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Article I. Definition of Terms
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Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of words or terms used in these regulations shall be as follows:

“Accessory dwelling unit, conversion” means an ADU within the proposed space of a single-family dwelling or existing space of a single-family dwelling or accessory structure, including an expansion of not more than 150 square feet beyond the same physical dimensions as the existing accessory structure. The space must have exterior access from the proposed existing single-family structure and the side and rear setbacks must be sufficient for fire and safety.

“Accessory dwelling unit, new” means the ADU is a new structure or requires an expansion of the physical dimensions of the single-family dwelling or accessory structure of more than 150 square feet beyond the physical dimensions of the existing structure.

“Accessory dwelling unit, original” means the ADU is constructed as part of a new single-family dwelling.

“Actual construction cost (cost)” means and includes the cost of all activities necessary or incidental to the construction of a public utility facility, such as financing, planning, designing, acquisition of property or interest in property, construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation.

“Account charge” means a monthly charge for each sewer account intended to recover the costs of billing.

“Apartment” means any building containing two or more dwelling units, served by one meter, that are rented, not separately owned.

“Applicant (proposed customer)” means any person, firm, corporation, association or agency who desires to obtain sanitation service from CVWD.

“Assessor’s parcel number” means a number assigned by tax assessor in order to identify a particular property.

“Board” means the board of directors of the Coachella Valley water district.

“BOD (biochemical oxygen demand)” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration in milligrams per liter (mg/L).

“Building sewer lateral” means the applicant’s or customer’s pipeline extending from the connection with the street sewer lateral to the applicant’s or customer’s house, building or structure which receives the discharge from soil or waste pipes of the house, building or structure and conveys it to the street sewer lateral or sanitation system.

“Building unit” means any unit of nonresidential development.

“cBOD (carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand)” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in a sample in which the contribution from nitrogenous bacteria has been suppressed.

“Collection system” means the combined pipes, conduits, manholes, and other structures, above and below ground, whose purpose is to convey wastewater to CVWD’s water reclamation plant (WRP).

“Condominium” means an undivided interest in the common area of a portion of real property coupled with a separate interest in space called a unit, the boundaries of which are described on a recorded final map, parcel map or condominium plan in sufficient detail to locate all boundaries thereof, as defined in Cal. Civil Code § 1351.

“Contractor” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or association duly licensed by the State of California to perform the type of work to be done under a permit or agreement.

“Customer” means any person, property owner, tenant, firm, corporation, association or agency who uses or desires to obtain sanitation service from CVWD.

“CVWD” means the Coachella Valley water district, organized and operated pursuant to the provisions of the County Water District Act.

“Developer” or “subdivider” means a person who proposes to divide, divides, or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for itself or for others, or develops real property. Except that employees and consultants of such person, acting in such capacity, are not developers or subdividers.

“Development” means the uses to which the land shall be put, subject to the tract/parcel map, including the buildings to be constructed on it and all alterations of the land and construction incident thereto.

Development Design Manual (DDM). CVWD’s development design manual provides comprehensive procedural and technical requirements for the planning, design and construction of CVWD service infrastructure required for new development.

“Domestic wastewater” means the liquid and solid waterborne wastes derived from the ordinary living processes of humans of such character as to permit satisfactory disposal, without special treatment, into the public sewer main or by means of a private disposal system.

“Duplex” means any building containing two dwelling units but not including any building commonly known as a hotel, motel or condominium.

“Dwelling” means any building that contains one or two dwelling units, intended or designed to be built, used, rented, leased, let, hired out to be occupied or that is occupied for living purposes.

“Dwelling unit” means a single-family unit requiring sanitation service and intended to be a complete independent living facility for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, including but not limited to family residence, each unit of a duplex, each unit of an apartment, condominium, each recreational vehicle and each trailer park space.

“Easement” means a nonpossessory interest held by one person in land or right-of-way of another whereby the first person is accorded partial use of such land for a specific purpose. An easement restricts but does not abridge the rights of the owner to the use and enjoyment of the land.

