The purpose of this chapter is to establish a stormwater utility which shall be responsible for stormwater management within the corporate boundaries of the City and shall provide for the management, protection, control, regulation, use, and enhancement of stormwater management systems and facilities.

   For purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined:

   1.   “Commercial” or “Industrial” means any developed land whereon commercial, retail, and office, industrial and manufacturing buildings, storage buildings and storage areas covered with impervious surfaces, parking lots, public and private school buildings, churches, hospitals, and convalescent centers have been constructed.

   2.   “Customers of the stormwater utility” means and includes all persons, properties, and entities served by or benefiting from the utility’s acquisition, management, maintenance, extension, and improvement of the public stormwater management system and facilities.

   3.   “Developed land” means land that has been altered from its natural state by construction or installation of more than 500 square feet of “impervious surface area” as defined in this section.

   4.   “Duplex dwelling” means a building containing only two dwelling units and designed for and occupied exclusively by not more than two families. In the application of stormwater service charge rates, duplex dwelling properties shall be treated as two single-family dwellings.

   5.   “Dwelling unit” means a singular unit or apartment providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.

   6.   “Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)” means the average impervious coverage of a detached dwelling unit property in the City as determined by the City, and shall be used as the basis for determining stormwater service charges. Four thousand square feet of impervious surface area shall be one equivalent unit.

   7.   “Impervious surface area” means those areas which prevent or impede the infiltration of stormwater into the soil as it enters in natural conditions prior to development. Common impervious surface areas include, but are not limited to, rooftops, sidewalks, driveways, patios, parking lots, storage areas, compacted gravel surfaces, and other surfaces which prevent or impede the natural infiltration of stormwater runoff which existed prior to development.

   9.   “Pollutant” means anything that causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, so that the same may cause or contribute to pollution; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform bacteria and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; waste and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.

   10.   “Service charge” means the periodic rate, fee, or charge applicable to a parcel of developed land, which charge shall be reflective of the service provided by the City stormwater utility. Service charges are based on measurable parameters which influence the stormwater utility’s cost of providing services and facilities, with the most important factor being the amount of impervious surface area on each parcel of developed property. The service charge shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Council.

   11.   “Single-family dwelling” means a building containing only one dwelling unit and designed for and occupied exclusively for residence purposes by only one family.

   12.   “Stormwater management systems and facilities” means the issue of drainage management (flooding) and environmental quality (pollution, erosion, and sedimentation) of receiving rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, and ponds through improvements, maintenance, regulation, and funding of plants, structures, and property used in the collection, retention, detention, and treatment of stormwater or surface water drainage.

   13.   “Substantial completion” means the date when the construction has been completed and the City has acknowledged that the construction has been completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications through the issuance of a temporary Certificate of Occupancy or permanent Certificate of Occupancy.

   14.   “Townhome dwelling” means a dwelling unit which is detached or attached horizontally, and not vertically to one or more other dwelling units, wherein the land or lot beneath each dwelling may be individually owned in common by a townhome association. In the application of stormwater service charge rates, each townhome dwelling shall be treated as one single-family dwelling.

   15.   “Undeveloped land” means land in its unaltered natural state or which has been modified to such minimal degree as to have a hydrologic response comparable to land in an unaltered state shall be deemed undeveloped. “Undeveloped land” shall have less than 500 square feet of pavement, asphalt, or compacted gravel surfaces or structures which create an impervious surface area that would prevent infiltration of stormwater or cause stormwater to collect, concentrate, or flow in a manner materially different than that which would occur when the land was in an unaltered natural state.

   The City stormwater utility consists of all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, ponds, drainageways, channels, ditches, swales, storm sewer, culverts, inlets, catch basins, pipes, dams, head walls, and other structures, natural or manmade, within the corporate boundaries of the City which control or convey stormwater through which the City intentionally diverts surface waters from its public streets and properties. The City owns or has legal access for purposes of operation, maintenance, and improvement to those segments of this system which:

   1.   Are located within public streets, rights-of-ways, and easements;

   2.   Are subject to easement or other permanent provisions for adequate access for operation, maintenance, and improvement of systems or facilities; or

   3.   Are located on public lands to which the City has adequate access for operation, maintenance, and improvement of systems or facilities.

Operation, maintenance, and improvement of stormwater systems and facilities which are located on private property or public property not owned by the City and for which there has been no public dedication of such systems and facilities shall be and remain the legal responsibility of the property owner or its occupant.

   The Public Utilities Superintendent has the following powers and duties related to the City stormwater utility:

   1.   Operation and Maintenance. Operation and maintenance of the stormwater management systems and facilities.

   2.   Inspections and Tests. Conduct necessary inspections and tests to assure compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

   3.   Records. Maintain a complete and accurate record of all stormwater management systems and facilities.

   4.   Policies. Recommend to the Council policies to be adopted and enforced to implement the provisions of this chapter.

   No person shall do, or allow, any of the following:

   1.   Damage Stormwater Management Systems and Facilitates. Maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any structure, pipe, appurtenance, or equipment which is part of the stormwater management systems or facilities.

   2.   Illicit Discharges. No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise discharge or cause to throw, drain, run, or allow to seep or otherwise be discharged into the City stormwater management system and facilities, including, but not limited to, pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other than stormwater.

   3.   Manholes. Open or enter any manhole, structure, or intake of the stormwater system, except by authority of the Public Works Superintendent.

   4.   Connection. Connection of any private stormwater system to the City’s stormwater management system and facilities, except by authority of the Public Works Superintendent.

   The Public Works Superintendent and other authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing all private stormwater discharges, directly or indirectly, entering into any public stormwater management system or facility, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

   The following enforcement provisions shall apply to violations this chapter:

   1.   Violation of any provision of this chapter may be enforced by civil action including an action for injunctive relief. In any civil enforcement action, administrative or judicial, the City shall be entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees and costs from a person who is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated this chapter.

   2.   Violation of any provision of this chapter may also be enforced as a municipal infraction within the meaning of Section 364.22 of the Code of Iowa, pursuant to Chapter 3.

   3.   Enforcement pursuant to this section shall be undertaken by the enforcement officer upon the advice and consent of the City Attorney.