Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of the terms used in this article shall be as follows:

(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 days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/1).

(b)   Normal Domestic Wastewater shall mean wastewater that has a BOD concentration of not more than 100 mg/1 and a suspended solids concentration of not more than 100 mg/1.

(c)   Operation and Maintenance shall mean all expenditures during the useful life of the treatment works for materials, labor, utilities, and other items which are necessary for managing and maintaining the sewage works to achieve the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.

(d)   Replacement shall mean expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed. The term operation and maintenance includes replacement.

(e)   Residential Single-Family Contribution shall mean any contributor to the city’s treatment works whose lot, parcel of real estate, or building is used for domestic dwelling purposes only.

(f)   Shall is mandatory; May is permissive.

(g)   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.

(h)   Treatment Works shall mean any devices and systems for the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage, domestic sewage, or liquid industrial wastes. These include intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power, and other equipment and their appurtenances; 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 compost, and land used for the storage of treated wastewater 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, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.

(i)    Useful Life shall mean the estimated period during which a treatment works will be operated.

(j)    User Charge shall mean that portion of the total wastewater service charge which is levied in a proportional and adequate manner for the cost of operation, maintenance, and replacement of the wastewater treatment equipment as defined in 15-301(d).

(k)   Water Meter shall mean a water volume measuring and recording device.

(l)    Industrial and Commercial Contributors shall mean all those non- residential contributors engaged in business and commercial activities.

(Ord. 417, Art. 2)

The user charge system shall generate adequate annual revenues 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 treatment works shall be established by this article.

(Ord. 417, Art. 3)

That portion of the total user charge collected which is designated for operation and maintenance, including replacement purposes, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the Operation. Maintenance and Replacement Fund and will be kept in two primary accounts as follows:

(a)   An account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs (excluding replacement) of the treatment works (Operation and Maintenance Account).

(b)   An account designated for the specific purpose of insuring replacement needs over the useful life of the treatment works (Replacement Account). Deposits in the replacement account shall be made annually from the operation, maintenance and replacement revenue in the amount of $20,000.

(Ord. 94-593, Sec. 1)

Fiscal year-end balances in the operation and maintenance account and the replacement account shall be carried over to the same accounts in the subsequent fiscal year and shall be used for no other purposes than those designated for these accounts. Moneys which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the operation, maintenance and-replacement shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rate for operation, maintenance and replacement. The user charge rate(s) shall be adjusted such that the transferred moneys will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the moneys were borrowed.

(Ord. 417, Art. 3)

Each user shall pay for the services provided by the city based on their use of the treatment works as determined by water meter(s) acceptable to the city. All property owners shall be, and are hereby made liable for any and all bills contracted by themselves, their agents, or tenants by reason of the use by the agents or tenants of the city’s sewage facilities.

(Ord. 417, Art. 4)

For residential single-family contributors, monthly user charges will be based on average monthly water usage during the months of December, January and February. If a residential single-family contributor has not established a December, January and February average, his or her monthly user charge shall be the median charge of all other residential single-family contributors.

(Ord. 417, Art. 4; Ord. 92-569, Sec. 1)

For industrial and commercial contributors, user charges shall be based on water used during the current month. If a commercial or industrial contributor has a consumptive use of water, or in some other manner uses water which is not returned to the wastewater collection system, the user charge for that contributor may be based on a wastewater meter(s) or separate water meter(s) installed and maintained at the contributor’s expense, and in a manner acceptable to the city, providing it is not less than residential minimums.

(Ord. 417, Art. 4)

(a)   Each user who is connected to the City water system shall pay a minimum charge of $10.50 per month. In addition thereto and subject to Section 15-306, each such user shall pay a User Charge rate of $.00526, for each gallon of water metered. In the case of multiple family dwellings having common meters or mobile home parks having common meters, a minimum charge of $10.50 per month shall be paid for each apartment (unit) or mobile home hookup therein. In addition thereto, and subject to section 15-306, a rate charge of $.00526 for each gallon of water metered by any such common meter shall be paid.

(b)   Each user who is not connected to the city water system, but who contributes wastewater, shall pay a flat rate minimum charge of $25.86 per month.

(c)   Each non-resident of the city, who is not connected to the city water system, but who contributed wastewater to the sewer system shall pay a minimum of $30.33, per month.

(d)   Each new customer shall pay a flat rate of $29.40 per month until such customer has established an average monthly water usage as stated in Section 15-306.

(e)   Each owner of residential rental property shall pay a flat rate of $13.65 per month or portion thereof, for each such property which is unrented and/or unoccupied.

(Ord. 17-885; Ord. 22-09)

(a)   For those contributors who contribute wastewater, the strength of which is greater than normal domestic sewage, a surcharge in addition to charge based on quantity of flow will be due. The surcharge for operation and maintenance, including replacement is:

(1)   $0.16 per pound BOD in excess of 300 MG/L within any 24-hour period.

(2)   $0.18 per pound TSS in excess of 300 MG/L.

(b)   Notwithstanding section (a)(1), any wastewater contributor may discharge wastewater exceeding a concentration of 300 mg/L of BOD for one or more peak events per 24-hour period The total duration of all said peak discharge events added together shall not exceed 60 minutes per 24-hour period. The average BOD concentration, including such peak discharge events, shall not exceed 300 mg/L during a 24-hour period.

(c)   For those users who contribute a grease discharge, the discharge shall be limited to a 24-hour average strength of 100 mg/L. A surcharge of $0.18 per pound is levied on all grease discharge in any 24-hour average above 100 mg/L. Any user which discharges grease pollutants that cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the city treatment plant shall pay such increase costs.

(Ord. 03-708)

Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the costs 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 responsible plant operating personnel and approved by the city council.

(Ord. 417, Art. 4)

Unless otherwise stated, the user charge rates established in this article apply to all users of the city’s treatment works located in the corporate limits of the city.

(Ord. 94-593, Sec. 4)

All bills for the use of water and/or sewer shall be due on receipt and payable by the last day of each and every month. All bills remaining unpaid after the 10th day of the following month are hereby declared delinquent. If any water and/or sewer bill remains due and unpaid after the 10th of the following month, the city shall have the right to terminate service after notice and hearing. Before service shall be restored, the customer shall pay the bill, plus a penalty charge of 10% per month on the amount of the delinquencies, the charge commencing after the 10th of the month.

(Ord. 436, Sec. 2; Code 1984)

Water or sewer service shall be terminated for nonpayment of service fees or charges as provided in sections 15-122:123.

(Code 1984)

In the event that charges for sewerage service are not paid following the hearing, such charges shall be deemed and are hereby declared to be delinquent and thereafter such delinquency shall constitute a lien upon the real estate for which such service is supplied, the city clerk be, and is hereby authorized and directed to file a sworn statement showing such delinquency in the office of the register of deeds of Reno County, Kansas and the filing of such statement shall be deemed notice of the lien of such charges for such service.

(Ord. 417, Art. 5; Code 1984)

(a)   The city will review the user charge system bi-annually and revise user charge rates as necessary 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 and user classes.

(b)   The city will notify each user at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate being charged for operation, maintenance including replacement of the treatment works.

(Ord. 417, Art. 6)