“Effluent” means wastewater or other liquid, partially or completely treated, or in its natural state, flowing out of a reservoir, basin, water reclamation plant, or industrial treatment plant.

“Equivalent dwelling unit (EDU)” means the basis for the average amount of wastewater flow generated by one dwelling unit within CVWD’s system.

“Equivalent sewer unit (ESU)” means an estimate of sewage production based on average water use and a return-to-sewer factor.

“First beneficial use” means property that has a street sewer lateral and the sanitation capacity charge has been paid.

“General manager” means the general manager of CVWD or his/her appointed representative.

“Hotel” or “motel” means any building containing six or more guest rooms intended or designed to be used or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests.

“Improvement” means any street work and utilities to be installed or agreed to be installed, by the subdivider, public agencies, private utilities or any other entity approved by the local agency or by a combination thereof, and is necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the general plan or any applicable specific plan.

“Indirect discharge” means the introduction of pollutants into the water reclamation plant (WRP) from any nondomestic source.

“Industrial wastewater” means all liquid-carried wastes including, but not limited to, all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional, commercial, restaurant, agriculture, or other operation where the wastewater discharged contains quantities of wastes of nonhuman origin excluding domestic wastewater, rainwater, groundwater, storm water, and drainage of uncontaminated water.

“Inspection point” means an access point to a unit of pretreatment equipment intended for maintenance and/or inspection of the unit (e.g., the covers over the chambers and sample station of a grease interceptor).

“Interceptor/separator” means a device designed and installed so as to separate and retain deleterious, hazardous or undesirable matter from normal wastes and permit normal wastewater to discharge by gravity.

“Interceptor/separator charge” means a monthly charge established to provide inspection during installation and on a periodic basis.

“Interference” means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources:

1. Inhibits or disrupts the sanitation system, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and

2. Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the water reclamation plant’s permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with federal, state or local regulations.

“Lot” means that portion of a parcel of land which is delineated or described as a single integral unit on the subdivision map.

“Lot line” means a line dividing one lot from another or from a street or any public place.

“Occupant” means any person actually occupying any property, whether an owner or tenant.

“Off site” means that area which lies outside the peripheral boundary of a subdivided area, a developed area or an area being developed.

“Off-site facilities” means facilities under the ultimate control of CVWD including but not limited to sewer pipelines, lift stations, maintenance and inspection facilities, valves, connections, treatment facilities, and other appurtenances and property up to the point of connection with the on-site facilities.

“On-site facilities” means facilities under the ultimate control of CVWD including but not limited to sewer pipelines, lift stations, maintenance and inspection facilities, valves, connections, treatment facilities, and other appurtenances and property located within a subdivision or tract.

“Parcel” generally refers to a piece of land that cannot be designated by a lot number.

“Pass through” means a discharge which exits the water reclamation plant into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the water reclamation plant’s permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

“Permit” means an official document or certificate issued by the authority having jurisdiction which authorizes the performance of a specified activity, subject to conditions therein set forth or referenced.

“Person” means any individual, firm, company, corporation, association, political subdivision, city, county, district, the state of California, or the United States of America or any department or agency of any thereof. The singular in each case shall include the plural.

“Pollutant” means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, garbage, sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, total suspended solids, turbidity, color, BOD, cBOD, toxicity, or odor).

“Pretreatment” means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the water reclamation plant (WRP). This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.

“Process water” means water used for producing a product or product content or water used for research and development, including, but not limited to, continuous manufacturing processes, water used for testing and maintaining equipment used in producing a product or product content, and water used in combined heat and power facilities used in producing a product or product content. Process water includes water that goes into a product which leaves the manufacturing facility and therefore does not enter the sanitation system. Process water does not mean incidental water uses not related to the production of a product or product content, including, but not limited to, water used for restrooms, landscaping, air conditioning, heating, kitchens, and laundry.

“Property” means any property, including any lot, parcel, premises, dwelling unit or portion thereof, that is the subject of a request for service or to which service is being rendered.

