Article I. Utility System—In General, Chapter 21. Utilities, Code of Ordinances, Lake Wales

Lake Wales (Current through Ordinance 2023-17, Adopted 7-05-2023)

Code of Ordinances

Chapter 21. Utilities

Article I. Utility System—In General

§ 21-1. Definitions and rules of construction.

Latest version.

(a) When used in this chapter, the following words, terms or phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

BOD (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees Celsius expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) under standard laboratory procedures as called for in the most current edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published jointly by the American Public Health Association, Inc., American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation.

Building shall mean any structure built on-site or manufactured off-site for residential, institutional, commercial or industrial use and from which sewage is discharged.

Building official shall mean the Building Official of the City of Lake Wales or his authorized and designated agent

Bulkhead shall mean a temporary device constructed to exclude all water from entering a sanitary sewer system from a sanitary sewer system under construction.

CFR shall mean the most recently published edition of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Commercial shall mean any business engaged primarily in the sale of goods or services. Wherever rates are referred to as commercial rates, or as applicable to commercial customers, they are intended to apply to all such customers or services except residential or industrial. For the purposes of this chapter, commercial shall also apply to rates charged to schools, churches and governmental agencies.

DEP shall mean the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, previously known as the Department of Environmental Regulation (DER).

Director of utilities shall mean the Director of Utilities of the City of Lake Wales or his authorized and designated agent.

Duplexes and triplexes. "Duplex" refers to any single building divided into two (2) separate dwelling units. "Triplex" refers to any single building divided into three (3) separate dwelling units.

F.A.C. shall mean the most recently published edition of the Florida Administrative Code.

Finance director shall mean the Finance Director of the City of Lake Wales or his authorized and designated agent.

F.S. shall mean the most recently published edition of Florida Statutes.

Garbage shall mean solid waste from the domestic and the commercial preparation of cooking and dispensing of foods, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.

Industrial applies to all connections serving operations involving manufacturing or processing, which will result in a waste not classified as sanitary sewage, or which will not apply to commercial or residential definitions.

Industrial wastes shall mean the liquid waste received from the operation involving manufacturing or a processing operation.

Meter shall mean a device for measuring and recording the quantity or rate of flow of water passing through it from the city's utility system to the user. The type of meter to be used shall be determined by the city.

Meter installation shall mean connecting a new water service to the city's utility system as a result of new construction. Meter installation shall also mean the initial installation of a separate meter for irrigation purposes in accordance with section 21-73. Meter installation shall not mean replacement of an existing meter that is faulty.

Multifamily housing refers to any building containing four (4) or more dwelling units.

Natural outlet shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or ground water.

On-site sewage treatment and disposal system shall mean a permitted system that contains a standard subsurface, filled or mounded drainfield system; an aerobic treatment unit; a graywater system tank; a laundry wastewater system tank; a septic tank; a grease interceptor; a dossing tank; a solids or effluent pump; a waterless, incinerating, or organic waste-composting toilet; or a sanitary pit privy that is installed or proposed to be installed beyond the building sewer on land of the owner or on other land to which the owner has a legal right to install a system. The term does not include package sewage treatment facilities and other treatment works.

Owner shall mean part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant, or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of a building, lot or parcel of land.

pH shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of the hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

Plumbing system shall mean any piping system contained on private property to be used to carry sanitary sewer, commercial or industrial wastes, to the sewer system owned and maintained by the city.

Properly shredded garbage shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been ground to such degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in the sanitary sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (½) inch (1.27 cm) in any dimension.

Sanitary sewer shall mean sewer system, gravity sewer, pumping stations, etc., or any structure so designed to carry sewage, and to which storm, surface and ground water are not intentionally admitted, that is owned and operated by the city.

Septic system shall mean a permitted, private on-site sewage treatment and disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities and shall include the terms "septic tank" and "cesspool".

Sewage shall mean a combination of water-carried wastes from buildings used for residential, institutional, commercial, industrial, and other like purposes.

Sewage works shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

Sewer system shall mean the complete sewer and wastewater system now owned, operated and maintained by the city and which the city is responsible for maintaining, together with any and all improvements, extensions and additions thereto, hereafter constructed or acquired, together with all lands or interests therein, including plants, buildings, machinery, franchises, pipes, mains, fixtures, equipment and all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible (including agreements for the providing of such services), now or hereafter constructed and/or owned or used in connection therewith.

Single-family residence refers to dwelling accommodations designed for one (1) family unit, maintaining separate and independent housekeeping, including at least one (1) kitchen, serviced by a separate water meter.

Slug shall mean any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration of flows during normal operation.

Storm drain, sometimes termed "storm sewer," shall mean a drainage line which carries storm and surface water run-off, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.

Stormwater detention/retention area shall mean a natural or man-made basin or structure utilized for the temporary or permanent storage of stormwater.

