Title
Report regarding an ordinance amending Title 14, Chapter 14.14, Section14.14.190 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to require sewer lateral inspection and correction upon property transfer due to a sale. (Eunejune Kim, Director of Public Works and Dave Bockhaus, Deputy Director of Public Works)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council waive reading and introduce an ordinance amending the Municipal Code to require sewer lateral inspection and correction upon property sale.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
A sewer lateral pipe connects a building's plumbing to the City's sewer main. Contractors used Orangeburg pipe for most of the sewer laterals built in the 1950s and 1960s. Manufacturers constructed an Orangeburg pipe of heavy stock paper reinforced with tar. Typical Orangeburg pipe installations in the United States break easily and have a designed fifty-year lifespan.
Public Works records show that approximately thirty-five percent of the City's residences have sewer laterals made of Orangeburg pipe. These pipes are prone to failure due to their limited lifespan. When sewer laterals break, the resulting leak creates several adverse impacts for the property owner and the City, including:
* Infiltration: Rainwater seeps into the lateral and gets into the sewer main.
* Exfiltration: Raw sewage escapes the lateral and seeps into the ground, polluting the soil.
* Damage to the City's sewer infrastructure: Faulty laterals place extra strain on the City's sewer mains, which results in chain reaction failures down the piping stream.
* Sewage back-ups: Sewage cannot leave the property and enter the sewer main, backing up into the resident's home.
* Environmental Damage: Faulty lateral infrastructure can cause sewage overflow spills into the San Francisco Bay.
DISCUSSION
Amending the sewer lateral inspection ordinance further helps the City of South San Francisco comply with the Federal Clean Water Act, protects new property ...
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