Chapter 7½

 

SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL [1]

 

Art. I.     In General, §§ 7½-1 – 7½-19

Art. II.    Building Sewers and Connections, §§ 7½-20 – 7½-41

Art. III.  Use of Public Sewers, §§ 7½-42 – 7½-53

 

 

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

 

Sec. 7½-1.    Definitions.

 

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

 

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 twenty (20) degrees centigrade, expressed in milligrams per liter.

 

Building code shall mean the South Florida Building Code, 1974 edition, as hereafter amended.

 

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 sewer, beginning five (5) feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

 

Building sewer shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer.

 

Combined sewer shall mean a sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.

 

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.

 

Hearing board shall mean the commissioners of the Town of Hillsboro Beach.

 

Industrial wastes shall mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trades or businesses as distinct from sanitary sewage.

 

Natural outlet shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water, except the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Person shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corpo­ration or group.

 

pH shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

 

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 sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.

 

Public sewer shall mean a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled by public authority.

 

Sanitary sewer shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

 

Sewage shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.

 

Sewage treatment plant shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

 

Sewer shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

 

Sewerage works shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

 

Shall is mandatory; “may” is permissive.

 

Slug shall mean any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds a twen­ty-four hour flow rate in excess of two and one-half (2½) times the average annual flow rate shall be considered an excessive flow rate. A flow rate for any fifteen-minute interval in a twenty-four-hour period of more than two and one-half (2½) times the average flow rate for the twenty-four-hour period is also considered excessive.

 

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

 

Superintendent shall mean the director of Broward County utilities department, or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

 

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.

 

Town shall mean the Town of Hillsboro Beach.

 

Town engineer shall include his designated representatives.

 

Watercourse shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either con­tinuously or intermittently.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. I, §§ 1 – 26, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-2.    Use of public sewers required.

 

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 Town of Hillsboro Beach, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said town, any human or animal excrement, garbage or other objectionable waste.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. II, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-3.    Discharge to natural outlets prohibited.

 

It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the Town of Hillsboro Beach, or in any area under the jurisdiction of said town, any sew­age or other polluted waters. (Ord. No. 94, Art. II, § 2, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-4.    Privies, septic tanks, etc.

 

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.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. II, § 3, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-5.    Time limitation for connection to sanitary sewer.

 

The owners of all houses, buildings or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the town and abut­ting on any street, alley or right-of-way in which there is located a public sanitary sewer of the town, is hereby required at his expense to install suit­able toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within one year after date of official notice to do so.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. II, § 4, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-6.    Protection from damage.

 

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewerage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under the charge of disorderly conduct.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. V, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-7.    Hearing board to arbitrate differences; cost.

 

A hearing board shall arbitrate differences between the superintendent and sewer users on matters concerning interpretation and execution of the provi­sions of this chapter by the superintendent. The cost of the arbitration will be divided equally between the Broward County utilities department and the sewer user.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IX, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-8.    Penalties.

 

(a)        Any person found to be violating any provision of this chapter except section 7½-6 shall be served by the town 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 pro­vided for in subsection (a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not exceeding five hun­dred dollars ($500.00) for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.

 

(c)        Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall become liable to the town for any expense, loss or damage occasioned the town by reason of such violation.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. VII, §§ 1 – 3, 02-03-1975)

 

Secs. 7½-9 – 7½-19.    Reserved.

 

 

ARTICLE II.  BUILDING SEWERS AND CONNECTIONS

 

Sec. 7½-20.  Permit – Required.

 

No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the town engineer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-21.  Same – Application.

 

The owner or his agent shall make application for a residential or commercial building sewer permit on a special form furnished by the town. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications, special re­quirements or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the town engineer as provided in this article and in Chapter 46, Section 4601.5 of the South Florida Building Code. The permit and inspection fees as required in the schedule for plumbing fees (set out in Table III of section 4-67) shall be paid to the town at the time the application is filed.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 2, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-22.  Installation costs to be borne by owner.

 

All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the town from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 3, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-23.  Separate sewers required.

 

A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every build­ing; except where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear build­ing through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 4, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-24.  Use of old sewers after approval.

 

Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the town engineer, to meet all the requirements of this article.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 5, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-25.  Materials and method of installation to conform to building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules.

 

The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building 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 codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the town.

 

(a)        The approved materials of construction of a building sewer are cast iron, vitrified clay or plastic pipe and fittings.

 

(b)        A test fitting shall be placed in the building sewer at the right-of-way line of Highway A1A with a suitable cleanout fitting. The branch outlet of the test fitting shall be brought to grade and protected with an approved cast-iron terminal sewer cleanout box fitting with a round cover.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 6, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-26.  Elevation.

 

Whenever possible, the building 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 sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall flow into a sump equipped with dual ejec­tors or pumps discharging into a cast-iron force main, terminating at a man­hole at the private property side of the right-of-way line of Highway A1A and thence by gravity into the public sewer.

