§ 24-148. Low pressure systems.

(1)

Preamble:

WHEREAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found low pressure sewer systems to have increased energy demands, higher maintenance requirements, and greater costs for homeowners; and

WHEREAS, the mayor and city council deems it to be in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Cartersville to adopt additional regulations governing low pressure systems and permissible residential systems in general,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED AND IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED, by virtue of the authority vested in the city council by law that the following waste treatment ordinance be adopted:

(2)

Waste treatment ordinance—Purpose: It is the purpose of this section to regulate the available types of waste treatment options for individual uses in the City of Cartersville. The City of Cartersville has experience with individual septic systems and traditional gravity flow systems, and such systems are appropriate for the city. Under more limited circumstances, private sewage facilities may be permitted. The City of Cartersville recognizes that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found low-pressure sewer systems to have increased energy demands, higher maintenance requirements, and higher costs to the homeowner. The city has further determined that the ongoing maintenance issues created by such systems lead to greater future problems than in a conventional gravity flow sewer system. Such systems have many more mechanical and powered parts and are therefore subject to much higher failure rates. Preventative maintenance requirements are higher and power outages can result in overflows and damage to residences. Life cycle replacement costs are higher than gravity sewers. Therefore, this section is adopted to regulate and prohibit such systems, in the interest of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Cartersville.

(3)

Definitions: As used in this division, words shall have their common meaning and significance, except for the specifically defined terms below:

(a)

Effluent: The flow of liquids and solids from a structure's sewage plumbing system; e.g., human waste, waste water, etc.

(b)

Low pressure sewer system: A sewer system that uses pressure to move the effluent from individual lots to the main sewer lines. Pressure sewers typically break down large solids in a pumping station located on an individual lost before they are transported through the collection system (sewer mains) to the treatment facility. Such systems include grinder pump systems and septic tank effluent pump systems. Systems which use a pump-to-pump waste from a septic tank to a septic field on the same lot are not included in this definition.

(c)

Low pressure sewer system cluster: A pressure sewer system with a common low-pressure line that connects several residences by individual pumps to a central or common pump station.

(d)

Private sewage facility means a privately owned sewage treatment facility providing sewage disposal to property owned only by a single owner. Examples would include a facility serving a single industrial site, or a facility serving a mobile home park where all lots are owned by a single owner.

(e)

Public sewage facility means a sewage treatment facility providing sewage disposal to more than one (1) property owned by different owners. Examples would include a facility serving an industrial park with several owners, or a facility serving a subdivision with separate homeowners.

(4)

Regulation of waste treatment facilities:

(a)

Low-pressure sewer systems (including low pressure sewer system clusters) are prohibited in the City of Cartersville. Individual residential lots are required to be connected to a public gravity flow sewer system.

(b)

Sewage treatment and handling systems for individual residential lots not otherwise covered or defined specifically by this section, or as may be invested in the future, shall only be permitted upon approval of the water superintendent. The applicant shall submit an application as required by the city, containing plans, specifications and other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the superintendent. The superintendent shall not permit systems or technologies that are unproven, that increase the risks of environmental contamination, that do not meet the standards contained in the City of Cartersville Code of Ordinances or standards as may be adopted by the City of Cartersville Water Department or other applicable ordinance, that increase costs or burdens on the city's sewer system or to individual property owners, or that are found to be a threat in any way to the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the city.

(5)

Interpretation: It shall be the duty of the City of Cartersville Water Superintendent to classify proposed systems. If there is a question as to the type of system proposed, or whether it is permitted or prohibited, the superintendent shall make the final interpretation for the water department. His determination may be appealed to the city manager.

(Ord. No. 27-05, § 1, 4-21-05)