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R-2013-097-2013-06-24RESOLUTION NO. R2013-97 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, ADOPTING A COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL SEWER USE CREDIT PROGRAM. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That the City Council hereby adopts the Commercial/Industrial Sewer Use Credit Program attached hereto as Exhibit "A". PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 24TH day of June, A.D., 2013. ATTEST: YO CI SE RETARY APPROVED AS TO FORM: - 1Ckt..--- DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY GREG HILL MAYOR PRO -TEM Resolution No. R2013-97 Exhibit "A" CITY OF PEARLAND COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL SEWER USE CREDIT PROGRAM This is a voluntary program and is intended to provide guidance to customers that wish to obtain credit for water that does not enter the City of Pearland sanitary sewer system. A sewer use credit is available to commercial customers who use water that is consumed or lost in product/production or through evaporation, as illustrated by, but not limited to, cooling towers, boilers, manufacturing or food products. Irrigation use is not included as customers can purchase a separate irrigation meter. Customers eligible for the credit must meet all of the following conditions: 1. Have a metered water account with the City 2. Be a named customer on the account 3. Be able to clearly demonstrate in the application that more than 25% of water supplied to your property will not or cannot be returned as wastewater to our public sewer and must be year round vs. seasonal; and 4. At the customer's sole expense, install meters or other liquid measuring devices that are accurate and approved by the City to continuously measure: a. Total wastewater discharged directly into the wastewater system from the premises: or b. The amount of water used that is not returned to the wastewater system Accounts opened for the purpose of sub -metering under this program will not be charged a deposit or charged monthly water/sewer rates. SUB -METERING REQUIREMENTS A licensed Engineer or a licensed and bonded plumbing contractor should be consulted on the proper design, location and installation of any sub -meters needed to clearly and accurately determine the amount of water that is consumed or lost, and not returned to the sewer system. It is the customer's responsibility to insure that all work performed as a part of this program meets building and plumbing codes. A building/plumbing permit will be required from the City. It is the customer's or contractor's responsibility to obtain any and all permits for the installation of the sub -meters, and any necessary back flow prevention devices prior to the commencement of any plumbing work. The City's permit office is located at 3523 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581 and may be reached at 281- 652-1638 1. All sub -meters shall be located in an area accessible to City staff. 2. All sub -meters shall be purchased from the City of Pearland. The City currently uses Neptune meters and R900i registers. 3. Sub -meters must be replaced, at customer expense, to ensure accurate readings as follows: a. 5/8" to 2" meters — at 10 years of use b. Sub -meters larger than 2" - at 15 years of use c. Or in either case if there have been repeated repairs on the sub -meter and testing indicates a reading of 90% or below or 110% and higher. Additional Cooling Tower Requirements Based upon processes, cooling towers may either have one sub -meter or two sub -meters; one on the make-up line and one on the blow -down line. Overflows or "blow downs" must be maintained in good working order. No over -spray will be allowed. No drains or hose connections will be allowed between the sub -meter and the discharge meter. For applicants claiming the need for one sub -meter, the application must include a description of the process used for 100% evaporation and how repairs and cleaning of the towers will take place that will not result in discharge into the City's sanitary sewer. INSPECTIONS and REPAIRS The City shall have the right to inspect the sub -meters in order to verify that they are functioning properly and to verify accuracy of the readings. Ingress and egress rights to any sub -meters for reading and/or inspection will not be unreasonably withheld during working hours Monday through Friday 8:OOam to 5:OOpm. 1. All equipment is subject to inspection after installation 2. To assure accuracy, the sub -meters will be tested and inspected once every 12 months by the City for a fee based on size of meter and per the City fee Ordinance. Fees as of June 2013 are as follows: 5/8" $60.00 2"-8" $150.00 1"- $85.00 above 8" - $200.00 City uses sub -contractor to tests meters and fee may change based on cost to City. If repairs need to be performed upon testing, the charge will be labor plus parts, and a retesting fee of $75.00 3. If a water sub-meter(s) or meter interface unit (MIU) is defective or malfunctioning, the City shall be notified within two business days. The City will inspect and make repairs, to be charged to customer. (Labor plus parts) 4. Failure to report defective or malfunctioning sub -meter or MIUS's within the specified time period shall result in the loss of the sewer use credit, until the City is notified and repairs are made and the sub -meter is functioning properly. BILLINGS and CREDITS Sewer use credits will only be calculated based on actual readings from approved sub - meters or other liquid measuring devices approved by the City. Sewer use credits will be calculated based upon the difference between the main meter and the sub -meter. In the case of cooling towers with blowdown sub -meter, sewer use credits will be calculated based upon the difference between the sub -metered feed water and the sub -metered blow down discharge water. The City, via its drive-by reading system, will read the sub -meters, where they can be read and calculate the credit on the monthly bill. Where/when the readings cannot be read, the customer must manually read the meters, record the data on the sub -meter read form provided by the City and return it within two days of the specified read date, by fax to 281-652-1700 or by email to rvines@ci.pearland.tx.us. The City will not accept estimated reads. Failure to submit the readings within the two days may result in the credit being delayed until the following month. Readings that are submitted more than a month late may result in the loss of the credit for that month. Continued failure to submit on a timely basis could result in dismissal from the program. The amount of the credit will be based on sewer rates set by Ordinance by City Council in any given year. Rates are subject to change. NO PORTION OF THE WATER MEASURED BY THE SUB -METERS SHALL BE DISCHARGED INTO THE STORM SEWER SYSTEM; AS SUCH DISCHARGE MAY BE ILLEGAL UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM. APPLICATION In order to participate in the program, customers must apply to the program via the City's application form. Application forms can be obtained two ways: 1. On the City's website www.cityof pearland.com Click on the "Department" tab and then "Utility Billing" Then select "Quick Links" select "Sewer Use Credit" 2. Call 281-652-1602 and the form will be e-mailed back to you Fill out form and attach all required information. Information includes: 1. General description of the company and the products 2. Specific description of the processes or components proposed for sewer use credits via sub -metering. 3. Average water use for the entire facility 4. Calculations demonstrating that over 25% of total water use is lost to evaporation or product use, and therefore not returned to the sewer system, 5. Drawing or schematic of the plumbing with proposed meter and sub -meter locations, water discharge points, location of equipment, etc. 6. Customer/Company name and address 7. Customer contact (phone number and e-mail address) Please see application for full list of requirements. Submit application and fee to: City of Pearland Utility Billing Department 3519 Liberty Drive Pearland, TX 77581 Upon receipt, the City will review the application form and all attachments. The City will then contact you within 10 working days regarding the status of the application. More information, clarification, or a site visit may be needed before the application is deemed complete. Once approved, the applicant may proceed with the installation of the new sub -meters consistent with the application. Be sure to obtain all permits required. After meter installation is complete, you must contact the City at 281-652-1603 to verify and inspect the meter and to get initial reads from the meters. Sewer use credit approval to perform work is good for 6 months from approval date. There will be an application fee of $500 for the cost of review and first inspection. Any delinquent water bills must be paid at the time of application. There will also be a monthly administrative fee of $50 that will be charged to your water account to recoup the cost of administering your monthly credit as well as an annual fee for sub -meter testing and inspection based on size of meter.