All water furnished by the city to its customers will be measured by meters. The size, type, and right to own and control all meters installed or used by the customer will be determined by the city, which will keep all meters in repair without expense to customers.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.030)
The customer will be billed for all water that passes through his meter. However, the city reserves the right to use an average for the customer’s water bill. Averaging will only be used if circumstances exist that make it impractical to read the meter.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.031)
(a) 
The user will be responsible for loss of water due to leakage in the pipes or plumbing on the discharge side of the meter.
(b) 
The city shall adjust a monthly bill that is excessive due to leakage if the customer has satisfied the following conditions:
(1) 
The customer must have been a city water customer for a minimum of three (3) months;
(2) 
The bill must be at least two (2) times the average bill in order to be considered excessive;
(3) 
The customer must not have received a leak adjustment during the previous twelve-month period;
(4) 
The customer must request the leak adjustment within forty-five (45) days of the excessive bill;
(5) 
Penalties will not be removed on leak adjustments requested after the due date of the bill;
(6) 
The customer must submit a written adjustment request (including a statement that the customer has corrected the source of the leak), documentary evidence that the leak has been repaired (e.g. a plumber’s invoice or receipt for materials purchased to repair the leak) and a partial payment of the excessive bill equal to the customer’s average monthly usage at current rates; a payment arrangement can be made to pay the excess.
(c) 
Upon proof of eligibility, the city shall adjust the amount of the customer’s bill according to the following:
(1) 
The customer’s average monthly charge shall be calculated by using the preceding 12-month period, or 3-month period, excluding the month of the leak, if any, if the customer has not been served at that site for 12 months to determine an average estimated bill.
(2) 
The excess shall be calculated by the dollar amount of the water in excess of the customer’s average monthly water charge.
(3) 
The adjustment shall be one-half (1/2) of the excess charge; any penalty or interest shall be assessed thereafter on the adjusted principal sum.
(4) 
The average bill and one-half of the excess charge shall be added together to determine the new bill.
(5) 
Formula (Average charge + 1/2 excess) = amount of water charge.
(d) 
The city manager or his designee may grant an additional leak adjustment for any other extraordinary circumstances.
(Ordinance 11-026 adopted 6/13/11)
In the event repairs on the meters become necessary, the repairs will be made by the city at its expense. The meters shall remain the property of the city.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.033)
If a customer suspects that his meter fails to correctly register the amount of water used, he may request a test on the meter. If such test shows that the meter is properly registering water consumption, the cost for the test will be included on the customer’s next utility bill plus the service charge listed in the city fee schedule. If the test shows the meter to be failing, the customer will not be billed for the test or the service charge. In that event the city reserves the right to charge for water on the basis of any three months’ average, provided that the months used for averaging are comparable to the month being billed.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.034)
It is unlawful for any customer to resell water to other customers without prior approval of the city council.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.035)
After water is introduced into a building or upon any premises, it will not be extended by any person to any other premises.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.036)
A customer may install a separate meter in accordance with the regulations of this article to monitor the use of lawn sprinklers or fire sprinklers. Sprinkler meters will be billed like any other meter except that no sewer charges will apply. The customer will allow a city representative to inspect the sprinkler system on demand to insure that there is no cross-connection between other systems.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.037)
Construction water necessary for the normal construction of water, sewer, street, or other projects conducted by the city will be supplied free when a city main is located near the project activity. All other construction projects will secure a water meter from the city and be responsible for all water used during construction. A deposit equal to the cost to replace the meter will be required to secure the meter. Water consumption will be charged at the commercial rate listed in the city fee schedule.
(2001 Code, sec. 51.038)