All water services shall be metered, regardless
of the purpose for which they are used, unless otherwise specified.
All meters will be furnished and owned by the
town and shall be subject to the exclusive control and jurisdiction
of the Water Utilities Department, which may in all cases stipulate
the size of the meter to be used in any connection.
The Water Utilities Department will be responsible
for installing and maintaining all meters and for replacing meters
that have become inoperable through ordinary wear and tear. Only the
Water Utilities Department or one acting under its direction, shall
open, adjust, or otherwise disturb any meter. Damage to meters that
is the result of an insecure location or of the negligence or carelessness
on the part of the owner, occupant, tenant or others, such as failure
to protect against damage from freezing, hot water or steam, will
be rectified by the Water Utilities Department at the expense of the
property owner. Payment of the cost of repair and/or replacement may
be required before new meters are provided or existing meters repaired.
In the event of damage chargeable to the property owner, the Water
Utilities Department may discontinue the supply of water without notice
and, in addition, provide, at the expense of the property owner a
meter vault and meter at the curbline or other convenient location
between the main and the building on the premises.
The meter shall be set at a location approved
by the Water Utilities Department. The customer will provide a suitable
place that must be free of frost, above groundwater and accessible
at all times and properly safeguarded. If it is impractical to place
a meter where it will be free from frost, the customer must provide,
at his expense, suitable boxing and packing for the meter to prevent
damage from freezing. The setting or any subsequent resetting thereof
is to be done at the expense of the owner of the premises.
The Water Utilities Department may remove and
test any meter, at its discretion, in order to ascertain or maintain
the accuracy of the meter.
If a meter gets out of order or fails to register properly, the customer shall immediately notify the Water Utilities Department. It shall be repaired or replaced, and the customer will be charged at the average rate of consumption as shown by a meter when in order or according to the consumption during a previous corresponding quarter, at the discretion of the Town Board. If disturbance of the meter seal is noted by the Water Utilities Department of an improperly functioning or registering meter, the customer shall pay a penalty of 10% of the sums then due. Said penalty shall not relieve the customer of repair or replacement charges otherwise imposed in § 173-44 of this Part 2.
The Water Utilities Department may place remote-reading
registers on any service as an integral part of the meter installation.
The Water Utilities Department or any person
acting under its direction shall have access to meters, as well as
all aspects of the water service, at all reasonable hours for purposes
of reading, inspecting or service repairs.
Neither the town nor the Water Utilities Department,
its officers and employees shall be responsible for damage or injury
caused by drainage of water in connection with the testing, repairing
or removal of any meter. In addition, they shall not be responsible
for any damage or liability caused by a defectively functioning meter.
The Water Utilities Department may provide for
customer's use of a hydrant meter in accordance with the hydrant meter
policy established by the Town Board. The customer shall make a deposit
as security for the meter's return in proper operating condition and
pay installation and disconnection charges in a sum established by
the Town Board. The customer shall pay for metered usage in accordance
with the residential water rate extant at that time. The deposit shall
be returned upon payment of all charges, or the Water Utilities Department,
at its option, may deduct the charges from the deposit and return
the balance, if any, to the customer. Hydrant meters may be left in
place for a maximum of seven days; thereafter, the Water Utilities
Department may remove the same. The customer is responsible for any
and all damage to and/or theft of the hydrant during its usage by
the customer.
