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HomeMy Public PortalAbout458011 GLOSSARY Accrual Basis of Accounting: The basis of accounting under which transactions are recognized when they occur, regardless of the timing of cash receipts and disbursements. Actual Revenue or Expenditures: The revenue and expenditures incurred in previous fiscal years. Ad Valorem Tax: A tax based on value. Adopted Budget: Refers to the budget amounts as originally approved by the Board of Trustees at the beginning of the year. Annual Budget: A budget applicable to a single fiscal year. Annual Budget Process: The annual budget process consists of activities that encompass the development, implementation, and evaluation of a plan for the provision of services and capital assets for the upcoming fiscal year. This process is strategic in nature, encompassing a multi- year financial and operating plan that allocates resources on the basis of identified goals. Appropriation: The legal authorization granted by the Board of Trustees to make expenditures and to incur obligations for purposes specified in the Budget. Assessed Valuation: A value set on real estate or other property as a basis for levying taxes within the boundaries of MSD service areas. The assessed valuation is set by the City and County Assessor, who are charged with determining the taxable value of property according to a formula set by the State of Missouri. Asset: Resources owned or held which have monetary value. Balanced Scorecard Measures: A measure of the level of activity and service in the functional areas of the various departments. Base Budget: The same level of funding as in the current year adopted budget with adjustments for one-time costs, merit, benefit and cost of living increases and general price adjustments. Basis of Accounting: A term referring to when revenues, expenditures, and transfers and the related assets and liabilities are recognized in the accounts and reported in the financial statements. Beginning Fund Balance: Fund balance available in a fund from the end of the prior year, for use in the following year. Billing and Collection Charge: Monthly charge imposed by the District to recover the wastewater program’s share of the costs associated with issuing and collecting combined wastewater and stormwater bills. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five days as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. Blockage: Partial or complete interruption of flow as a result of some obstruction in a sewer. Also referred to as a stoppage. Board: Refers to the Board of Trustees of the District. The Board is comprised of six members, three of whom are appointed by the Mayor of the City of St. Louis and the remaining three are appointed by the County Executive of St. Louis County. Bond Rating: The rating of bonds as a statement of a locality’s economic, financial and managerial condition. It represents the business community’s assessment of the investment quality of a local government. Highly rated bonds attract more competition in the marketplace, thereby lowering interest costs paid by MSD and its ratepayers. Bonds: A written promise to pay a specified sum of money at a specified date in the future together with periodic interest at a specified rate. Branch Sewer: A sewer that receives wastewater from a relatively small area and discharges into a main sewer serving more than one branch sewer area. Break: A fracture or opening in a pipe, manhole or other structure due to structural failure and/or structural defect. Budget: A balanced financial plan for a given period of time, which includes an appropriation and tax levy ordinance for the various sources of revenue that finance the various funds. Budget Calendar: The schedule for completion of the various phases in the preparation and adoption of the annual budget. Budget Document: The instrument used by the budget-making authority to present a comprehensive financial program to the Board of Trustees and the public. Budget Message: The opening section of the budget which provides a general discussion of the most important aspects of the budget, accomplishments from previous years and new 349 GLOSSARY initiatives and challenges facing the District as presented by the Executive Director to the Board of Trustees. Budget Transfers: Budget transfers shift previously budgeted funds from one category of expenditure to another. Budgetary Control: The control or management of a government or enterprise in accordance with an approved budget that keeps expenditures within the limitations of available appropriations and revenues. Budgeted Position: Those positions which have either been budgeted for and authorized in the past or which are being requested in the current year's budget. Business Line: Classification of an account to distinguish betw een wastewater and stormwater or unallocated expenditures. Bypass: A pipe, valve, gate, weir, trench or other device designed to permit all or part of a wastewater flow to be diverted from usual channels or flow. Sometimes refers to a special line which carries the flow around a facility or device that needs maintenance or repair. CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Capacity: The maximum rate of flow that can be carried by sewers or received by a treatment plant without causing an upset of the biological material contained in the treatment system. Capital Charge: That portion of the total charges for services provided by the District which is established for debt retirement. Capital Improvement and Replacement Program: A plan for capital expenditures