(A) In accordance with I.C. 8-1.5-3.5 et seq., the town utilities may adjust an “unusually large” residential water bill if the excess usage reflected in the bills are caused by physical damage to any facility or equipment supplying water to the premises and the damage:
(1) Is not visible or detectable on the customer’s premises except upon excavation or some other disturbance of the property;
(2) Is not the result of an act of the customer, or of any agent or contractor hired by the customer; and
(3) “Unusually large” bill means a residential water bill that reflects monthly water usage, in whatever units measured, that is at least two times the customer’s average monthly usage on the premises.
(B) The Clerk-Treasurer, in the capacity of Billing Clerk for the town utilities, is hereby authorized and make water bill adjustments subject to the following conditions:
(1) The customer must submit a written request for a water leak adjustment;
(2) The request for adjustment must be received within 60 days of the end of the first billing cycle for which the adjustment being requested;
(3) The length of any adjustment may not exceed a span of two billing cycles;
(4) It is determined that the customer’s water usage for the billing cycle(s) was at least two times greater than the customer’s average water usage for the preceding six billing cycles;
(5) It is determined that the excess usage reflected in the bill(s) was by physical damage to any facility or equipment supplying water to the premises and the damage:
(a) Is not visible or detectable on the customer’s premises except upon excavation or some other disturbance of the property; and
(b) Is not the result of an act of the customer, or of any agent or contractor hired by the customer.
(6) The request must accompanied by a receipt for the water leak repair or an affidavit signed by the person who made the repair, describing the nature of the repair(s) made, and accompanied by a receipt for the materials used to make the repair(s).
(7) The number of adjustments shall be limited to one per service for any 12-month time period.
(8) Any adjustment shall be limited to the amount that the bill exceeds two times the customer’s average usage for the preceding six months.
(Ord. 2012-13, passed 10-22-2012)