Sewer Department

LENOIR CITY UTILITIES BOARD

WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT

POLICY AND CHARGES

Approved by Board and effective 9-20-99

Amendment date 10-21-02

Amendment date 8-22-06

WASTEWATER POLICY

A copy of LCUB’s standard construction requirements will be issued to the owner/developer or their designated representative at the time sewer service is requested.

 For residential, commercial, and industrial property developments (where sewer services are requested) the owner/developer and/or builder will provide to LCUB a set of plans and specifications for the construction of a wastewater collection system. A registered professional engineer will prepare both a plan and a profile of the entire system.  The plan view will show the top view of the sewer pipe, service taps, double sweep cleanouts at the property lines, manholes, and streets.  The profile will show the side view of the sewer pipe, manholes, invert elevations, street surface, and underground pipes such as storm sewers, gas mains, water mains, telephone cables, and electric cables.

 LCUB will make an office and field review of the plans and profile to get an overview of how the system is to work and how the actual field conditions will influence maintenance for questions or comments.  Any approved plan and profile must be sign by LCUB prior to the engineer forwarding the plan and specifications to the State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Water Pollution Control for approval.

 New construction, additions, or expansions of a wastewater system require that a registered professional engineer supervise the inspection of construction and testing and certification of construction and testing be given to LCUB in written format to include any test results by air, water, video, etc… Record drawings of the completed project shall be provided to LCUB on a CD in AutoCadd or Microstation format.

 LCUB will require that the owner/developer warranty the new construction for a period of one-year after the date of service and that a warranty inspection be done at the end of this period and all documentation of the warranty inspection be forwarded to LCUB.  Provided the warranty inspection furnishes evidence that the wastewater collection system is in proper working order and without flaw, testing reports and record drawings are provided, LCUB shall accept ownership of the collection system and all other appurtenances. 

 During the one-year warranty period if LCUB is required to do any repairs to any portion of the wastewater collection system due to construction standards the owner/developer shall be billed for any material and labor charges.

 A representative of the Board must inspect each wastewater connection made by a developer, owner, or others.  A permit and inspection fee of $30.00 will be paid to the Board for each inspection.  Request for inspections of work not completed or otherwise not meeting Board standards, which result in additional trips to the work site by the Board, shall be paid at a rate of $30.00 per trip. The permit and inspection fee will be doubled for installing and backfilling a building wastewater line before obtaining a permit for connection or not having work inspected by the Board and the expense of exposing the building wastewater line will be borne by the builder/owner.  Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit stated in any notice of violation shall be disconnected from the Board's water and/or wastewater system and remain disconnected until violation cease, and a re-connection charge of $500.00 will be charged. 

TAP FEE 

For all LCUB Customers

The following tap fees apply to customers inside or outside the corporate city limits:

 $1200.00         Tap fee for all residential, commercial, and industrial

Actual cost     
per L.F.           Road bores, casings, and road cuts

Actual cost
for material
and labor         In-line manhole

In any part of the corporate city limits where sewer service is made available to residents from the date of availability not to exceed 12-months the tap fee shall be $150.00.  After the 12-month period has expired the normal tap fee shall apply.

 Special Assessment Fees will be implemented upon the submission and approval of wastewater plans and specifications and/or request for wastewater service as follows:

$1000.00         Residential (single dwelling)

$600.00           Residential (multi-dwelling)

$2500.00         Commercial

 The fees shall be assessed and payment made up-front for all residential, commercial, or industrial developments based on the total number of services being provided.

LCUB reserves the right to enact special assessment fees and/or any other charges that may be necessary to recover capital investments made during construction to provide sewage service to any area of the collection system.

Note:   Fees are subject to change.

Capital Reserve and Maintenance Fee

The capital reserve charge is a one-time charge to any single residential, commercial, or industrial customer connecting to LCUB’s wastewater system.  This charge enables LCUB to fund capital expenditures for WWTP expansions.

 The maintenance charge is a one-time charge to any single residential, commercial, or industrial customer connecting to LCUB’s wastewater system.  This charge enables LCUB to provide for additional maintenance on the wastewater system.  EPA strongly recommends that a maintenance charge be enacted and that the charge be separated from normal revenues.

The fees shall be assessed and payment made up-front for all residential, commercial, or industrial developments based on the total number of services being provided.  If the development is staged as multi phase, each phase will be assessed the fees at the time LCUB approves the design plans.

The capital reserve and maintenance charge for customers inside and outside the corporate city limits is established at $1.80 per gallon of daily discharge.  A capital reserve charge of $1.50 per gallon of daily discharge and a maintenance charge of $0.30 per gallon of daily discharge.

Residential customers will be based on an average daily discharge of 145 gallons per household.