 

(a)        A standby power unit or an emergency power source shall be provided to operate the ejectors or pumps.

 

(b)        An audible and sight alarm device shall be required to indicate a mal­function of the system.

 

(c)        Plans and specifications for the lift station shall be prepared by a professional engineer registered in the State of Florida.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 7, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-27.  Connections of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, etc.

 

No person shall make connections of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indi­rectly to a public sanitary sewer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 8, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-28.  Connections to conform with building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules.

 

The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the town. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the town engineer before installation.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 9, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-29.  Inspections.

 

The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the town engineer when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the town engineer or his representative.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 10, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-30.  Excavations to be guarded with barricades and lights; restora­tion of streets, sidewalks, etc.

 

(a)        All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard.

 

(b)        Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the town. (Ord. No. 94, Art. III, § 11, 02-03-1975)

 

Secs. 7½-31 – 7½-41.  Reserved.

 

 

ARTICLE III.  USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS

 

Sec. 7½-42.  Discharging storm water, surface water, etc., prohibited.

 

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-43.  Discharge of storm water and other unpolluted drainage.

 

Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the town engineer.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 2, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-44.  Regulation of discharges causing damage or hazards to sewer facilities.

 

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following de­scribed waters or wastes into any public sewer:

 

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

 

(b)        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 sewage treatment process, con­stitute a hazard to humans, fowl, marine life, vegetation, or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including, but not limited to, cyanides in excess of one-tenth mg/1 as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.

 

(c)        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 sewerage works.

 

(d)        Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewerage works such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feath­ers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 3, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-45.  Prohibited discharges.

 

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the public sewers the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely in the opinion of the superintendent that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the superintendent will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sew­ers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The sub­stances prohibited are:

 

(a)        Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty (150) degrees Fahrenheit (sixty-five (65) degrees centigrade).

 

(b)        Any waters or wastes containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emul­sified or not, in excess of one hundred (100) mg/1 or containing sub­stances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) and one hundred fifty (150) degrees Fahrenheit (zero (0) and sixty-five (65) degrees centigrade).

 

(c)        Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the superintendent.

 

(d)        Any waters or wastes containing strong acid, iron pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.

 

(e)        Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances, or wastes exerting an excessive chlo­rine requirement to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits estab­lished by the superintendent for such materials.

 

(f)        Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits which may be established by the superintendent as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiv­ing waters.

 

(g)        Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.

 

(h)        Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.

 

(i)         Materials which exert or cause:

 

(1)        Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).

 

(2)        Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).

 

(3)        Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.

 

(4)        Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined herein.

 

(j)         Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treat­ment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 4, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-46.  Authority of superintendent relative to discharges.

 

If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the charac­teristics enumerated in section 7½-45 of this article, and which, in the judgment of the superintendent, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewer­age works, processes, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the superintendent may:

 

(a)        Reject the wastes;

 

(b)        Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;

 

(c)        Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or

 

(d)        Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges.

 

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.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 5, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-47.  Interceptors.

 

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. No. 94, Art. IV, § 6, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-48.  Maintenance of preliminary treatment facilities.

 

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. No. 94, Art. IV, § 7, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-49.  Control manhole.

 

When required by the superintendent, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building 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 town engi­neer. 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.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 8, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-50.  Standard for measurements, tests and analyses.

 

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 the 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 sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewerage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a twenty-four-hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from twenty-four-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH's are determined from periodic grab samples.)  (Ord. No. 94, Art. IV, § 9, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-51.  Powers and authority of inspectors.

 

The superintendent and the town engineer and other duly authorized employees of the Broward County utilities department and the Town of Hillsboro Beach bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article. The superin­tendent and the town engineer or their 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 bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.  (Ord. No. 94, Art. VI, § 1, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-52.  Observance of safety rules.

 

While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in sec­tion 7½-51, the superintendent and the town engineer or duly authorized em­ployees 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 employees and the Broward County utilities department and the Town of Hillsboro Beach shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by Broward County utilities and town 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 in section 7½-49. (Ord. No. 94, Art. VI, § 2, 02-03-1975)

 

Sec. 7½-53.  Right to enter private property for inspection, observation, etc.

 

The superintendent and the town engineer and any other duly authorized employ­ees of the Broward County Utilities department and the Town of Hillsboro Beach bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the town holds a duly negotiated easement for the purpose of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling repair and maintenance of any portion of the sewerage 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. No. 94, Art. VI, § 3, 02-03-1975)


[1] Original editor's note – Ord. No. 94, enacted Feb. 3, 1975, did not specifically amend this Code, hence inclusion herein of Arts. I – VII and IX as Ch. 7½ was at the discretion of the original editors. Art. VIII, valid clause, and Art. X, effective date, of said Ord. No. 94, has been omitted from this codification by the original editors.

Cross reference – Water, Ch. 10.