to be incurred each year over a fixed period of years to meet the capital needs to maintain or replace the sewer infrastructure. It sets forth each project’s expenditures and specifies the resources estimated to be available to finance the projected expenditures. Capital Improvement Surcharge: A user charge to finance the construction of seven wastewater improvement projects required to comply with federal and state clean water laws. This monthly surcharge was last charged in April 1995 on customer bills for March 1995 service. Capital Project: A capital project is defined by the creation of a capital asset. Capital projects for the District often involve large monetary and time expenditures related to the construction of infrastructure assets for the collection and treatment of wastewater or stormwater. Capital Outlay: Items purchased utilizing departmental budgeted funds in the 55000 series of natural accounts for the purchase of land, buildings, structural improvements, equipment, vehicles, machinery, furniture, and computer equipment. Items purchased in this category generally become capital assets of the District. Carry-over: A quantity left over or held for future use. A sum transferred to a new column, page, book, or business account. Cash Basis of Accounting: Under this basis of accounting, revenues are not recorded until cash is received; expenditures are recorded only when cash is disbursed. Catch Basin: A chamber or well used with storm or combined sewers as a means of removing grit which might otherwise enter and be deposited in sewers. CCF: Hundred cubic feet, approximately 750 gallons Channel: An improved (paved) watercourse. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): The quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic and inorganic matter as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. CIRP: Capital Improvement and Replacement Program Clean Water Act: Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program and recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution. Cleanout: An opening (usually covered or capped) in a wastewater collection system used for inserting tools, rods or snakes while cleaning a pipeline or clearing a stoppage. 350 GLOSSARY Collection System: A network of pipes, manholes, cleanouts, traps, siphons, lift stations and other structures used to collect all wastewater and wastewater-carried wastes of an area and transport them to a treatment plant or disposal system. The collection system includes land, wastewater lines and appurtenances, pumping stations and general property. Combined Sewers: A sewerage system that carries both sanitary sewage and stormwater runoff. Compliance Charge: Billed to non-residential customers only -- the costs related to the District's compliance activities for non- residential properties required to comply with federal and state environmental regulations. Conductor: A pipe which carries a liquid load from one point to another point. In a wastewater collection system, a conductor is often a large pipe with no service connections. Also called a conduit, monitor interceptor or interconnector. Conduit: Any artificial or natural duct, either open or closed, for conveying fluids from one point to another. An electrical conduit conveys electricity. Connection Fees: One-time fees assessed when properties are connected to the sewerage system. Effective November 1, 1994, these fees are uniform throughout the District and are based on the size of the property's water tap. Construction Funds: Funds established to receive and disburse proceeds from revenue sources restricted for construction of improvements to sewerage and drainage collection systems and treatment facilities. Contamination: Introduction into water of any microorganisms, chemicals, toxic substances, wastes, or wastewater in a concentration that makes the water unfit for its next intended use. Contractual Services: Expenses and encumbrances charged to the 54000 series of natural accounts. Expenses in this category usually involve an agreement with a particular vendor to provide a specific type of work. Contributed Wastewater Volume: The quantity of water-borne wastes emanating from residential property or non-residential property and, specifically: 1. For metered residential property, billed metered water usage during the best equated period; 2. For non-residential property, either billed metered water usage throughout the year with exemption allowances for any water that does not enter the sewer system or measured wastewater volume; and 3. For unmetered residential property, average indoor water usage characteristics of various housing attributes, as defined in the rate study, applied to each user's number of rooms and plumbing fixtures. Conveyance System: A series of sewers, manholes, pumping facilities and force mains which carry wastewater from residences, commercial establishments, public buildings, institutions and industrial plants. It terminates at a treatment plant. Cost Center: An organization that performs a particular function and separately accounts for expenditures. Cross Connection: A connection between a storm drain system and a sanitary collection system. Less frequently used term to describe a connection between two sections of a collection system to handle anticipated overloads of one system. C.S.O.: Combined Sewer Overflows -- discharges from a combined sewer in excess of the interceptor or regulator capacity, that are discharged into a receiving stream rather than going to a treatment plant. Curb Inlet: A chamber or well built at the curbline of a