The supply of water through any service pipe on which there are installed or maintained for fire protection purposes, and within the premises of the consumer, either standpipes, fire hydrants, pumps, fire protection tanks or any other outlets or devices from which water may be drawn to extinguish fire, shall, except as hereinafter provided in this section, be entirely controlled by a meter or meters which shall accurately measure all of the water used through said service pipe.
The commissioner may, at his discretion and in order to insure more accurate measurement of water supplied through said service pipe, require the installation of separate meters and separate lines leading from said meters to said premises, one or more of said lines to be connected only to fire protection devices and one or more of said lines to be used for supplying water for domestic or industrial purposes.
Or the commissioner may, at his discretion, require the installation of separate pipe line for the domestic or industrial uses of water and for fire protection purposes, installing on the former lines a meter or meters to register accurately all of the water used for said domestic or industrial purposes; and installing on the line or lines which are to be used only for fire protection, devices capable of detecting and recording every instance in which any water may be drawn through said fire protection lines, said devices being so constructed and installed as to permit, in case of necessity, an uninterrupted flow through said fire protection lines.
All meters or detecting devices installed on any pipeline to be used only for fire protection, including vaults, whenever required, shall be constructed, installed and maintained by and at the expense of the owner or consumer. All such meters or detecting devices installed or replaced on or after July 15, 2010, shall be equipped with remote reading technology in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.
There shall be no charge for any registration occasioned on any meter as the result of the use of water for fire purposes and the commissioner is authorized to reduce by an amount corresponding to such registration the charge for metered water against the consumer. No water for other than fire purposes shall be used through any fire line.
It shall be the duty of the commissioner to read, or cause to be read, all fire meters or detecting devices and to inspect seals on same, at least annually.
For any violation of any of the provisions of this section, the commissioner may, at his discretion, cause the water supply to be shut off.
(Prior code § 185-24; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 1.12; Amend Coun. J. 6-30-10, p. 95374, § 1)