§ 22-19. Design, construction, repair and maintenance of building sewers and connections.

(a)

Unauthorized contact with sewers. No unauthorized person shall open the cover of, enter or alter any manhole, catch basin or similar appurtenance of any public sewer, put anything therein or interfere therewith. No person shall insert or place into any public sewer, drain, manhole or other appurtenance thereof any rubbish, unauthorized waste water sludges, or any other material which said sewer, drain, manhole or other appurtenance thereof was not intended to receive. No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is part of the public sewer system of the City of Bristol.

(b)

Permit applications required to connect to public sewers:

(1)

Permit applications. No person shall make any connection to any public sewer of the city or appurtenance thereof, or to any pipe or appurtenance discharging thereinto, or remove or disconnect any existing connection thereto, except as provided in this article. Person(s) requesting to make a connection or modification to any public sewer connection shall first obtain an application for a permit from the director.

(2)

Types of permits. There shall be two (2) classes of building sewer permits:

a.

For residential and commercial service; and

b.

For service to establishments producing industrial wastes.

In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the city. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgement of the director.

(c)

Issuance of permit. A permit to construct, repair or alter any building sewer or house connection under this section shall be issued to the licensed contractor only after an application has been submitted and before any work is performed. It shall state the location and character of the work to be performed thereunder; the person granted permission to perform such work; a time limit within which the work must be performed and at the expiration of which the privileges for construction under the permit shall terminate, and any other pertinent information or conditions. Permits shall not be transferable or assignable by the permittee. All completed applications and permits and a record of work performed under every permit issued thereupon shall be kept as permanent records of the public works department.

(d)

Suspension/revocation of permit and/or state license:

(1)

Permit suspension/revocation. Should the director find that any licensed drain layer has failed to conform to the requirements of this article and to the conditions of any permit, or that such drain layer has not been faithful in the performance of work or furnishing materials, the director may suspend such permit until the next meeting of the sewer authority and shall report the matter to such meeting. Such suspended drain layer and any complainant in said matter shall be notified of such meeting and afforded an opportunity to be heard on the matter at that time. The sewer authority may then revoke such permit or may extend the suspension of such permit or may limit the activities of such drain layer.

(2)

License suspension/revocation. Should the director find that any drain layer doing work governed by this article has failed to conform to the requirements of this article the director may suspend work under any permit issued to such drain layer and recommend to the State of Connecticut that the drain layer's state license be suspended or revoked.

(e)

Separate connections for each building. Each independent house or building shall have a direct connection to the public sewer serving it, separate from any other building sewer serving any other house, building or structure. The sewer authority may permit variations of this requirement upon receipt of a written request to that effect from the owners of all the land in any way concerned. The city does not and will not assume any obligation or responsibility for damage caused by or resulting from any connection made through private easements. However, no building sewer shall be constructed from a building through a right-of-way or easement without the approval of the sewer authority.

(f)

Standard design and construction requirements:

(1)

General. The director shall, from time to time, establish standard requirements or specifications to regulate the sizes, materials, methods and workmanship to be used in the construction of building sewers and connections and other similar work and appurtenances thereto connected or to discharge, directly or indirectly, to any public sewer or drain of the city.

(2)

State and local codes. The requirements of state and local building and plumbing codes shall be observed with respect to piping and fixtures inside or immediately adjacent to buildings.

(3)

Size. Each building sewer from any house or building to any public sewer shall not be less than six (6) inches in diameter.

(4)

Installation. Building sewers and connections shall be laid to a true rate of grade of not less than one (1) foot per hundred (100) feet; shall have not less than three (3) feet of cover at all points; and no other pipe shall be installed within three (3) feet of the building connection; except that conditions may require exceptions as authorized by the director. All building sewers and connections shall have a gravity back flow preventer. The size, type, installation and location shall be approved by the city plumbing inspector. The unit shall be installed to provide ready access for inspection, service and repair.

(5)

Costs. All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the property owner.