street to admit gutter flow to the storm water drainage system. Debt: An obligation resulting from the borrowing of money or from the purchase of goods and services. Debt Service Funds: Funds to provide for the receipt and disbursement of monies designated for payment of interest and redemption of outstanding bond issues. Defeasance: The process of discharging the lien of an ordinance, resolution, or indenture relating to a bond issue and, in the process, rendering inoperative restrictions under which the issuer has been obliged to operate. Ordinarily an issuer may defease an indenture requirement by depositing with a trustee an amount sufficient to fully pay all amounts under a bond contract as they become due. Deliverables: A list of specifically promised reports, studies and other items produced under the provision of a contract for professional services. Department: The Department is the primary unit in the District. Each unit is managed by a Department Director. Departments are generally composed of divisions which share a common purpose or which perform 351 GLOSSARY similar duties. Depreciation: The loss in service value, not restored by current maintenance, which occurs in utility plants in service due to decay, inadequacy and obsolescence. Depreciation accounting is usually based on an annual percentage allowance of plant investment equal to the original investment spread over the useful life of the facility. Detention: The delay or holding of the flow of water and water- carried wastes in a pipe system. This can be caused by a restriction in the pipe, a stoppage or a dip. Detention also means the time water is held or stored in a basin or a wet well. Sometimes called retention. Discharge Permits: Permit granted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) allowing the discharge of effluent into a body of water. The point source must conform to specific water quality standards established for the receiving waters. District: Refers to The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District or MSD. The District is organized pursuant to Article VI, Section 30 of the Missouri State Constitution that empowers the people in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County “to establish a metropolitan district for functional administration of services common to the area”. DNR: Department of Natural Resources, a Missouri state governmental agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of state water pollution control policies and laws. The DNR provides state grant funds to local communities for wastewater treatment and administers the EPA Construction Grants Program on behalf of the federal agency. Drainage Facility: Any system of artificially constructed drains, including open channels and separate stormwater sewers used to convey stormwater, surface water or groundwater, either continuously or intermittently to natural watercourses. Dry Weather Overflows: Discharges from a sanitary system in dry weather into a receiving stream rather than a treatment plant, usually as a result of a blockage or capacity limitation. Easement: Legal right to use the property of others for a specific purpose. Effluent: Wastewater or other liquid – raw (untreated), partially or completely treated – flowing FROM a reservoir, basin, treatment process, or treatment plant. Encumbrances: Obligations incurred in the form of orders, contracts and similar items that will become payable when goods are delivered or services rendered. Engineering Plan Review Fees: Fees assessed to developers to defray the District’s costs of the engineering reviews that ensure standards compliance before construction permits are issued. EPA: Environmental Protection Agency, a federal agency that is responsible for the administration and enforcement of national water pollution control policies and laws. The EPA provides federal grant funds to local governments for wastewater treatment under the provisions of the EPA Construction Grants Program. Expenditure: An amount of money disbursed or obligated. An expenditure is a decrease in net financial resources. This includes current operating expenses requiring the present or future use of current assets. Fees: A general term used for any charge levied by government associated with providing a service. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB): Independent, private, non-governmental authority for the establishment of ACCOUNTING principles in the United States. Fiscal Year: An annual period used for budgeting and reporting purposes. For the District, this period is from July 1 through June 30. Flood Protection Facilities: A facility that affects the flood conveyance capacity or flood management behavior of the System, usually designed to reduce flooding hazards. Flow: The volume of effluent expected to enter a treatment system over a given time period. Treatment systems are designed based upon estimates of peak and average flow for different segments of the system. FTE: Full-Time Equivalent positions Fund: A fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities and residual equities or balances, and changes therein, which are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with special regulation, restriction, or limitations. 352 GLOSSARY Fund Balance: The equity of a fund. The excess of the assets of a fund over its liabilities, reserves and carry-over. Fund Group: A category of various funds logically grouped on the basis of the purpose of each fund. At the present time, the District has the following fund groups: 1. General Fund 2. Revenue Funds 3. Operation, Maintenance and Construction Improvement (OMCI) Funds 4. Construction Funds 5. Debt Service Funds 6. Special Funds Note: Descriptions of each fund group are included in that group’s section of the Budget. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): Uniform minimum standards and guidelines for financial accounting and reporting. They govern the form and content of the financial statements of an entity. GAAP encompass the practice at a particular time; they include not only broad guidelines of general application, but also detailed practices and procedures. GAAP provide a standard by which to measure financial presentations. The primary authoritative body on the application of GAAP to state and local governments is the GASB. GASB: Governmental Accounting Standards Board General Fund: A fund established by administrative action to finance the ordinary operations of The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. The General Fund may be used for any legally authorized purpose of the District. It is used to account for all revenues and activities of the District not provided for in any other fund. It may receive any and all revenues not specifically designated for other funds. All wastewater and stormwater user charges receivable, less allowances for uncollectible accounts, are recorded in the General Fund. General Obligation Bonds: Are used to finance Capital Improvement Projects that result in community wide benefits. These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer and can only be issued by governmental units with taxing authority. Issuance of General Obligation Bonds requires 67% approval of those voting. GFOA: Government Finance Officers Association Goal: General statements of public policy, purpose, and intent. Grant: A contribution of assets by one governmental unit to another unit. The contribution is usually made to aid in the support of a specified function, such as sewer construction, pollution control, etc. Impervious Area: Areas of the land surface that by man's action become blocked or sealed from rainfall causing runoff in excess of the natural rain water runoff of undisturbed land. Examples are parking lots and rooftops. Impervious Charge: A system for assessing fees for stormwater runoff conveyances and controls, and the operation and maintenance of same based upon the amount of impervious area on the rate payer's property. In-House Contracts: Planning, design and engineering services provided by existing District staff in order to accomplish specific capital projects. Infiltration: The seepage of groundwater into a sewer system, including service connections. Seepage frequently occurs through defective or cracked pipes, pipe joints, connections or manhole walls. Infiltration/Inflow (I/I): The total quantity of water from both infiltration and inflow without distinguishing the source. Inflow: Water discharged into a sewer system and service connections from such sources as, but not limited to, roof leaders, cellars, yard and area drains, foundation drains, cooling water discharges, drains from springs and swampy areas, around manhole covers or through holes in the covers, cross connections from storm and combined sewer systems, catch basins, storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters or drainage. Inflow differs from infiltration in that it is a direct discharge into the sewer rather than a leak in the sewer itself. Influent: Wastewater or other liquid – raw (untreated) or partially treated – flowing into a reservoir, basin, treatment process or treatment plant. Inlet: A surface connection to a drain pipe. A chamber for collecting storm water with no well below the outlet pipe for collecting grit. Often connected to a catch basin or a “basin manhole” (“cleanout manhole”) with a grit chamber. Intercepting Sewer: A sewer that receives flow from a number of other large sewers or outlets and conducts the waters to a point for treatment or disposal. Often called an “interceptor”. Interconnector: A sewer installed to connect two separate sewers. If one sewer becomes blocked, wastewater can back up 353 GLOSSARY and flow through the interconnector to the other sewer. Lagoon: A shallow body of water containing partially treated sewerage in which aerobic stabilization occurs. Lateral Sewer: That portion of the sewer lying within a public street or easement connecting a building sewer service to the main sewer. Levy: The total amount of taxes, special assessments or service charges imposed by a government. Liabilities: Obligations incurred in past or current transactions requiring present or future settlement. Lift Station: A wastewater pumping station that lifts the wastewater to a higher elevation when continuing the sewer at reasonable slopes would involve excessive depths of trench. Also, an installation of pumps that raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available sewers. Low Income Assistance Credit: A Low Income Assistance Credit is available to eligible low income customers of the District who are billed for and pay a wastewater user charge, capital improvement surcharge and/or are billed for and pay a stormwater user charge. The amount of such Low Income Assistance Credit will be fifty percent (50%) of the wastewater user charge, capital improvement surcharge and/or stormwater user charge billed to such customer for the applicable billing period and will be shown as a credit on bills of eligible low income customers which are issued on or after July 1, 1993. The Low Income Assistance Credit for the capital improvement surcharge portion will be absorbed by the wastewater