 Small commercial (office rental space) will be based on the same charges as residential.

 Example:       Single residential service (based on 145 gallons discharge per day)
                        Tap fee                                                                        $ 1200.00
                        Capital reserve and maintenance charge                 $ 261.00
                        Total                                                                            $ 1461.00

                         4-unit apartment complex (based on 145 gallons per day per unit)
                        Tap fee                                                                        $ 1200.00
                        Capital reserve and maintenance charge               $ 1044.00
                        Total                                                                             $ 2244.00

                         10-unit apartment complex (based on 145 gallons per day per unit)
                        Tap fee                                                                        $ 1200.00
                        Capital reserve and maintenance charge               $ 2610.00
                        Total                                                                             $ 3810.00

 Larger commercial and industrial customers will be required to provide LCUB with maximum daily discharge quantities.  LCUB will establish the capital reserve and maintenance charge from the data provided and LCUB has the right to adjust the fee after a 6-month history of discharged quantities compilation.  LCUB may at its discretion establish the capital reserve and maintenance fees using TDEC’s design basis for sewage works.

Note:   Fees are subject to change.

LCUB DESIGN CRITERIA

·         Developer (Owner) and/or Contractor shall adhere to LCUB Standard Specifications and Details.

·         Engineer shall provide documentation of existing and new sewer collection system Hydraulic Analysis.

• Sewer Collection System shall be minimum Eight (8) inch diameter. Gravity sewers 12-inches or less in diameter shall be either ductile iron pipe or P.V.C. (SDR 35). Ductile Iron Pipe shall be used for trench depths of 12 feet or greater (No Exceptions). Gravity sewers greater than 12-inches in diameter shall be Class 150 ductile iron pipe. 

·         Upon review of plans, LCUB has the right to require the Sewer Collection System to be a larger diameter pipe size or Ductile Iron Pipe in-lieu of Eight (8) inch based upon hydraulic analysis, depth, soil and future conditions.

·         Developer (Owner) and/or Contractor shall be responsible for any existing sewer collection system improvements required to provide hydraulic sewer capacity to the new development and maintain the existing/future hydraulic sewer capacity.

·         Developer (Owner) and/or Contractor shall be responsible for installing all 6 inch sewer taps, 6 inch service lines, and 6 inch 2-way cleanout (Plastic Trends G1006) per LCUB standard specifications for the new development.

• Sewer Lateral Discharge (Main Floor Elevation) shall be a minimum of 6” above the top of the lowest of the two adjacent manholes.

·         Developer (Owner) and/or Contractor shall be responsible for installing minimum SDR 35 pipe for sanitary sewer services to depth of 12 feet. Any sanitary sewer services which are over 12 feet depth shall require water line and/or mechanical joint quality pipe.

·         Low Pressure Sewer System shall not be approved for acceptable sewer service.

NOTE:           Design Criteria is Subject to Change
 

LCUB

SEWER NOTES

1.    ALL WORK TO BE PERFORMED WILL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LENOIR CITY UTILITY BOARD WATER AND WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT (CURRENT EDITION) SPECIFICATION AND DETAILS.

2.      PRE-CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE SHALL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE LENOIR CITY UTILITY BOARD REPRESENTATIVES, DESIGN ENGINEER, AND UTILITY CONTRACTOR PRIOR TO ANY UTILITIES CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES BEGIN.

3.    SEWER LINE MATERIALS, INSTALLATION AND TESTING PER LENOIR CITY UTILITY BOARD WATER AND WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT STANDARDS (CURRENT EDITION).

HISTORY OF LENOIR CITY’S SEWER SYSTEM

Lenoir City’s small commercial, large commercial and residential customers have been provided sewer service for seventy-five years.  The first sewer improvements took place in 1925.  Three-foot sections of clay tile pipe were installed through out the city for areas that would gravity flow to septic systems located along Town Creek.  The solids were stored in the tanks and gray water was allowed to flow into Town Creek.

The septic system operated for more than 40-years.  The State became aware of environmental issues in the mid-sixties and forced municipalities and private owned sewer systems to take action to stop the pollution of the State’s waterways.

Thus, the Lenoir City Sewer Treatment Plant came into existence.  The treatment plant was constructed in 1968.   The plant was to provide sewer service to 1730 small commercial, large commercial and residential customers of Lenoir City. Along with the treatment plant five sewer lift stations and additional intercepting sewer were constructed.  Total construction package was at a cost of $1,478,000.

The capital reserve and maintenance fee was established and approved by the Board in September 1999.  The purpose of the capital reserve fee is to accumulate capital for expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  LCUB, in the near future, will need to expand the treatment to a 4-MGD plant.  The engineering estimate for the expansion of the treatment facility to 4-MGD facility is $15,000,000.