Stormwater system shall mean the complete system of drainage pipes, lines, swales, gutters, retention/detention areas and other structures now owned, operated and maintained by the city for the purpose of stormwater management together with any and all improvements, extensions and additions thereto, hereafter constructed or acquired, together with all lands or interests therein, including plants, buildings, machinery, franchises, pipes, mains, fixtures, equipment and all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible (including agreements for the providing of such services), now or hereafter constructed and/or owned or used in connection therewith.

Suspended solids shall mean solids that either float on the surface or in suspension m water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by filtration.

Utility service area shall mean the area defined in section 21-2 as the area within which the city shall have the first right to provide water and/or sewer services to any customer residing or doing business within the area and to deliver said service in accordance with the city's general practice, policy and procedures.

Utility system shall mean the water system, the sewer system, the reclaimed water system (treated effluent reuse/disposal), and the stormwater system of the city.

Water system shall mean the complete water system now owned, operated and maintained by the city and which the city is responsible for maintaining, together with any and all improvements, extensions and additions thereto, hereafter constructed or acquired, together with all lands or interests therein, including plants, buildings, machinery, franchises, pipes, mains, fixtures, equipment and all property, real or personal, tangible or intangible (including agreements for the providing of such services), now or hereafter constructed and/or owned or used in connection therewith.

(b) For the purposes of administration and enforcement of this chapter, unless otherwise stated in this chapter, the following rules of construction shall apply:

In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this chapter and any caption, schedule, illustration, summary table, or illustrative table, the text shall control.

The word "shall" is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word "may" is permissive.

The words "he," "his," and other words denoting the masculine gender shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations as well as to males.

Words used in the present tense shall include the future, and words used in the singular number shall include the plural and plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for," "designed for," "maintained for," or "occupied for."

Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two (2) or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and," "or" or "either... or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows:

(1) "And" indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions or events shall apply.

(2) "Or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination.

(3) "Either...or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.

(4) The word "includes" shall not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of like kind or character.

(Ord. No. 96-06, § 1, 5-21-96; Ord. No. 98-06, § 1, 4-27-98; Ord. No. 2007-06, § 1, 4-4-07)

§ 21-2. Creation of Exclusive Service Area; Extension of services—Generally.

Effective on Wednesday, September 7, 2022

(a) Pursuant to the Charter of the City of Lake Wales (“Charter”), the City’s municipal home rule powers under Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 180, Florida Statutes, the City of Lake Wales hereby creates the “Lake Wales Exclusive Utility Service Area” for the purpose of delivering to that area water, wastewater, and reclaimed water services and exercising within that area, the powers provided by law. The area to receive the services set forth above shall be as described in Exhibit “A” and depicted in Exhibit “A” attached to and incorporated in this Ordinance. All of the provisions or benefits of the Charter, and only to the degree necessary, Chapter 180, Florida Statutes, are hereby made available to the City of Lake Wales, Florida, within said zone or area including, but not limited to, the exclusive provision of water, wastewater, alternative water supply, reclaimed water, aquifer storage and recovery, and desalinization systems and services.

(b) The City hereby declares that, subject to a customer’s or property owner’s compliance with City rate ordinances, and service extension policies, the City has a duty to serve water, wastewater, and reclaimed water service to all property owners and potential customers within the City’s Exclusive Service Area, provided the Florida Public Service Commission (“FPSC”) or another City has not certified or franchised that area.

(c) No person or entity other than the City and/or its designee shall provide water, wastewater, or reclaimed water service (other than bottled water) to any person, firm, corporation, or government, within the City’s Exclusive Service Area without the City’s express written permission which shall not be unreasonably withheld. No person or entity other than the City and/or its designee shall construct or use water, wastewater, and/or reclaimed water transmission lines, pipes, mains, pump stations or the like on or within the established rights-of-way for the purpose of providing water, wastewater, and/or reclaimed water service to land located within the City’s Exclusive Service Area without the City’s express written permission.

(d) Utility services shall be extended within the utility service area at the sole discretion of the city. Whenever economically feasible and deemed to be in the best interest of the utility system, such extension of services shall be at the expense of the city. A developer or property owner may assume all or part of the expense of service extension when the expense is not economically feasible for the city provided such extension is deemed to be in the best interest of the utility system and provided that all requirements of this chapter are met.

(e) The city shall reserve the right at all times to refuse extension of the utility system when such extension is not economically feasible, for noncompliance with the policies, rules and regulations established by this chapter or with any duly adopted city resolution or ordinance, or for any other cause whereby such extension will not benefit or may be detrimental to the best interest of the utility system.

(f) In accordance with Chapter 180, Fla. Stat., all persons or corporations living or doing business within the city utility service area shall be required to connect, when available, with the city utility system and shall be subject to all rules, regulations and rates provided by this chapter.

(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this ordinance, the City’s right and duty to serve shall not be construed to interfere with those properties currently certificated for private utility service by the Florida Public Service Commission (“FPSC”) or those properties upon which the owner is currently self-providing central water and/or wastewater service to its own business.”

