All water meters, both industrial and domestic, shall be purchased from the Town of Tonawanda Water Office, at purchase prices set by Town Board resolution, by the owner of the premises which is to be furnished water. A meter shall remain the property of the owner and shall be treated as a fixed appurtenance to the premises on which it is located. Except as provided in Article XII for meters purchased prior to the effective date of this chapter, the Town shall not repurchase water meters from customers.
A.
The Town reserves the right to stipulate the size, type
and make of meter to be used to record the consumption of water by any customer.
An individual meter shall be required for each premises and for each separate
service connection to a premises. The Town shall designate the location of
the meter on the customer's premises. The Town reserves the right to
install a remote-read box on the premises of the customer. All costs arising
from water meter and/or remote-read box installation shall be borne by the
customer.
B.
Upon receipt of payment of the purchase price and a proper application, the Town will furnish and install meters and meter couplings 5/8 inch x 3/4 inch to 1 inch in size and will charge a fee for such service as provided in § 212-39. Any meter size over one inch will be purchased from the Town but installed by the customer. The customer will provide and install all the necessary piping, fittings, valves and pipe couplings to receive the meter.
C.
The Water Office or the office of the Town Engineer may
order the installation of suitable equipment to prevent backflow which may
cause damage to the meter or other damage to the town's distribution
system. Installation must be completed within such reasonable time as provided
in said order.
A.
All meters and meter couplings purchased by the customer
shall be subject to inspection by the town. The customer will be responsible
for damages due to freezing, hot water, tampering or other external causes.
In cases of damage the Town will repair the meter, if necessary replacing
it with another meter, and the cost of such repair or replacement shall be
borne by the customer, except that the Town shall bear costs attributable
to ordinary wear and tear.
B.
It will be the obligation of the customer to maintain
and, when necessary, to repair the facilities required to be installed in
outside meter pits.
A.
Meters shall be made accessible to the Town at all reasonable
times, and the Town reserves the right to remove and test any meter at any
time and to substitute another meter in its place.
B.
In case of a disputed account involving the question as to the accuracy of the meter, such meter shall be tested by the Town upon request of the customer. The fee for testing meters will be as provided in § 212-39. In the event that the meter so tested is found to have an error in registration to the prejudice of the customer in excess of 4%, the fee for testing will be foregone. Prior bills will be adjusted to correct such registration, and a credit for such adjustment will be applied to the customer's subsequent bill.
A lease of a meter from the Town will be made for a temporary service not to exceed 30 days or such other time as stipulated by the Foreman. The amount of deposit as provided in § 212-39 of this chapter will be refunded by the Town without interest when the meter is returned, provided that the same is found to be in proper condition for reuse after inspection and test. Where such temporary use results in damage to the meter, the cost of repairing said damage will be deducted from the deposit. In addition, any outstanding charges for water use by such temporary service customer will be deducted from the deposit and credited to said outstanding account.
