or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.

(c)   No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sanitary sewer:

(1)   Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

(2)   Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sanitary sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard to the receiving waters of the sanitary sewage treatment plant, including but not limited to cyanides in excess of two (2) mg/I as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sanitary sewer.

(3)   Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sanitary sewage works.

(4)   Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sanitary sewer charges under the provisions of this chapter. If the Superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

(c)   Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   Any waters or wastes having (1) a 5-day BOD greater than 300 parts per million by weight, or (2) containing more than 350 parts per million by weight of suspended solids, or (3) having an average daily flow greater than 2 percent of the average sewage flow of the City, shall be subject to the review of the Superintendent. Where necessary in the opinion of the Superintendent, the owner shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to (1) reduce the suspended solids to 350 parts per million by weight, or (2) reduce the suspended solids to 350 parts per million by weight or (3) control the quantities and rates of discharge of such waters or wastes. Plans, specifications, and any other pertinent information relating to proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the Superintendent and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until said approvals are obtained in writing.

(b)   If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sanitary sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in Section 15-413, and which in the judgment of the Superintendent, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life to constitute a public nuisance, the Superintendent may:

(1)   Reject the wastes,

(2)   Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sanitary sewers,

(3)   Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge, and/or

(4)   Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sanitary sewer charges under the provisions of this Article.

If the Superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

(c)   Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Superintendent and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   When required by the Superintendent, the owner of any property serviced by a building sanitary sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sanitary sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Superintendent. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

(b)   All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this article shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater”, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at \:he control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sanitary sewer to the point at which the building sanitary sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four (24) hour composite of all outfalls of a premise is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH’s are determined from periodic grab samples.)

(c)   No statement contained in this article shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City of Bennington and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment therefore, by the industrial concern.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

No garages, motor vehicle service stations, repair shops, stables or dairies shall be allowed to connect their wash racks to the sanitary sewer system.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

Each fixture is to have a trap which is to be placed as near to each particular fixture as possible. In no case shall traps be placed at or near the foot of a vertical drain. For wash basins, kitchen sinks, wash tubs, bathtubs and the like, the regulation S or P trap shall be used, except that for bathtubs, kitchen sinks or washtubs a tub trap may be used.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct. No person shall injure or destroy any public sanitary sewer, or molest any sanitary sewer, or any part thereof, by removing the cover of any manhole or other part of the public sanitary sewer system without the authority of the governing body.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   The Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the City of Bennington bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article. The Superintendent or his representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct hearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sanitary sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.

(b)   While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to above, the Superintendent or duly authorized employees of the City of Bennington shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the City employees and the City shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by City employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required herein.

(c)   The Superintendent and other duly authorized employees of the City of Bennington bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the City holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works lying within said easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on said easement, shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)

(a)   Any person found to be violating any provision of this article except 15-406 shall be served by the City of Bennington with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.

(b)   Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit specified herein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in the amount not exceeding $100 for each violation. Each 24-hour period in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article, or doing any of the acts or things prohibited by the article, or failing or refusing to perform any duty imposed by this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any amount not to exceed $200, or be imprisoned for not to exceed thirty (30) days, or be both so fined and imprisoned.

(c)   Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the City of Bennington for any expense, loss, or damage occasioned the City by reason of such violation.

(Ord. 310; Ord. 366; Code 2018)