(A) Water shall be supplied to all customers by meter measurement only, excepting sales of water to tank trucks or known capacity and to those customers having special connections and receiving service under an application for private fire protection service, and the town shall have the right to place a meter on any service pipe and charge for water service by meter measurement.
(B) All meters, except fire service line meters, or except as otherwise elsewhere provided in these rules and regulations, shall be furnished, installed, maintained, tested, repaired, removed and replaced only by and at the expense of the town and shall remain its property; but in case of damage to any such meter by reason of any act, neglect or omission on the part of the customer (such as damages occasioned by fire, frost, hot water, accident or misuse), the customer shall reimburse the town for the cost of repairing the meter on presentation of a bill therefor.
(C) The town reserved the right to determine the kind, size and type of meter that shall be placed on any service pipe.
(D) Meters may be located either in an outdoor meter box or vault, or inside the customer’s building or structure, at the option of the town.
(E) If the meter or battery setting of meters is to be installed inside of the building or structure, it shall be located in a clean, dry, safe place and protected from freezing and hot water, and not subject to wide temperature variations, which location must be acceptable to the town, so that the meter may easily be examined, read or removed. The customer shall, at his or her expense, provide suitable pipe connections and shut-off valves, one each at the inlet and outlet sides of the meter or battery setting of meters, and such other fittings as may be designated by the town.
(F) If the meter or battery setting of meters is to be installed in a meter box or vault located outside the foundation walls of the building or structure supplied, the meter box or vault shall be located in a convenient and readily accessible location. Meter boxes or vaults for settings for single meters up to one inch in diameter will be furnished, installed and maintained by and at the cost and expense of the town. Meter boxes or vaults for settings of single meters larger than one inch in diameter and for battery setting of meters shall be furnished, installed and maintained by and at the cost of the customer. The customer shall, at his or her expense, provide suitable pipe connections and shut-off valves, one each at the inlet and outlet sides of the meter or battery setting of meters, and such other fittings as may be designated by the town. Upon a request by the customer before the original installation is made, the meter box or vault will be located at the point requested, if feasible under proper utility standards. The meter box or vault must be constructed to protect the meter from freezing and damage by vehicular traffic, and its location and design shall prevent, as far as possible, the inflow of surface water.
(G) Separate premises shall be separately metered and billed, and only one premises shall be supplied through one meter or meter setting.
(H) The town reserves the right to put seals on all meters or meter couplings.
(I) No customer shall remove or cause or permit the removal of a meter by his or her agents once it has been installed by the town, and any change in location of the meter desired by the customer shall first be approved by the town in writing, but shall be made by the customer at his or her own cost and expense. The actual moving of any meter shall be performed only by employees of the town water utility or by licensed plumbers approved by said utility through its Utility Board or as delegated to town water utility employees.
(J) The town may at any reasonable time remove any meter for routine tests, repair or replacement and may, at its option and expense, test any meter when the town has reason to believe that it is registering inaccurately.
(K) If a customer requests and the town approves, or if the town determines that it is desirable in order to facilitate meter reading, a remote reading register device may be installed outside of the building or structure at an accessible location, in accordance with the terms, conditions and charges therefore as set forth from time to time in the town’s tariff applicable thereto.
(L) Meters may register in either U.S. gallons or cubic feet. Meter readings in units of hundred cubic feet may be converted to units of thousand gallons for billing purposes if the existing schedule of charges is stated in gallon units. The factor used for making a conversion from hundred cubic feet to thousand gallons shall be based on the use of one cubic foot as being equivalent to seven and one-half U.S. gallons.
(M) Customer/owners will not damage the town meters and all repair /replacement meter costs shall be charged to the customer/owner.
(Ord. 2010-2, passed 6-7-2010)