user charge. Main Sewer: A sewer line that receives wastewater from many tributary branches and sewer lines and serves as an outlet for a large territory or is used to feed an intercepting sewer. Management Position: Any District position which is filled by an administrative, supervisory or professional employee and certain positions which are nonbargaining due to the nature of the duties performed. Manhole: An opening in a sewer provided for the purpose of permitting operators or equipment to enter or leave a sewer. Sometimes called an “access hole”, or “maintenance hole”. Metered Multi-Unit Residential/Non-Residential Property: All property connected to an approved water meter which is: 1. Used only for human residency and consists of two or more dwelling units connected to a single approved water meter; or 2. Non-residential property. Metered Property: All property connected to an approved water meter through which the amount of water usage is measured. Metered Single-Unit Residential Property: Property used only for human residency, which consists of a single dwelling unit which is connected to an approved water meter which serves only such unit. Mission Statement: A brief description of the purpose and functions of an agency, department, etc. Multi-Unit Residence: Residential property which consists of a dwelling under one roof for occupancy by more than one family, including but not limited to, flats, apartments, condominiums, and the like. M/WBE: Minority and Woman-owned Business Enterprises. A program to encourage the participation of Minority and Women's business concerns in the purchase of professional services and construction work. Natural Account: Detailed classification established to budget and account for the purchase of specific goods and services and the receipt of revenues from specific sources. Natural Account Group: A grouping of accounts based on the category of goods or services purchased; for example: Personnel Services. Non-Point Pollution: Pollution which does not enter the water from any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance (source) but rather wash off, run off or seep from broad areas of land. Non-Residential Property: Property other than Residential Property. Normal Wastewater: Waters or wastes having: 1. A five-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) not greater than 300 milligrams per liter; and 2. Containing not more than 300 milligrams per liter of Suspended Solids (SS); and 3. Having a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) not greater than 600 milligrams per liter. Objectives: The yearly organizational goals expected to be achieved, listed in order of priorities with their associated costs including estimates of salaries, 354 GLOSSARY equipment, supplies, etc. Obligations: Amounts which a government may be required legally to meet out of its resources. They include not only actual liabilities, but also encumbrances not yet paid. Obstruction: Any solid object in or protruding into a wastewater flow in a collection line that prevents a smooth or even passage of the wastewater. OM&R: Operational Maintenance & Repairs OMCI Funds: Operation, Maintenance and Construction Improvement Funds established to account for proceeds from tax levies in the various subdistricts and grants in aid of construction. Expenditures are primarily for stormwater and sanitary sewer improvements. Ordinance: A bill, resolution or order by means of which appropriations are given legal effect. It is the method by which the appropriation of the annual budget is enacted into law by the Board of Trustees. O.R.S.: The Overflow Regulation System of the District. The District's O.R.S. is focused on the facilities that evolved from the former direct discharges of sewage from trunk sewers into the Mississippi River. The system now includes the management, operation, maintenance and improvements to the integrated trunk sewer outfalls, riverfront interceptors, interceptor pump stations and flood protection facilities. The goal of the O.R.S. is to capture the maximum amount of sewage and wastewaters and convey these to wastewater treatment plants at Bissell Point and Lemay. Outfalls: The point, location or structure where wastewater or drainage discharges from a sewer, drain, or other conduit. The conduit leading to the final disposal point or area. Outfall Sewer: A sewer that receives wastewater from a collection system or from a wastewater treatment plant and carries it to a point of ultimate or final discharge in the environment. Outlet: Downstream opening or discharge end of a pipe, culvert, or canal. Permittee: An industrial user required to maintain an industrial waste permit due to the quality or quantity of their wastewater or point of discharge. Personnel Services: Expenditures and encumbrances charged to the 51000 series of natural accounts. This category of expenses includes items such as salaries, overtime and benefits. Point Source/Point of Discharge: Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, vessel, or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. Pollutant: Any substance which, alone or in combination with other substances, if discharged to waters of the State in sufficient quantities, causes or is reasonably certain to cause any alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of such waters; or to create a nuisance; or to render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, or to domestic, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses or to any organism, aquatic life, plant or animal. ppm: Refers to “parts per million”; commonly