It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the city to collect charges from all users who contribute wastewater to the city’s treatment works. The proceeds of such charges so derived will be used for the purpose of operating, maintaining and retiring the debt for such public wastewater treatment works.

(Code 1988)

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of 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 135 mg/ 1 and a suspended solids concentration of not ·more than 79 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 Contributor 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 surf ace 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 included intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvement, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process 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 stormwater 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 works.

(k)   Water Meter shall mean a water volume measuring and recording device, furnished and/or installed by the city or furnished and/or installed by a user and approved by the city.

(Ord. 862, Sec.·11)

The monthly rates required and which shall be charged and collected by the city for sewer service furnished or available by the city’s sanitary sewerage system shall be based upon the quantity of water used and shall be measured by the water meter or meters installed on the premises served or for which service is available, unless suitable wastewater measuring and recording equipment is furnished and maintained by the person receiving service, and the charges shall be as set forth in this Article; provided, in cases where multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartment buildings) are connected through a single water meter, each dwelling unit shall be subject to the minimum base rate set forth in subsection (a).

(a)   For all users or patrons for whom service is available within the City of Caney, except for those charged under subsection (b) of this section, the minimum base rate shall be $36.00 per month for each billing cycle ending on or prior to March 31, 2023, and $40.00 per month for each billing cycle ending on or after April 1, 2023; and for all users or patrons for whom service is available outside of the City of Caney limits, except for those charged under subsection (b) of this section, the minimum base rate shall be $42.00 per month for each billing cycle ending on or prior to March 31, 2023, and $46.00 per month for each billing cycle ending on or after April 1, 2023. In addition to the base rate, a usage rate shall apply at the rate of $2.00 (prior to April 1, 2023 billing cycle) and $3.00 (on and after April 1, 2023 billing cycle) per 100 cubic feet of water usage per month for customers within the City of Caney and $2.35 (prior to April 1, 2023 billing cycle) and $3.35 (on and after April 1, 2023 billing cycle) per 100 cubic feet of water usage per month for customers outside of the City of Caney limits. In cases where multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartment buildings) are connected through a single water meter, the base rate shall not apply to a vacant dwelling unit, from and after its 31st day of vacancy, so long as the owner/manager of the unit makes application for cessation of charges with the City. Cessation of charges shall not be applied retroactively. It shall be the duty of the owner/manager to notify the City when the unit is re-occupied. Failure to notify the City of such reoccupation within seven (7) days shall result in an assessment equal to three (3) months of base charges applying to the dwelling unit.

(1)   The average monthly water usage for each customer shall be calculated from the customer’s three normal billing cycles occurring during the monthly periods from October 15 to November 15, November 15 to December 15, and December 15 to January 15 of each year. The basis so established shall be used in rendering sewage service bills beginning the 15th day of February following the establishment of the basis, payable March 1 and thereafter, and shall be used until the following February 15. A new basis shall be established each year from the customer’s three normal billing cycles during the months of October, November, December and January, as above provided.

(2)   The basis for those residential customers not having three normal billing cycles at their current service account occurring during the months of October, November, December and January from which to calculate the average monthly water usage shall be the average monthly water usage for all residential accounts during the preceding October, November, December and January as calculated by the office of the city clerk. Such basis shall be used until the customer’s own basis is established from the next three normal billing cycles occurring during the months of October, November, December and January.

(3)   The basis for those commercial and industrial accounts not having three normal billing cycles at their current service account occurring during the months of October, November, December and January shall be determined and estimated by the office of the city clerk to be approximately equivalent to the average monthly water usage which can be reasonably anticipated to be used by the particular applicant. Any applicant may appeal such determination to the mayor who shall investigate the circumstances and fix the required deposit. Any applicant may thereafter appeal the mayor’s determination to the governing body, which shall consider the applicant’s proposed basis, the mayor’s determination, and fix the required deposit. Such basis shall be used until the customer’s own basis is established from the next three normal billing cycles during the months of October, November, December and January.

