§ 26-122. Sewer service use charge.

(a)

Definitions: Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:

City shall mean the City of Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, or, when appropriate to the context, its duly authorized representative.

Person shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, or group.

Sewage shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, and storm waters as may be present.

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

Sewer shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

Shall is mandatory; " May " is permissive.

(b)

The approved sewer user charge system, included herein by reference shall include an itemized budget reflecting the costs of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the public sewage works and retirement of existing debt including repayment of any water pollution control revolving fund loans. It shall also include the revenues dedicated to these costs and demonstrate that they are adequate based on the use of the system and the sewer user charge rates.

(c)

The head of the water and light department shall review the sewer user charge system periodically, and shall make recommendations to the city council to revise the sewer user charge system and/or rates, if necessary, to generate sufficient revenue to pay the total costs necessary for the proper operation and maintenance (including equipment replacement) of the sewage works and retirement of existing debt including the repayment of any water pollution control revolving fund loan.

(d)

Sewer user charge rates shall be levied on all users including, but not limited to, persons, firms, corporations or governmental entities that discharge, cause or permit the discharge of sewage into the public sewage works, and includes the following users at the rate established below.

(1)

Each user of the public sanitary sewer system of the city, is hereby required to pay to the city each month, as a sanitary sewer service basis charge or rate, one hundred percentum (100%) of said user's water bill for the current month, which amount is hereby fixed and established as a monthly rate or basic charge for use of the sanitary sewer facilities of the city.

(2)

Each person, firm, corporation, association or establishment whose property or premises discharges sewage, waste or waters in any quantity into the public sanitary sewer of the city, but who is not a water customer of the city is hereby required to meter the source of water supply used with an appropriate meter of a design approved by the city and to pay a monthly sewer service basic charge or rate equal to one hundred percentum (100%) of the water bill which would be payable to the city for the current month if said person, firm, corporation or establishment was a water customer of the city, which amount is hereby fixed and established as the monthly rate or basic charge for such use of the public sanitary sewer facilities of the city.

(3)

Each user of the public sanitary sewer system of the city, who is also a water customer of the city, but who obtains, uses or consumes water from any source other than from the city is hereby required to meter such other source of water supply with an appropriate meter of a design approved by the city and to pay a monthly sewer service charge equal to one hundred percentum (100%) of the amount of the water bill which would be payable to the city for the current month if such user did not obtain, use or consume water from such other source.

(e)

Industrial waste surcharge. The industrial waste surcharge shall be based on the defined users as presented in section 26-123 and the formula and conditions presented in section 26-124 below.

(Ord. of 10-16-2018(1) , § 7)