used to report the results of laboratory analyses of wastewater samples. Preventive Maintenance: Regularly scheduled servicing of machinery or other equipment using appropriate tools, tests and lubricants. This type of maintenance can prolong the useful life of equipment and machinery and increase its efficiency by detecting and correcting problems before they cause a breakdown of the equipment. Professional Services: Expenditures for services rendered to the District under formal contract by "professionals" who have a high degree of skill and training in technical fields. Examples are: auditors, management consultants, lawyers, engineers, etc. Property: An improved lot or parcel of real property, whether public or private, which is served by the System. Property Tax: An annual tax on the values of certain types of personal or business wealth, represented by real or personal property. Property Tax Rate: The amount of tax stated in terms of a unit of the tax base expressed as dollars per $100 of assessed valuation. Proposed Budget: The recommended budget submitted by the District to the Board of Trustees. Pump Station: Installation of pumps to lift wastewater to a higher elevation in places where flat land would require excessively deep sewer trenches. Also used to raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available collection lines. These stations may be equipped with 355 GLOSSARY air-operated ejectors or centrifugal pumps. Raw Sewage: Plant influent or wastewater before any treatment. Regulator: A device used in combined sewers to control or regulate the diversion of flow. Represented Position (Bargaining Unit): Any District position, which is filled by an employee represented by a labor union. Reserves: Funds set aside for a specific purpose or use. Residential Property: Property used only for human residency. Resolution: Resolutions are used to express opinions about a particular item of business. Unlike ordinances, resolutions are not laws and are not proposed to the MSD Board of Trustees prior to adoption. Resolutions are often used to honor public officials, recognize retiring employees for their years of service and acknowledge strategic business plans. Resources: The actual assets of a governmental unit, such as cash, grants receivable, land, buildings, etc. including estimated revenues applied to the current fiscal year, and bonds authorized and unissued. Retention: That part of the precipitation falling on a drainage area which does not escape as surface stream flow during a given period. It is the difference between total precipitation and total runoff during the period, and represents evaporation, transpiration, subsurface leakage, infiltration, and, when short periods are considered, temporary surface or underground storage on the area. The delay or holding of the flow of water and water-carried wastes in a pipe system. This can be due to a restriction in the pipe, a stoppage or a dip. Also, the time water is held or stored in a basin or wet well. This is also called detention. Revenue: Income generated by user charges, taxes, investment income, land rental, connection fees, as well as Federal, State and local grants. Revenue Bonds: Debt used to finance Capital Improvement Projects serviced from the net revenues from a particular enterprise, such as sewer service. Issuance of Revenue Bonds requires 67% approval of those voting. Revenue Funds: Funds established to account for proceeds from user charges and connection and other fees within the subdistricts to provide for operations and maintenance within the user charge revenue subdistricts. Sanitary Sewer System: The sewer system that caries liquid and wastewater from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally. Sanitary Wet Weather By-passes: Overflows of sanitary sewage, mixed with stormwater, to a stream, from the separate sanitary sewer system in times of wet weather due to the entry of extraneous water into the System. This occurs when the sewers become hydraulically overloaded. By-passes are usually "designed", and are used to prevent back-ups into basements. Secondary Waste Treatment: A wastewater treatment process used to convert dissolved or suspended materials into a form more readily separated from the water being treated. Usually the process follows primary treatment by sedimentation. The process commonly is a type of biological treatment process followed by secondary clarifiers that allow the solids to settle out from the water being treated. Separate Sewers: Sewers that carry only sanitary sewage or stormwater runoff. The separate sanitary sewers are ultimately connected to a treatment plant. Separate storm sewers discharge to streams. Served: Property with an active sewer connection, either directly or indirectly, to a sanitary or drainage facility owned or operated by the District and laying within the District, or to property which otherwise discharges wastewater directly or indirectly into such facilities, or if the discharges of such substances therefrom ultimately enter said facilities. Service Area: Bonfils Watershed, Coldwater Creek Subdistrict, Fee Fee Trunk Sewer Subdistrict, Fenton Service Area, Forest Ridge Service Area, Ellisville Service Area, Mississippi River Subdistrict, Missouri Bottoms Service Area, Riverside Service Area, South County Service Area, Spanish Lake Watershed, Subdistrict No. 150 (Sugar Creek), Terri-Robyn Service Area, Twin Oaks Service Area, and Valley Sewage Company Service Area, St. Louis County Sewer Area, Martigney Sewer Area, and Valley Park Sewer Area, and any property served by the