§ 50-81. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Building drain means 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 feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

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

Business means the place of commerce for a single commercial venture, whether involved in the sale or manufacture of goods, or the rendering of services for the general public or some particular segment thereof.

Combined sewer means a sewer intended to receive both wastewater and stormwater or surface water.

Easement means an acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.

Floatable oil means oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility grease trap. A wastewater shall be considered free of floatable fat if it is properly pretreated, and the wastewater does not interfere with the collection system provided by the owner.

Garbage means the animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.

Industrial waste means the wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business as distinct from domestic or sanitary wastes.

Natural outlet means any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer overflows, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.

Operator means a Class III operator of the of water and sewer system maintenance, of the county, appointed in accordance with the Charter and laws applicable to the county and authorized by the commission to fulfill the requirements of this division and be responsible for the operations of the water and sewer systems.

pH means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution.

Pretreatment facility means the treatment of wastewater by commercial and industrial facilities to remove harmful pollutants before being discharged to a sewer system under the control of a publically owned treatment works. Pretreatment is also defined in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations 40-CFR.

Properly shredded garbage means 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 means a common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.

Residence means the place of abode intended for permanent habitation by single-family, and shall include apartment units, whether located within a complex of units or in duplex type structures; provided, however, the term shall not be construed as being inclusive of structures known commonly as motels, hotels, rooming houses or boarding houses, nursing homes and hospitals.

Sanitary sewer means a sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions together with minor quantities of groundwater, stormwater and surface water that are not admitted intentionally.

Sewage means the spent water of a community. The preferred term is "wastewater".

Sewer means a pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.

Slug means any discharge of water or wastewater which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average 24-hour concentration of flows during normal operation and shall adversely affect the collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment works.

Storm drain (sometimes termed storm sewer) means a drain or sewer for conveying water, or unpolluted water from any source.

Superintendent means the superintendent of water and sewer system maintenance, of the county, appointed in accordance with the Charter and laws applicable to the county and authorized by the commission to fulfill the requirements of this division and be responsible for the operations of the water and sewer systems.

Suspended solids means total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater, or other liquids and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in "standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater" and referred to as nonfilterable residue.

Unpolluted water means water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefited by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.

Wastewater means the spent water of a community. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.

Wastewater facilities means the structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.

Wastewater treatment works means an arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge. Sometimes used as synonymous with the terms "waste treatment plant", "wastewater treatment plant" or "water pollution control plant".

Water and sewer department means the county water and sewer department, which is the operating organization working under the policies and direction of the city council.

Watercourse means a natural or artificial channel for the passage of water, either continuously or intermittently.

(Ord. No. R02-10, § 1, 5-11-10; Ord. No. 01-15 , 7-14-15)