(g)

Location and nature of connections:

(1)

General. Connections to public sewers or drains of the city shall be made only at such points and in such manner as shall have been indicated by the permit issued by the director to make such connection.

(2)

Manhole connection. Building sewers serving multifamily residential structures or commercial, industrial or institutional structures with flows greater than five thousand (5,000) gallons per day shall be connected into a standard or special manhole as ordered by the director.

(3)

Special requirement. The building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation to service the first floor (main floor). In all buildings in which any building plumbing is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such plumbing shall be lifted by means approved by the engineer and discharged to the building sewer.

(4)

Old building sewers. Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found suitable, on examination and test, to meet all requirements of this article.

(h)

Supervision and inspection of sewer work. All connections to public sewers or drains and appurtenances, all repairs to such sewers or to drains which are connected to or discharge, directly or indirectly, into such sewers or drains of the city shall be made under the supervision and inspection of the engineer. The services of such engineer shall be available between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on regular working days, Monday to Friday inclusive, provided twenty-four (24) hours notice for the need of such service is given to the office of said engineer. Inspections will be made outside said hours on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays only by previous arrangement with said engineer and only when, for good and sufficient reasons, the engineer shall deem it necessary to perform such work outside the usual working hours. Such connection shall be made only in the presence of said engineer and according to his directions.

(i)

Record of connections to sewers. The engineer shall keep a record of all connections made to public sewers or drains under this article and all repairs and alterations made to sewers, house connections or drains connected to or discharging into public sewers or drains of the city. Drain layers shall assist said engineer to secure data needed for such records.

(j)

Separate storm and sanitary connections. No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected, directly or indirectly, to a public sanitary sewer.

(k)

Sealing discontinued building sewers and connections. When any building or structure, or portions thereof, served by a connection to any public sewer or drain is destroyed, demolished, abandoned or altered in such a manner that any building sewer or connection is no longer connected to a plumbing system, or portion thereof, such connection to the public sewer or drain shall be sealed off so that no water or other wastes shall be permitted to enter the public sewer. Such sealing shall be by bulkheading or capping and shall be performed at the street line. All such work shall be done by a licensed drain layer under permit from the city, and under inspection of the engineer. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to see that the work is carried out in conformity with the provisions of this article.

(l)

Maintenance of sewer connections. All sewer house connections on private property shall be maintained by, and at the expense of, the property owner.

Adequate precautions shall be taken to exclude from building sewers all water or other materials which may obstruct, damage or wrongfully fill the public sewer into which they may be discharged directly or indirectly. Any building sewer or connection which has been determined by the city to be the source of excessive infiltration or inflow shall be repaired, replaced or discontinued in accordance with the proper directives from the director at the property owner's expense.

Whenever the city is informed that an abnormality in the public streets exists, the director will ascertain if the public sewer or the building sewer within the public street is the cause of the abnormality. If the director determines that such abnormality is caused or contributed to by disrepair in the public sewer the public works department shall make the necessary repairs. However, if it should be determined by the director that disrepair of a building sewer is the cause of any abnormality; or that any disrepair exists in the building sewer which allows or may allow the discharge of excluded or nonpermissible wastes to the public sewer; or that any house connection is not being properly maintained; the property owner shall engage a drain layer to make the necessary correction at no expense to the city.

(m)

Sewer stoppages. In the event of a complaint regarding a sewer stoppage, the Superintendent shall ascertain if the main sewer is clear, and any stoppages therein shall be relieved as quickly as possible. If the main (public) sewer is found to be clear, the property owner will be so informed and he shall then, at his own expense, employ a plumber or drain layer to clear any stoppage in the building sewer.

It is to be understood that maintenance of the house connection from the main sewer (including the wye, tee or chimney connection) to the building, as defined herein, is entirely the property owner's responsibility.

(Ord. of 12-10-84, Art. IV, §§ 1—13; Ord. of 10-10-89)

Cross reference

Licenses and miscellaneous business regulations, Ch. 13.