Sec. 28-35. Determination of sewage discharge volume.
A. Calculation of customer sewage discharge volume is based upon the following proportion of metered water consumption each year.
1. Eighty percent of the average monthly water volume billed during a relevant prior January, February, and March multiplied by the SFSF described in subsection (A)(8) of this section represents sewage discharge volume for single-family residential customers.
a. The "winter quarter average" or "WQA" is a calculated estimate of each user’s monthly water volume use during the months of January, February, and March of a relevant prior fiscal year. WQAs are recalculated annually. The recalculated WQA becomes effective on the first day of the new fiscal year (July 1) and remains in effect until the last day of that fiscal year (June 30).
2. If the Director determines that adequate water meter information is not available for billing a residential customer as described above, then the customer will be charged the average monthly sewer billing for that user class.
3. Eighty-five percent of the average monthly water volume billed during a relevant prior January, February, and March multiplied by the SFSF described in subsection (A)(8) of this section represents sewage discharge volume for all multifamily residential customers and all commercial customers with the exception of self-service laundries and ice producers.
4. Eighty-five percent of the monthly water meter reading multiplied by the SFSF described in subsection (A)(8) of this section represents sewage discharge volume for self-service laundries.
5. Fifty percent of the average monthly water volume billed during a relevant prior January, February, and March multiplied by the SFSF described in subsection (A)(8) of this section represents sewage discharge volume for ice producers.
6. If the Director determines that adequate water meter information is not available to calculate sewage discharge volume for a commercial customer as described above, then the customer’s estimated sewage discharge volume will be based on the metered water used by a commercial customer in the same user class.
7. Each industrial customer will be considered a separate user class and the Director will determine the individual factors to be applied to the monthly water meter reading to determine the monthly sewage discharge volume.
8. Estimated sewage discharge volume for all customers other than industrial customers is further adjusted by a sewer flow stabilization factor (SFSF). The SFSF is a factor that adjusts the current billed sewer flows (from a relevant prior January, February, and March water consumption or monthly water consumption) to reflect sewer flow used to develop the sewer rates. The SFSF is calculated as follows:
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SFSF |
= |
(Billed water consumption per account other than industrial customers used for sewer rates) / (Current billed sewer flow per account from water consumption other than industrial customers) |
B. The Director may rely on either a certified meter reading of water delivered, or a copy of the billings from the water supplier, for users that receive water from a supplier other than the City. The Director has the exclusive authority to determine the adequacy of this information and request additional documentation or tests if the Director finds the information supplied is inadequate to establish the volume of water supplied to the user’s property. If the Director finds the information adequate, the user’s sewer charges will be calculated and the same conditions will apply as if the City were the supplier of water to the user.
C. Upon approval of the Director, an individual user may, at the user’s expense and subject to the regulations of the Department, install a separate water meter on a line from which water does not enter the sewer system. The calculation of that user’s sewage discharge volume will not account for the metered water delivered to this water line.
D. Sewage discharge volume adjustment. Customers that have their sewage discharge volume calculated based on a proportion of metered water supplied to them in January, February, and March may request that the Department decrease the sewage discharge volume used to calculate their annual sewer charge provided all of the following:
1. The customer experienced events or circumstances at its property in the WQA months—e.g., pool filling, water line leak, extraordinary irrigation or landscape watering—that resulted in the amount of its actual discharge to the sewer being less than the sewage discharge volume calculated by the Department and set forth in the customer’s July sewer bill;
2. The customer submits a written sewage discharge volume adjustment request on a form available from the Department and that request is received by the Department no later than 60 days from the date of the customer’s July sewer bill; and
3. The customer submits documentation or information with its request that the Department may rely on to verify the customer experienced the events or circumstances reported and those warrant a decrease in the sewage discharge volume used to calculate the customer’s annual sewer charge.
E. The Department’s written decision on the request for a sewage volume discharge adjustment is a determination on a disputed charge under Section 37-95(A), which the customer may request administrative review of pursuant to Sections 37-95(B) and (C). (Ord. No. G-2213, § 4; Ord. No. G-2649, § 1; Ord. No. G-2766, § 1; Ord. No. G-2947, § 1; Ord. No. G-3662, § 1; Ord. No. G-3979, § 1, 1997; Ord. No. G-6740, § 1, 2020)