10.4 SR 04-17-2023
Request for Action
To Item Number
Mayor and City Council 10.4
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Work Session April 17, 2023 Brandon Wisner, Engineering Project Manager
Item Description Reviewed by
Sanitary Sewer Ordinance Billing Cal Portner, City Administrator
Reviewed by
Action Requested
Direct, by motion, staff to remove the exception from the ordinance.
Background/Discussion
Staff recently met with Sara Youngs from Elk River Municipal Utilities regarding billing questions they have
recently received to ensure sewer billings are accurate based not on the city approved fee schedule and per city
ordinance.
A handful of procedural adjustments were made, and the topic of the senior citizen exception as listed in the
city ordinance needs further direction.
The charge for actual metered water usage (rounded to 1,000 gallons) has not been calculated as it nearly
impossible for staff to find the age of account holders and to their accounts and for the billing system to include
this exception calculation. In practice the monthly average water consumption is based on winter months billing,
so it is likely that senior citizens would pay more with the exception.
Financial Impact
N/A
Mission/Policy/Goal
Ethical, efficient and responsible
Attachments
Ordinance Sec. 78-187
The Elk River Vision
A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional
service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity.
Updated: January 2023
Sec. 78-187. Determination of billable flow, loading and user charge.
(a) Basis. Each user shall pay operation, maintenance and replacement costs in proportion to the user's
proportionate contribution of wastewater flows and loadings to the treatment plant, with the minimum rate
for loadings of BOD and TSS being the rate established for a concentration of 200 milligrams per liter BOD
and 250 milligrams per liter TSS (i.e., normal domestic strength wastewater). Those industrial users
discharging segregated normal domestic strength wastewater only can be classified as commercial users for
the purpose of rate determination.
(b) User charges for normal domestic strength users.
(1) Calculation of billable flows and loadings. The charges assessed domestic users and those of other
classes connected to the city's water utility and discharging normal domestic strength wastewater shall
be established proportionately according to billable wastewater volume. Billable wastewater volume
shall be calculated as follows:
a. Measurement of wastewater volume for domestic users.
1. Domestic users connected to city water utility. Except as provided for in this division,
billable wastewater volume for residential users shall be calculated on the basis of metered
water usage. Metered water usage shall be determined by calculating a monthly average
based on water consumption for the months of November, December, January, February
and March. Usage in excess of the minimum rate will be billed on a unit cost of 1,000
gallons per month.
2. Domestic users not connected to city water utility. The charges assessed to residential users
who are not connected to the city's water utility shall be established as a flat rate per
month based on the average water use of metered residential users in the community. The
city reserves the right to require residential users to install water meters for the purpose of
determining billable wastewater volume.
b. Measurement of wastewater volume for nondomestic users. The charges assessed nondomestic
users discharging normal domestic strength wastewater shall be established proportionately
according to billable wastewater volume. Billable wastewater volume shall be calculated as
follows: The billable wastewater volume of nondomestic users may be determined in the same
manner as for residential users connected to the city's water utility, except that if the city
determines that there are significant seasonal variations in the metered water usage of
nonresidential users resulting in a proportionate increase or decrease in wastewater volume,
then billable wastewater volume shall be calculated on the basis of monthly metered water
usage recorded throughout the year, or calculated on the basis of wastewater flow meters. The
city may, at its discretion, require nondomestic users to install, at the user's expense, a water
meter, or such additional water meters or wastewater flow meters as may be necessary to
determine billable wastewater volume.
c. Determination of loadings for normal domestic strength users. The billable amounts of BOD and
TSS will be calculated from the volume of metered water usage, as determined pursuant to this
section, where the billable quantities will be those attributable to wastewater at a concentration
of 200 milligrams per liter BOD and 250 milligrams per liter TSS (i.e., normal domestic strength
wastewater).
d. Determination of loadings for nondomestic strength users. The city may, at its discretion, require
nondomestic users to install a sewage monitoring facility. Each industrial user required by the city
to install and maintain sewage monitoring facilities shall submit to the city a monthly report of
daily flow and BOD on a form approved by the city. This report shall be used for billing purposes
Created: 2023-03-07 12:39:08 \[EST\]
(Supp. No. 57)
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and shall be submitted prior to the 15th day of the subsequent month. The city shall have the
right to periodically or continuously inspect the monitoring facilities to measure, sample and
analyze the industrial user's flow and to analyze the samples obtained by such user. In the event
of any discrepancy between the flows or loads determined by the city and those determined by
the industrial user, the values determined by the city shall be used for billing purposes.
(2) Determination of user charges for normal domestic strength users. User charges for normal domestic
users, except senior citizens and unmetered water users, shall be calculated on a unit charge for each
1,000 gallons. However, under no circumstance will a user be billed less than the minimum charge.
Senior citizens shall be charged for the actual metered usage at the unit cost per 1,000 gallons.
Unmetered users shall be charged a flat fee calculated from the average domestic usage throughout
the community. The user charges for the three classifications of domestic users shall be as follows:
a. Metered water users. The per-month billable wastewater volume shall be an average of the
metered water usage during the months of November, December, January, February, and March.
b. Unmetered water users. The charge shall be a flat rate per household unit.
c. Senior citizens. The charge shall be for the actual metered water usage (rounded to 1,000
gallons).
(3) Determination of user charges for nondomestic users.
a. Sewer service charges for users who discharge wastewater with concentrations greater than
normal domestic strength or wastes of unusual character shall be calculated in proportion to the
wastewater flow and loading at the treatment plant. No user shall be charged at a rate less than
that of normal domestic strength wastewater.
b. The measurements of such wastes shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, in a manner acceptable to the city, as
provided for in division 2 of this article.
c. A study of unit costs of collection and treatment processes attributable to flow, BOD, TSS and
other significant loading shall be developed for determining the proportionate allocation of costs
to flows and loadings for users discharging wastes of greater than normal domestic strength or
wastes of unusual character.
d. In addition to the charges provided for in this section, the city may impose a surcharge on any
industrial user based on some other pollutant loading factor which requires special treatment at
the wastewater treatment plant.
(Code 1982, § 1302.06)
Created: 2023-03-07 12:39:08 \[EST\]
(Supp. No. 57)
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