(A) No unauthorized person shall alter, tamper with or damage any component, equipment or facility of the village water system. No unauthorized person shall interfere with the operation of any facility or cause water loss, contamination or inadequate treatment in any part or process of the village water system.
(B) All meters within the village are and remain the property of the village. No person shall illegally retain possession of a meter that is the property of the village.
(C) No person shall remove or cause damage to the meter in a water service. After such meter is attached, any damage which said meter may sustain resulting from frost or carelessness of said owner, agent or tenant, or from neglect of any of them to properly secure and protect the same, as well as any damage which may result from hot water or steam, shall be repaired at the owner's expense, in default of which water will be shut off from the structure and connection will not be restored until all charges are paid.
(D) No unauthorized person shall remove a meter from a service where it is installed by the village. The property owner or tenant is responsible to see that the meter serving their structure is not removed, moved from one service to another, illegally bypassed or tampered with. No bypass valve shall be opened, and otherwise water shall not be delivered to any structure which does not properly register on a meter except as authorized by the Water Department.
(E) If a bypass valve has been opened, or if the meter has been removed or tampered with, or if some other condition is found to exist in a water service which would permit the delivery of water to the structure without the proper registry thereof on a meter, it shall be presumptive evidence that the persons or person who accepted or received the use or benefit of the water did so with the knowledge of the illegal condition.
(F) Broken seals. If a seal or tamper protection on a valve, meter or other fitting is broken, it shall be presumptive evidence that the water consumption has not been properly registered on the meter. If a seal is broken, it shall be replaced by the Water Department, and the property owner shall be charged a fee for sealing as established by the BPU. No fee shall be charged if the seal was broken accidentally and the Water Department is notified promptly.
(Ord. 2-2009, passed 3-23-2009) Penalty see § 52.999