System. Service Charge: All charges imposed for services of the District. Sewage: The used water and water-carried solids from homes that flow in sewers to a wastewater treatment plant. The preferred term is wastewater. Sewer: A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage 356 GLOSSARY water. The term “collection line” is often used also. Sewer Main: A sewer pipe to which building laterals are connected. Also called a collection main. Sewerage: A comprehensive term that includes facilities collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of wastewater. Single Unit: Residential Property used as a dwelling by one family only. Sludge: The solids removed from sewage during wastewater treatment. Sludge Management: The purposeful, systematic control of the generation, storage, collection, transport, processing and disposal of sludges. Special Funds: Special funds of the District are comprised of the following: 1. Improvement Fund 2. Water Backup Fund 3. Wastewater Emergency Fund 4. Stormwater Emergency Fund Standard Methods: The latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" as published jointly by The American Public Health Association, The American Water Works Association, and The Water Pollution Control Federation. Storm Sewer: A separate pipe, conduit or open channel (sewer) that carries runoff from storms, surface drainage and street wash, but does not include domestic and industrial wastes. Storm sewers are often the recipients of hazardous or toxic substances due to the illegal dumping of hazardous wastes or spills created by accidents involving vehicles and trains transporting these substances. Also see sanitary sewer system. Stormwater: Any water resulting from precipitation that may or may not be mixed with an accumulation of dirt, soil, and other debris or substances collected from the surface on which such precipitation falls or flows. Stormwater Runoff: The portion of rainfall, melted snow or irrigation water that flows across ground surfaces and eventually is returned to streams. Runoff can pick up pollutants from the air or land and carry them to the receiving waters. Stormwater Service Area: Any area where stormwater facilities have been dedicated to the District and the District has accepted dedication of said facilities or the District has adopted a resolution accepting the responsibility for operation and maintenance of stormwater facilities. Stormwater Service Charge: The user charge to generate the revenue to operate and maintain the stormwater system. Subdistrict: Under or beneath the District, subdivision of the District. Supplemental Appropriation: Where sufficient justification exists, supplemental appropriations by the Board may occur outside of the annual budget process. Such appropriations shall reflect unanticipated emergency requirements subject to serious time constraints that a normal resource allocation mechanism, such as the annual budget process, cannot accommodate. Surcharge: The additional charge for the treatment of wastes containing suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand or chemical oxygen demand exceeding normal wastewater strengths. Suspended Solids: Solids that either float on the surface of, or are suspended in water, wastewater, or other liquids; as determined by analysis for nonfilterable milligrams per liter. System: The entire sewer and drainage system owned and operated by the District for the collection, storage, handling, and treatment of wastewater, for the collection, storage, handling and treatment of stormwater, and combined sewers for the collection, storage, treatment and handling of wastewater and stormwater to serve the needs of the District and its inhabitants and others, including all appurtenances and facilities connected therewith or relating thereto, together with all extensions, improvements, additions and enlargements thereto hereafter made or acquired by the District. Tax Levy: The total amount of taxes imposed by a government. . Taxes: Mandatory charge levied by a governmental unit for the purpose of financing services performed for the common benefit. Toxic Pollutants: Any substance whether gaseous, liquid or solid which, when discharged to a wastewater system watercourse in sufficient quantities, interferes with or passes through any wastewater treatment process, or constitutes a hazard to human beings, animal life, plant life, or inhibits aquatic life. Treatment Plant: An arrangement of pipes, equipment, devices, tanks 357 GLOSSARY and structures for treating wastewater and industrial wastes. A water pollution control plant. Trunk Sewer: A sewer that receives wastewater from many tributary branches or sewers and serves a large territory and contributing population. Also see main sewer. Unmetered Residential Property: Property used only for human residency, which is not Metered Residential Property. Useful Life: The expected period of time during which a depreciating asset will be productive. User: The occupant or owner of the Property, the person holding a permit for water service to the property, or any person served by the system. User Charge: The major charges established by the District; Wastewater User Charge and Stormwater Service Charge. Utilities: Expense incurred for gas, electric, phone and water at all District locations. Volume Charge: Wastewater charge applied to each customer’s Contributed Wastewater Volume. It includes both OM&R and capital costs components. Waste Activated Sludge: Sludge that has been aerated and subjected to bacterial action, used to remove organic matter in raw sewage during secondary waste