Columbia Charges for sewage service ordinance (§ 22-263)

(a) There is hereby levied on each wastewater system user having any sewer connection with the wastewater system of the city or otherwise discharging sewage, industrial waste, or other liquids, either directly or indirectly into the city's wastewater system, a sewage service charge. The sewage service

charge shall have the following components:

(1) Volume charge: Subject to the exceptions provided in this article, a volume charge shall be based upon the volume of water used in or on the premises as measured by a water or sewer meter approved by the city; provided, however, that if actual sewer service cannot reasonably be determined from the water or sewage so metered, whether due to defect, tampering or causes unknown, the amount of sewage, waste or waters discharged into such system shall be estimated and billed as provided for in section 27-19.

(2) Base charge: A base charge will be charged for each user as follows:

a. One base charge shall be charged per residential user.

b. One base charge shall be charged per non-residential user for each meter. The nonresidential base charge shall be determined by the size of the water meter(s), starting with a base charge equal to a residential base charge for meters five-eighths (⅝) inches and shall scale upwards based on the size of the meter.

(3) Additional charges: Additional charges for extra strength sewage, toxic pollutants, and wastewater monitoring will be levied where applicable.

(b) The monthly volume charges for residential classification shall be based on available water usage data during the calendar months of January, February and March to calculate an average monthly usage. If the residential customer does not have any available water usage data at the property address during the months of January, February or March, then the monthly volume charges will be set at the winter-quarter average consumption for the residential service class. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no residential customer shall be assigned a winter-quarter average of less than thirty-three (33) cubic feet (0.33 ccf) per month. The monthly volume charges for all other customers shall be based on one hundred (100) percent of the monthly metered water used, except as otherwise provided in this Code.

(1) Sewage service charge rates. Each user of the wastewater system of the city shall pay a base charge and a volume charge for the use of such system monthly. Sewage service charges shall be based on the following rates:

Residential base charge .....$12.37

Non-residential Base Charge:

Water Meter Size Meter Capacity (gpm) Capacity Difference Base Charge by Meter

Capacity

⅝-inch 20 1 $ 12.37

¾-inch 30 1.5 $ 18.57

1-inch 50 2.5 $ 30.95

1½-inch 100 5 $ 61.88

2-inch 160 8 $ 99.01

3-inch 320 16 $ 198.03

4-inch 500 25 $ 309.41

6-inch 1,000 50 $ 618.84

8-inch 1,600 80 $ 990.13

10-inch 2,300 115 $1,423.31

12-inch 4,300 215 $2,660.99

Volume Charge:

Volume charge, per Ccf: $2.55

Ccf = 100 cubic feet

(2) Extra strength charge. Wastewater discharged to the wastewater system from commercial or industrial users shall be subject to an extra strength charge when the BOD or total suspended solids concentration exceeds three hundred (300) milligrams per liter (mg/l) by weight. All analyses shall be performed on composite samples collected at no less than hourly intervals over a twenty-four-hour period.

Extra strength charges shall be calculated based on one hundred (100) percent of metered water use, except as otherwise provided in section 22-269 of this Code, in accordance with the following formula:

S = Vs × 0.00624 × [$0.324 (BOD - 300) + $0.222 (SS - 300)]

Where:

S = Surcharge in dollars monthly.

Vs = Sewage volume in 100 cubic feet per month.

0.00624 = Conversion factor for hundred cubic feet to million pounds.

$0.324 = Unit charge for BOD in dollars per pound; of which $0.216 represents the user charge

portion and $0.108 represents capital charges.

BOD = BOD strength index in mg/l by weight.

300 = Allowed BOD and suspended solids strengths in mg/l by weight.

$0.222 = Unit charge for suspended solids in dollars per pound; of which $0.1491 represents the

user charge portion and $0.0734 represents capital charges.

SS = Suspended solids strength index in mg/l by weight.

(3) Monitoring charge. When regulations as set forth by the federal government, state and city require monitoring of the waste from a commercial or industrial user, whether for strength calculations or for NPDES compliance, that user shall pay a monitoring charge.

The monitoring charge shall consist of all costs for personnel, material and equipment used to collect and analyze samples from the user's wastewater.

The exact charge shall be based on actual costs and shall be determined by the director.

(4) Toxic pollutant charge. Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or sludge from the city's treatment system shall pay for such increased costs.

(c) For City of Columbia residential sewer customers who receive water service from a public water district, the billing will be based on the winter-quarter average as described in subsection (b) using the water district's available water usage information.