“Property owner” or “owner” means any person, agent, firm or corporation having legal or equitable interest in the property.

“Public sewer main” means any closed conduit, excluding building sewer laterals, which is financed, installed, owned, operated, or maintained by a collection agency for the purpose of transporting wastewater from two or more building sewer laterals.

“Regulations” means the current edition of, and any amendments or revisions to, CVWD’s regulations governing sanitation service.

“Replenishment assessment charge” means a monetary charge authorized by the State Water Code and uniformly applied to extractions of groundwater within certain specified geographic boundaries of CVWD for payments on a water supply purchased to supplement naturally existing water supplies.

“Return-to-sewer factor” means an estimate of how much indoor potable water usage is subsequently discharged to the sewer drain.

“Right-of-way” means any strip or area of land, including surface, overhead, or underground, granted by deed or easement, for construction and maintenance according to designated use, such as for drainage and irrigation canals and ditches, electric power, telephone lines, gas, oil, water and other pipelines, highways and other roadways, sewers, surface water detention and flow, and tunnels.

Sanitation Availability. Sanitation service is considered to be available to property if the sanitation system has been constructed and is available for service as provided for in CVWDC 4.05.180. Sanitation service is not available to property solely adjacent to a force main.

“Sanitation availability charge” means the annual charge levied against lands to which sanitation service is available whether the service is used or not.

“Sanitation capacity charge” means a charge for sanitation facilities in existence at the time the charge is imposed or the charge for new facilities to be constructed in the future that are of benefit to the property or owner being charged. It applies to all land development, redevelopment and connection of existing homes to the sanitation system. The charge consists of the costs associated with the incremental demand per equivalent dwelling unit placed on the collection system and the treatment and disposal system.

“Sanitation service” or “service” means the furnishing of facilities for the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater, and all the administrative functions auxiliary thereto.

Sanitation Service Connection. See “Street sewer lateral.”

“Sanitation system” means the facilities for collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater constructed by or for CVWD, whether acquired for CVWD, and maintained and operated by CVWD for the purpose of providing sanitation service.

“Service charge” means the monthly charge levied on all properties, which are provided sanitation service for the capability of providing such service.

“Sewer classification code” means a code used in the billing system for purposes of classifying customers based on similar sewer usage characteristics. Details on CVWD Sewer Classification Codes are located in Appendix A of this chapter, Table A-6.

“Sewer extension” means the additional installation of any public sewer main and appurtenances within either on-site or off-site facilities beyond the existing public sewer main.

“Slug” means any discharge into the sanitation system in quantities or concentration of any given constituent which exceeds, for more than 15 minutes, five times the average 24-hour quantity or concentration.

“Standard specifications” means the current edition of CVWD’s Standard Specifications for Construction of Sanitation Systems.

“Street” means any highway, road, street, avenue, alley or way, either public or private.

“Street sewer lateral” means the pipeline between a public sewer main and a building sewer lateral.

“Street sewer lateral charge” means the charge levied for the cost of installing a street sewer lateral.

“Subdivider” means a person, firm, corporation, partnership or association who proposes to divide, divides, or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for itself or for others except that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not subdividers.

“Subdivision” or “tract” means the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, shown on the latest equalized county assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, whether immediate or future. Property shall be considered as contiguous units even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easements or railroad rights-of-way. Subdivision includes common interest developments, as defined in Cal. Civil Code § 1351(c).

“Tax roll” means the process of levying property, through annual property taxes, to recapture unpaid charges for sewer and other services.

“Tenant” means a person who rents or leases a unit which he/she does not own.

Tract. See “Subdivision.”

“Unauthorized connection” means any connection to CVWD’s sanitation system that did not apply for and receive required permits from CVWD and/or failed to pay any required fees.

“Wastewater” means liquid and water-carried wastes from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the water reclamation plant (WRP).

“Water reclamation plant (WRP)” means a treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1292), which is owned by CVWD. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of wastewater of a liquid nature and any conveyances which convey wastewater to a water reclamation plant. (Ord. 1427.5 § 1-1, 2023)