§ 15.48.090. Inoperative meters—Estimation of water usage.

All water bills and combined water and sewerage service bills, other than flat rate assessments for unmetered water, shall be rendered by the department in accordance with monthly, bimonthly or quarterly meter readings except under the following circumstances and conditions:

A.

Where meters have been found not registering flow or become inoperable during any one billing period, the properly authorized officials of the department shall have the right to render to the consumer or customer an estimated bill based upon the water consumption and/or sewerage flow for service charged to the account during the same billing period one year previous, provided the conditions of consumption and service use are the same for both periods. If the consumption and/or sewer flow are not a normal amount, the consumption and/or sewer flow for the average of the three previous months of normal usage will be used.

B.

Each estimated bill shall contain a notation on the bill explaining that the bill has been estimated in accordance with this section, and if the consumer or customer is dissatisfied with such an estimation, it shall be incumbent upon consumer or customer to prove to the department, by affidavit, that the use of water, during the period for which the bill was estimated, was different than the corresponding usage during the same billing period one year previous or previous three-month average of normal usage. Upon the presentation of such satisfactory proof, the director of the department may authorize the bill be adjusted based upon any basis that they may deem equitable and just to the consumer or customer and to the department jointly.

C.

Estimated meter readings may be rendered when the director determines it is necessary to estimate the meter readings to render a monthly or bimonthly bill.

(Ord. BL2006-1095 § 4, 2006; Ord. 99-1498 §§ 1, 2, 1999; Ord. 94-1242 § 3, 1994)