All meters used to measure water purchased from
the Water Department or Authority shall be approved by the agency
having jurisdiction, and no meter shall be installed unless supplied
or installed by the proper agency or under its supervision, and then
only after payment of its specified fee.
The Water Department or Authority shall determine
the proper size of the meter to be installed and shall have the right
to change or require the change of a meter at any time it is necessary
in order to ensure its proper operation.
The Water Department will install meters and
meter couplings. Meters shall be set as nearly as possible to the
point of entry in the building and shall be kept unobstructed and
easily accessible to the Water Department at all times. The Water
Department may require a meter to be set in a pit, box or tile, which
pit, box or tile is to be provided by and at the expense of the applicant
and shall be set at or near the front property line of the premises.
In circumstances where the customary location of a meter is in excess
of 200 feet in a town district or 75 feet in a district serviced by
the Authority, distant from the water side property line of the premises,
the meter shall be set in a pit provided by and at the expense of
the consumer and located near the front property line of the premises.
Permanent meter installations requiring a two-inch or larger size
meter shall be provided, at the customer's expense, with a valved
bypass around the meter, a sleeve coupling in meter piping and a valved
spur pipe on the building side of the meter for test purposes. The
design of such meter setting shall be submitted to the Water Department
or Authority for approval before construction by the consumer is undertaken.
The charges for a meter installation are as noted in the tapping charges listed in § 138-59.
After installation water meters shall be sealed
by the Water Department, and the Department shall thereafter have
complete control of the meters. No sealed meter may be removed without
a written permit from the Water Department or Authority.
One-inch or larger meters shall be purchased
and maintained by the customer.
Title to meters supplied by the Water Department
or Authority shall remain with the Water Department or Authority.
The Water Department may test all meters periodically to determine their accuracy and will replace, at its expense on meters owned by the Water Department or Authority, defective parts in improperly operating meters except where meters are damaged by frost, hot water or external causes as set forth in § 138-45.
Any meter damaged by frost or by hot water or
steam backing into the meter or by any external cause shall be repaired
by the Water Department or the Authority at the expense of the property
owner, and water service may be disconnected until such corrective
action is taken to prevent a recurrence of the incidence which caused
the damage. The charge for such repairs shall be based on the cost
of removing, repairing, testing and replacing said meter plus 15%
for Department overhead, transportation and use of tools, and the
minimum shall be $10 regardless of the size of the meter.
No person other than an employee of the Water
Department or Authority shall interfere with or remove any water meter,
sealing device or coupling from any meter installation after it has
once been placed in service by the Water Department or Authority.
Employees of the Water Department in the performance
of their duties shall be permitted to enter the premises of any consumer
at any reasonable hour to remove, replace, repair or test the meter,
to make a record of the quantity of water used, to inspect the premises
to determine the manner of use or to enforce the provisions of this
chapter.
If the Water Department is unable to read a
meter after two successive attempts, the charge may be estimated on
the basis of prior use in comparable periods, and the difference adjusted
when the meter is again read. If the meter is damaged or fails to
operate, the bill will be based on the average use during prior comparable
periods unless there is evidence that the use is not normal and average
for comparable periods and that the average use during prior comparable
periods is not properly applicable, in which case the charge will
be estimated by some other method which the Water Department considers
equitable.
Meter reading in areas under the jurisdiction
of the Authority will be handled according to its requirements and/or
its regulations.