treatment. Waste Permit: Permit issued to allow, with certain conditions, waste discharge into the System. This includes discharge of hauled waste. Wastewater: The water-borne wastes emanating from Residential Property or Non-residential Property, together with such groundwater, surface water, or stormwater as cannot be avoided. Wastewater User Charge: The costs related to the amount of wastewater discharged to the sanitary sewer system. Measured in hundred cubic feet (CCF’s) for customers with water meters and the number of rooms and indoor plumbing fixtures for customers without water meters. Water Backup Program: The District will review the total cost to a homeowner of repairs necessary after a sewer backup, provided the problem is found in a part of the sewer line maintained by MSD. Insurance coverage has been obtained to limit the District's total expense. Water Meter Loan: An interest-free loan made by the District to the owner of a residential property not served by a water meter. The loan may be for an amount up to $300 and will be repaid over a period not to exceed 20 years. This program was discontinued in 2004; existing loans continue to be included in monthly billing. Water Quality: The suitability of water for given uses as measured by the levels of pollutants it contains. Water use classification includes: public water supply; recreation; propagation of fish and other aquatic life, agricultural use and industrial use. Watercourse: A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water, either continuously or intermittently. Watershed: A region or area bounded peripherally by water parting and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water. Working Capital: Cash, materials and supplies, and other similar current assets necessary in the operation of the facility. 358 ACRONYMS BOD: Biochemical Oxygen Demand: the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in five days as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report CCF: Hundred cubic feet: approximately 750 gallons. COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand: the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic and inorganic matter as determined by Standard Methods and expressed in milligrams per liter. CIRP: Capital Improvement and Replacement Program C.S.O.: Combined Sewer Overflows: discharges from a combined sewer in excess of the interceptor or regulator capacity, that are discharged into a receiving stream rather than going to a treatment plant. DNR: Department of Natural Resources: a Missouri state government agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of state water pollution control policies and laws. The DNR provides state grant funds to local communities for wastewater treatment and administers the EPA Construction Grants Program on behalf of the federal agency. EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: a federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. EPA: Environmental Protection Agency: a federal agency that is responsible for the administration and enforcement of national water pollution control policies and laws. The EPA provides federal grant funds to local governments for wastewater treatment under the provisions of the EPA Construction Grants Program. FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board: independent, private, non-governmental authority for the establishment of ACCOUNTING principles in the United States. FTE: Full-Time Equivalent positions GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles: uniform minimum standards and guidelines for financial accounting and reporting. They govern the form and content of the financial statements of an entity. GAAP encompasses the practice at a particular time; they include not only broad guidelines of general application, but also detailed practices and procedures. GAAP provides a standard by which to measure financial presentations. The primary authoritative body on the application of GAAP to state and local governments is the GASB. GASB: Governmental Accounting Standards Board GFOA: Government Finance Officers Association I/I: Infiltration/Inflow: the total quantity of water from both infiltration and inflow with no distinction of the source. MGD: Million gallons per day: standard measure of wastewater flow through treatment plants. MWBE: Minority and Woman-owned Business Enterprises: a program to encourage the participation of Minority and Women's business concerns in the purchase of professional services and construction work. OM&R: Operational Maintenance & Repairs O.R.S.: Overflow Regulation System: the District's O.R.S. is focused on the facilities that evolved from the former direct discharges of sewage from trunk sewers into the Mississippi River. The system now includes the management, operation, maintenance and improvements to the integrated trunk sewer outfalls, riverfront interceptors, interceptor pump stations and flood protection facilities. The goal of the O.R.S. is to capture the maximum amount of sewage and wastewaters and convey these to wastewater treatment plants at Bissell Point and Lemay. ppm: Parts per million: commonly used to report the results of laboratory analysis of wastewater samples. SRF: State Revolving Fund: bonds or other obligations issued in accordance with the District’s participation in the Missouri State Revolving Fund Program of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the State Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority, which SRF Bonds may be Senior SRF Bonds or Subordinate SRF Bonds. WWTP: Wastewater Treatment Plant 359 360