(A) The city exclusively owns and controls the water meter and yoke to be used in the water system.
(1) Meter location in the structure, valve types, electrical grounding, installation and location of remote read wire and read device must be as per requirements of the Operations and Maintenance Department/Public Utilities Division policies.
(2) A domestic service and fire service must be separate and must be controlled by separate valves outside the structure.
(3) Commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings must have separate domestic and irrigation meters.
(B) If any meters are damaged by freezing, hot water, and the like, either by carelessness or neglect of the owner or occupant of the premises or their agents, the owner or occupants must pay for the repairs of such damages. The cost of ordinary maintenance and repairs of all meters owned by the city will be borne by the Operations Maintenance Department/Public Utilities Division.
(C) At the written request of any owner or consumer a person designated by the City Manager will test or cause to be tested the meter supplying the premises of such owner, or consumer. A deposit in the amount established by the City Council will be required before the meter is disconnected which will be returned to the owner or consumer if the meter is not found to be registering correctly within ten percent, otherwise the deposit so made will be retained by the city to cover the cost of the test. The owner or consumer may, if the owner or consumer desires, be present at the time any such test is made. The result of any such test must be reported to the owner or consumer in every case.
(D) If the testing of a meter, as hereinabove provided, indicates that it registers in excess of 10% error, the charge to the consumer for water consumed and used during the quarter within which the test is made shall be the corresponding quarter of the previous year; if the consumer was not receiving service during the corresponding quarter of the previous year, or if for any other reason the charge for such corresponding period cannot be justly applied, the charge so made for the quarter within which such test occurred must be equitably adjusted by the person designated by the City Manager.
(E) The customer is prohibited from obstructing the meter so as to prohibit the reading or repairing of the meter.
(F) It is unlawful for anyone intentionally to misread any meter so as to avoid the payment of just charges for water, and it is unlawful for anyone to tamper with any meter so as to avoid just charges for water.
(G) So as to provide uniformity throughout the municipality, no water meter and yoke will be installed except when obtained from the municipality for that purpose and use in single-family dwellings. Meters and yokes required for larger users must contact the Building Official. Anyone wishing to install a water meter must obtain the meter and yoke from the Building Official and reimburse the city for the cost thereof as determined by § 100.62 of this chapter. Payment therefor is not construed as giving title to anyone other than the municipality.
('72 Code, § 682:20) (Ord. 1995-779, passed 4-24-95; Am. Ord. 1998-890, passed 12-14-98) Penalty, see § 10.99