(Ord. No. 96-06, § 1, 5-21-96; Ord. No. 98-06, § 1, 4-27-98; Ord. No. 99-01, § 1, 5-4-99; Ord. No. 2005-22, § 1, 6-21-05; Ord. No. 2008-43, § 1, 12-2-08; Ord. No. 2008-42, § 1, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 2022-40, § 2, 9-7-22)

§ 21-3. Extension of services—Outside the city limits.

Effective on Wednesday, September 7, 2022

(a) Applications shall be accepted for utility service to a property outside the city limits so long as:

(1) The property lies within the "Chapter 180 Utility Service Area — State Road 60 W Corridor"; or

(2) The state department of environmental protection has requested that the city provide service to the property to address an environmental quality issue; or

(3) An agreement to serve the property was executed by the city and the property owner.

(b) With each application for utility service outside the city limits, an executed annexation agreement must be provided which shall be recorded in the official records of the county if said application for service is accepted. If the property is contiguous to the city limits or is otherwise eligible for annexation, the city shall annex the property within three (3) months of the provision of service.

(c) Service charges, if any, for outside-city users shall be one hundred twenty-five (125) percent of the applicable charges and fees for inside-city users.

(Ord. No. 96-06, § 1, 5-21-96; Ord. No. 2008-43, § 1, 12-2-08; Ord. No. 2008-42, § 1, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 2022-40, § 3, 9-7-22)

§ 21-4. Construction of utility lines and other additions to the system.

Latest version.

(a) Design. Plans and specifications for all authorized utility extensions and installations shall be in compliance with the standards of the city and shall be prepared and signed by a professional engineer registered in the state; the only exception to this a minor extension done by the city. All plans and specifications for these extensions and appurtenances which are to be connected to the city's utility system shall be approved by the director of utilities or his designated agent prior to starting construction. For utility extensions not designed and constructed by the city, the applicant shall furnish six (6) copies of as-built plans and two (2) sets of reproducible Mylar as-built plans showing the completed work, together with an affidavit of periodic and final inspections by a registered, professional engineer certifying that work as constructed complies with the approved city standards. These as-built plans shall be filed with the director of utilities, or designated agent for his approval, before the completed utility extension is accepted by the city.

(b) Location and installation. All authorized municipal utility extensions under the terms of this chapter shall be located only in public rights-of-way or in easements acceptable to the city. Pumping stations, force mains and related appurtenances shall be constructed only in public rights-of-way or on municipally-owned properties. However, the city may require a commercial developer to locate a pumping station on private property and require a maintenance agreement signed by the owner of the property prior to connection. Actual interconnection of a new extension with the existing municipal utility shall be prohibited by omitting a connection section or by placing a temporary bulkhead in the connecting lines until the new extension has been fully inspected and all other conditions for extension of the service have received the approval of the city.

(c) Installation standards. In the building and installation of all sewers and connections to sewers, water lines and connections to water lines, or any other addition to the utility system, all work and materials shall be in accordance with the city's requirements and standards as stated in City of Lake Wales Utility Standards and Specifications and Chapter 7, Buildings and Building Regulations, Lake Wales Code of Ordinances. All work and materials shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the director of utilities or his designated agent.

(d) Approval and permits from other governmental agencies. The applicant and/or his engineer shall receive approval from the state department of transportation and/or the county for the use of any public road right-of-way. Also, the applicant must secure any approvals from the state department of environmental protection, the department of health and rehabilitative services and any successor or additional regulatory agency of the state or federal government.

(e) Ownership. The ownership of any extension and related appurtenances to any municipal utility system installed within the public right-of-way or easement and connected to the existing municipal utility system in accordance with this chapter shall at all times remain with the city upon completion and acceptance of such utility extension. An agreement shall be executed between the city and the applicant to include the provisions of this chapter before authorization can be given for the extension of any municipal utility funded at private expense.

(Ord. No. 96-06, § 1, 5-21-96; Ord. No. 96-22, § 1, 11-19-96)

§ 21-5. Utility easement accessibility.

Latest version.

(a) Easements or rights-of-way wherein lie water or wastewater mains, pumping stations, fire hydrants, manholes, meters, backflow preventers, or any other utility service device or component of the utility system must remain accessible to utilities department personnel or personnel of any firm contracted by the city in association with the operation and maintenance of the utility system and its various components. Operations shall include, but not be limited to, the installation and maintenance of system components, inspection and testing of backflow preventers, and monthly reading of water meters for billing purposes.

(b) Any obstruction such as fencing, landscaping, dumpsters, yard trash, etc. that is placed within an easement or right-of-way and which prevents or hinders the operation of the utility system shall be removed or relocated at the property owner s expense within thirty (30) days after notification to do so by the director of utilities. Failure to remove the obstruction within the allotted time period shall result in the utility customer residing at the property in question receiving a utility bill reflecting the highest monthly consumption during the previous twelve (12) month period.

(c) The city and its contractor shall be held harmless for any damage to private property resulting from an obstructed easement or right-of-way during emergency repair or normal operation of the system.

(d) Any repair of an obstruction located in an easement or right-of-way which is unavoidably damaged by the city or its contractor during emergency repair or normal operation of the system shall become the responsibility of the property owner.