06-08-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA ITEM Prepared By: Reviewed By: DJR Approved By: DJR 1. Purpose. The purpose of this item is to adopt the proposed sanitary sewer service line inspection program and associated ordinance changes. 2. Background. The City continues to work toward reducing Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) into the City’s sanitary sewer system. See Exhibit A for more on I&I. Excessive I&I can create backup problems as it overwhelms our system, it is also very expensive. Orono pays the Metropolitan (Met) Council to treat all of our sewage. The City’s bill is adjusted year to year based on the previous year’s flows going into the Met Council system. In addition the city is fined for any exceedances of our flow allocations. To date the vast majority of I&I mitigation work has been on public infrastructure (sewer mains pipes and manholes) and while these have shown some improvement there is still considerable I&I entering our system. A key contributor to the I&I we are experience is very likely the private service lines that connect to our system. One method of addressing I&I coming into the sewer system via private service lines is with a point of sale inspection policy. The city does provide for inspections in our current ordinance however it is focused on illicit discharges into the system such as cross connections from sump pumps. At the October 26th Council work session staff presented the concept and received initial guidance. At the April 27th Council meeting the council reviewed the draft ordinance and program providing guidance to staff on revisions. 3. Program proposal. The Sewer Service Inspection Program consists of two components: inspections and compliance. City code currently contains a section (14-189) for inspections and compliance aimed at cross connections. The proposal contains updates establishing more reasonable timelines and adding some specificity to inspections required for rebuilds. In addition the proposal includes a new section (14- 190) aimed at establishing a point of sale inspection. Draft code revisions are at Exhibit B. a. Inspection requirement. Inspection of a sewer service line will be required when a property connected to the city sanitary sewer is sold (Point of Sale). The inspection will look to identify infiltration into the sewer service line via cracks, separations or root intrusions as well as looking to inflow via cross connection from gutters, sump pumps, and foundation drains. The inspection will consist of a visual inspection and televising of the service lateral to ensure no cross connections or signs of infiltration. Inspection will be completed by a public works employee, however the proposed ordinance does provide a provision for a licensed plumber to perform the inspection and provide proof of the inspection and video to the city for review. b. Compliance requirement. If the inspection shows the property to be fully compliant then a certificate of compliance will be issued. The certificate will be good for 10 years. Brand new sewer services complying current installation and testing requirements will also be issued a certificate as part of the existing utility connection inspection program. If the property is not compliant a correction notice would be issued and the corrections made by the property owner within 90 days. (Current code says 14 days). Once corrected the property owner will schedule a follow up inspection and if the compliant, a certificate of compliance will be issued. If a property owner fails to comply a surcharge will be added to the utility bill. The surcharge amount will be set in the Fee Schedule. 4. Cost. The cost to implement the program is estimated to be $19,500/ year in labor (130 inspections x Item No.: 8 Date: June 8, 2020 Item Description: Sanitary Sewer Service Line Inspection Program – Ordinance Presenter: Adam T. Edwards Public Works Director/City Engineer Agenda Section: Consent Agenda