§ 36-93. Use of public sewers required.

(a)

Deposit of excrement, garbage or waste on public or private property. It is unlawful for any person to place, deposit or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City, any human or animal excrement, garbage or objectionable waste.

(b)

Discharge of polluted waters to natural outlets. It is unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City, or in any area under the jurisdiction of the City, any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this article.

(c)

Construction or maintenance of private facility for disposal of wastewater. Except as provided in this article, it is unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater.

(d)

Installation of suitable toilet facilities; connection with public sewer. The owner of any house or building used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the City and located within 100 feet, as measured from the building or principal structure to street right-of-way line, of any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is presently located a public sanitary or combined sewer of the City is hereby required, at the owner's expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(e)

Requirements of mandatory connection. The requirement of mandatory connection to available public sewer lines shall be in effect from the date of adoption of the ordinance from which this article is derived by the City Council. The owner or owners of property where a dwelling unit or principal structure is situated within 100 feet of street rights-of-way, public access alleys, or easements containing public sewer lines existing at the time of adoption of the ordinance from which this article is derived, or as public sewers are later added, and whose dwelling or structure is not presently connected to such sewer lines, shall have a period of 120 days from time of adoption of the ordinance from which this article is derived, or from the time that later constructed public sewers are accepted by the City, within which they must pay the required City tap-in fee and request the scheduling of connection to the sewer. However, this mandatory connection requirement will be deferred for five years if the owner or owners of property required to connect to public sewer under this section present(s) to the City Clerk documented evidence, signed by a septic tank contractor who is certified by the Georgia Department of Health, that the existing private sewage system or septic tank is functioning in accordance with state and county health standards; the owner(s) of the property must re-submit documented evidence every five years, or the mandatory connection provisions above will apply. If any private sewage system, septic tank, cesspool, etc., on property where sewer is within 100 feet of the dwelling units or principal dwellings should fail or require significant maintenance (defined as maintenance costs exceeding 50 percent of replacement costs or closure/connection costs), the owner of such system shall be required to connect immediately to the available public sewer. Owners of such private sewage systems shall not at any time make repairs, alterations, or extensions to any private sewage system in any way, where public sewer lines are available.

(f)

Existing sewer line, septic tank, cesspool, etc., cleaned of sludge and filled. At the time of connection to existing sewer lines, any existing septic tanks, cesspools, and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with suitable material according to applicable city, county, or state health codes.

(g)

Tap-in fees and charges. The Mayor and City Council shall have the authority to establish tap-in fees and charges for sewer services. The Mayor and City Council shall also have the authority to make adjustments to fees or to schedules of required payments in cases of citizen economic hardship, as determined by measures of economic hardship adopted by the Mayor and City Council.

(Code 1997, § 15-102; Ord. of 10-9-2006; Ord. of 11-6-2017)