14.04.330 Meter tests and adjustment of bills.
A. Tests.
1. Prior to Installation. Every meter will be tested prior to being installed and no meter will be placed in service if found to register more than two percent fast or slow.
2. On Customer Request. A customer may request a meter test which may be subject to an administrative fee.
B. Adjustment of Bills for Meter Error.
1. Fast Meters. When, upon test, the average meter error is found to be more than two percent fast, the city will refund to the customer the amount of the overcharge based on corrected meter readings for the period the meter was in use but not exceeding three months.
2. Slow Meters.
a. When, upon test, a meter used for commercial (residential and business) service is found to be registering more than twenty-five percent slow, the city may bill the customer for the amount of the undercharge based upon corrected meter readings for the period the meter was in service but not exceeding three months.
b. When, upon test, a meter used for other than commercial service is found to be registering more than five percent slow, the city may bill the customer for the amount of the undercharge based upon corrected meter readings for the period the meter was in service but not exceeding three months.
3. Nonregistering Meters. The city may bill the customer for water consumed while the meter was nonregistering but for a period not exceeding three months at the minimum monthly meter rate, or upon an estimate of the consumption based upon the customer’s prior use during the same season of the year if conditions were unchanged, or upon an estimate based upon a reasonable comparison with the use of other customers during the same period, receiving the same class of service under similar circumstances and conditions.
4. General. When it is found that the error in a meter is due to some cause, the date of which can be fixed, the overcharge or the undercharge will be computed back to but not beyond such date. (Ord. 5104 § 14, 2022; prior code § 1.46.160)