(A) Meters required; use; purchase from village.
(1) With the exception of fire suppression lines, all premises served by the Water Supply System shall be metered. Connections made to the Water Supply System for fire suppression purposes are required to have a village-approved backflow prevention device per § 51.08 below.
(2) Water meters shall be purchased from the village and shall be maintained by the property owner at the owner's expense.
(3) Each water meter shall be served by its own water connection and water service pipe unless another system incorporating exterior valves to control water flow to each meter is approved by the qualified Village Agent.
(B) Water meters; type; size determination.
(1) When requesting connection to the Water Supply System, the user shall furnish information about the amount of the user's contemplated water demand and the type and size of meter to be installed. The type and size of meter shall be determined by the qualified Village Agent. For usual domestic use and consumption of water, a three-quarter-inch meter shall be purchased from the village and installed by the user.
(2) All meters shall be under the control of the village and shall be equipped with an instrument capable of being remotely connected and read away from the meter itself. The instrument shall be installed in a location to be determined and as directed by the qualified Village Agent.
(3) All new meters will require an outside touch pad and a unit capable of being remotely connected and read away from the meter such as a meter interface unit (MIU) or a meter transceiver unit (MXU), as approved by the qualified Village Agent.
(C) Water meters; installation; location regulations.
(1) Meters shall be installed in a readily accessible location according to Village Technical Standards. A meter shall never be installed in a place where it cannot be readily repaired or read by the qualified Village Agent.
(2) All meters shall be installed horizontally in a dry, clean, sanitary location and in the places that small leaks and the spilling of water will do no damage.
(3) All users shall place the meter in a suitable location to prevent the pipes and meters from freezing in cold weather.
(4) If a suitable and readily accessible location is provided in a dry basement sufficiently well heated to prevent freezing of the meter during the winter, the meter may be placed in the basement; provided, however, that the meter shall be installed no lower than 16 inches above the basement floor and no higher than 48 inches above the basement floor unless otherwise approved by the qualified Village Agent.
(5) When the premises contains no basement or cellar, the meter shall be installed in a location which shall be approved by the village or its authorized Qualified Agent. When it is necessary to install the meter in a pit inside a building, the pit shall be built as directed by the village. When a sump pump or drain is provided, meters may be installed below grade line in a brick or first floor meter pit upon approval by the village and/or the Livingston County Building Department. All meter pits shall be of a type approved by the village and built in accordance with the Village Technical Standards, with cover openings directly over meters.
(6) Devices designed for use in lieu of wells may be used if approved by the village.
(D) Failure to register; estimated water usage. If any meter or metering system fails to register properly or if a meter is inaccessible for reading, the village shall estimate consumption based on former consumption. In the event, the quantity of water used shall be determined by the amount used during the corresponding period of the preceding year, or by averaging the amount for the period immediately preceding and subsequent to the period wherein the meter registered quantities of water usage.
(E) Tests; inspections.
(1) Any duly authorized agent or employee of the village shall have access to each user’s premises at all reasonable times for the purpose of reading meters or for testing, inspecting, maintaining, repairing or replacing meters and related equipment and appurtenances.
(2) The accuracy of the meter on any premises may be tested or replaced by the village upon written request of the owner and/or user. If the meter is to be tested, the owner and/or user shall pay in advance, a fee to cover the cost of the test and providing the equipment is available. If on the test, the meter shall be found to register over 3% more water than passes through it, another meter will be substituted therefore, and the fee will be refunded and the water bill will be adjusted for the preceding and current billing periods.
(3) All premises with fire suppression and backflow devices are required to submit proof of inspection of the device every two years according to the Clean Drinking Water Act.
(F) Meter repairs; termination of service for failure to timely repair or replace. The expense of maintaining meters will be borne by the user. The village shall have the right to terminate water service to any user which fails to repair or replace in a timely manner a meter which has failed to register properly upon giving notice of the termination in accordance with § 51.09(B). The cost of replacement of a meter will be borne by the user.
(G) Seals; tampering and the like prohibited. Meters shall be sealed by the village and no person except an authorized employee of the village shall break the seals. No unauthorized person, including the user, shall change the location of, alter or interfere in any way with any meter or its components.
(Ord. 69, passed 10-24-2005; Ord. 79, passed 2-25-2008; Ord. 155, passed 1-11-2021; Ord. 164, passed 10-24-2022) Penalty, see § 51.99