(b)   For any industrial, commercial or other contributor who discharges process wastewater or other wastewater into the sanitary sewer system which contains more than 0.85 pounds of BOD per 100 cu. ft. and/or more than 0.50 pounds of suspended solids per 100cu.ft., a charge of $3 per month plus $0.55 per 100 cu. ft for all wastewater discharged, plus $0.20 per pound for each pound of BOD in excess of 0.85 pounds per 100 cu. ft. plus 0.20 pound for each pound of suspended solids in excess of 0.50 pounds per 100 cu. ft. to determine the applicability of this subsection to any user, the city, or its designated agents, will perform currently recognized and accepted analyses of user’s discharge into the sewer system of the city on a periodic basis as deemed necessary by the city to determine the content of discharge. The condition of discharge found and determined by such analysis shall be applied to the rate charged any user until subsequent analysis shall reflect a change of charge or rate. Results of such analyses shall be available for inspection by the user. In the event of substantial change in sewer discharge by any user so affected by this subsection, such user may request the city to make a re-evaluation of sewage discharge content at reasonable intervals.

(c)   For haulers of liquid wastes dumping such wastes in any city-approved portion of the sewage works, $10 per occurrence plus 0.70 per 1,000 gallons of all wastewater dumped.

(d)   funds collected under this article shall be deposited as follows:

(1)   $6,000 minimum will be deposited annually into a wastewater treatment plant replacement account for the sole purpose of making expenditures for obtaining and replacing 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.

(2)   $36,000 minimum will be deposited annually into the general fund for the purposes of defraying the expenses of administration, billing, and collection of sewerage use charges.

(3)   $12,000 minimum will be deposited annually into a sewer system operation, maintenance and replacement account for the sole purpose of defraying the expenses of operating, maintaining and replacing needs of the sewerage collection system, including sewerage pumping appurtenances therein.

(4)   all remaining funds will be maintained in a wastewater treatment plant operations and maintenance account.

(5)   Accounts established in this section shall be non-lapsing. Funds held in these accounts at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried in the same account to the following fiscal year.

(e)   Funds which have been transferred from other sources into the sewerage system operations and maintenance account, or the sewerage reserve account to meet temporary shortages shall be returned to the other source accounts upon appropriate adjustment of the user charge rates for operation, maintenance and replacement. The use charge rate(s) shall be adjusted such that revenues will be accrued to return the transferred funds to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the funds were transferred, and to provide funds for operations, maintenance, and reserves.

(f)   Each user shall be notified at least annually, in conjunction with a regular bill, of the rate and that portion of the user charges which are attributable to wastewater treatment services.

(Ord. 862, Sec. 3; Ord. 1043; Ord. 1077; Ord. 1082; Ord. 2005; Ord. 2047; Ord. 2060; Ord. 2130; Ord. 2140; Ord. 2142; Ord. 2150; Ord. 2168; Code 2022; Ord. 2023-03)

Rates for all classes of users shall be reviewed at least annually to:

(a)   Maintain the proportionate distribution of operation and maintenance costs between users and user classes;

(b)   Generate sufficient revenue to pay the total operation and maintenance costs necessary for the proper operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the treatment works; and

(c)   Apply excess revenues collected from a class of users to the cost of operation attributable to that class of users for the next year, and to adjust the rate accordingly.

(Ord. 862, Sec. 4)

Any business establishment, industry or other user discharging an unusual amount of waste or fluid into the city’s sewerage system which places an unusual burden upon the system or its sewerage treatment works or facilities, shall be charged such reasonable and proper amount as may be fixed from time to time by the governing body of the city, taking into account such unusual burden.

(Ord. 862, Sec. 5)

No sewerage services shall be furnished or rendered by the city’s sewerage system or any of the facilities thereof free of charge any customer or user thereof.

(Ord. 862 Sec. 6)

(a)    All water meters shall be read and bills for both water and sewerage service shall be rendered monthly as such services accrue. The office of the city clerk shall calculate the amount of each bill for water service for the preceding period and shall add thereto the amount of such customer’s bill for sewerage service computed as hereinbefore specified, and shall render to each customer a single bill for such water and sewerage services.

(b)    For persons liable for payment of a sewer service charge who obtain any water from any source other than the city’s water system, such person shall furnish and maintain suitable wastewater measuring and recording equipment for calculation of the monthly sewerage service charge computed as aforesaid.

(c)    As used herein, the term “monthly” shall mean a preceding period of approximately one month beginning and ending as near the same day of the month as is practicable for the water meters of the city to be read. In reading the meters and in calculating the water bills and sewerage service charges, aforesaid, the monthly period shall extend from the time such meter was read for the preceding month to the date the same is read for a current month.

(Code 1988)

Service shall be terminated for nonpayment of service charges as provided in sections 15-113-114 of this chapter.

(Code 1988)

Liability for payment of sewer service charges shall be governed by section 15-115 of this chapter.

(Code. 1988)