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The minimum size for a water meter for a new service shall be determined by the owner's agent with the approval of the Director of the Water Department or the City Engineer. The minimum size for a water meter for an existing service shall be dependent upon the size of the existing plumbing unless indicated otherwise.
(a) Water meters shall be installed by the owner or his agent according to the provisions of Section 921.08
and all costs associated with the installation of the meter shall be borne by the owner.
(b) All meter installations shall be subject to inspection by the Director or his designee. Should the installation fail such inspection the owner shall make any necessary adjustments to bring the installation into compliance with the specifications of the Director or his representative. Meters shall be accessible at all times and safe from the hazards of freezing, excessive heat, harmful vapors or debris.
(c) Water meters are registered to the property and not to its occupant. Water meters may not be moved by anyone without prior authorization of the Director.
(d) The general policy of the City is to have one meter for each separate service connection; if, in the opinion of the Director, more than one meter is necessary to meter water supply to a property, such as multi-family units, the meter shall be set in an area not under the control of any tenant and shall be accessible at all times to utility personnel. Meters shall not be installed in such a manner as to require subtraction of another's meter reading to determine usage for any consumer.
(e) When a property, provided with a service connection, is subdivided the service connection shall be considered as belonging to the property for which the water meter has been assigned. If a water meter has not been assigned the service connection shall be considered as belonging to the lot or parcel closest to it.
(f) There shall be no more than one property supplied through one service connection. A subdivision of property shall require a new service connection along with all required permits and fees for that subdivided part to which an existing water meter has not been assigned.
(g) There shall be no appurtenances installed on any service connection between the curb box and the inlet valve of the water meter. Any necessary controls such as pressure reducers or check valves shall be installed after the outlet valve of the water meter.
(h) Water meters for industrial or commercial nonsewered water usage, if approved by the Director, shall be installed, repaired or replaced by the property owner at his expense. The City reserves the right to have the meter tested for accuracy at any time at the property owner's expense.
(Ord. 91-1404. Passed 11-5-91.)
The Water Department shall have the right for its authorized personnel, bearing proper identification, to enter upon all properties which are served by the Department for the purpose of meter repair, meter replacement, meter reading, meter testing, the turning on or off of water service or for any other reason deemed necessary and related to utility business by the Director of the Water Department.
(a) All costs associated with the repair or replacement of a water meter shall be borne by the Department unless the repair or replacement is occasioned by neglect or carelessness of the property owner, his agent or tenant; an example of neglect or carelessness would be the freezing of a water meter due to inadequate insulation.
(b) The Department is not responsible for the failure of the inlet or outlet plumbing for any meter setting even if such plumbing fails during the repair or replacement of the meter. If the Department is unable to effect repairs or replacement of a water meter due to defective plumbing the Director shall inform the property owner of his responsibility to effect repair of the plumbing within a timely manner. Failure to effect the necessary plumbing repairs within the specified time may result in the disconnection of water service.
(c) The Department reserves the right upon inspection to repair or replace any water meter currently in service. The Department reserves the right upon inspection to require a larger or smaller water meter to be installed if the installation of a re- sized meter is deemed to be in the best interest of the Department and/or property owner. The responsibility of the expense involved with the re-sizing of a water meter and its installation shall be decided by the Director on a case by case situation.
(Ord. 91-1404. Passed 11-5-91.)
If a meter shall be removed, by the request of the property owner, for the purpose of testing its accuracy, a fee, to be established by the Finance Director, shall be charged to the property owner if testing verifies the accuracy of the water meter. If the meter should prove to be inaccurate the meter shall be repaired or replaced at the expense of the Water Department and adjustments in past utility charges may be considered by the Finance Director.
(a) The Department reserves the right to remove and test any water meter which, in the opinion of the Director of the Water Department, is not accurately measuring the water supplied to the property. All costs associated with Department initiated testing shall be borne by the Department.
(b) If a tested meter, regardless of who initiates the request for such testing, reveals damage resulting from neglect or carelessness of the property owner, his agent or tenant, the total cost associated with the meter testing and its subsequent repair or replacement shall be borne by the property owner.
(c) Water meter testing shall be done by the Department or by the manufacturer's representative and the results of all tests shall be certified in writing to the property owner along with the assessment of applicable charges.
(Ord. 91-1404. Passed 11-5-91.)
Water meters remain the property of the Water Department, see Section 921.09. Any tampering with the water meter shall be considered a criminal offense to be prosecuted by the Department.
(a) Tampering is defined as provided in Section 545.19
(a) of the Codified Ordinances or as any attempt by an individual to mechanically influence the proper functioning of a water meter, whether sealed or unsealed, for the purpose of gaining a benefit such as a lowered utility charge, and includes breaking the seal on a sealed water meter.
(b) The Director of the Water Department shall be responsible to alert the appropriate officials concerning all cases of suspected tampering.
(Ord. 91-1404. Passed 11-5-91.)
A special fire hydrant meter shall be available to cover those special situations when a regular water meter is not in place such as during construction. Information on rental of such a meter is contained in Section 921.19(g).
(Ord. 91-1404. Passed 11-5-91.)
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