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1. What is a meter pit and who does it belong to?

There is a meter pit located somewhere in your yard, generally in the front part of the yard, but it can be anywhere. Its purpose is to hold and protect the water meter. The water meter measures the water used inside your home. While the City owns the meter the meter pit is owned by the customer and as such is your responsibility to maintain and provide proper protection for the meter at all times. If there is damage to your meter pit, or it is not properly insulated and the meter inside the pit is damaged or frozen due to the conditions of the meter pit, there is a service charge of $25 to attempt to restore service and an additional fee if the meter must be replaced. The meter pit must always be accessible to service personnel. Never place debris inside the meter pit. If the meter reader cannot access the meter due to bushes or other obstructions covering the meter pit, you will be notified to remove the obstruction or trim the bushes back to a manageable level. Though we can now read meters electronically, on occasion it could be necessary to access the water meter to assist you in researching a leak, shut your water off to protect your home from flooding if there is a broken pipe inside the home etc. Please help by keeping the meter pit accessible.

2. What is a water service line and who does it belong to?

A water service line is typically a 3/4 inches or 1 inch diameter line that runs underground in your yard from the City water main, usually near the street, up to your meter pit, and from the meter pit into the plumbing system in your house. The portion of the service line from the water main up to the meter pit is owned by the City, and the portion of the line from the meter pit up to the house is part of the plumbing system of the home, and is owned by the homeowner or property owner. The City is responsible for maintaining and repairing the City's water main and the City's part of the water service line, and the customer or homeowner is responsible for maintaining the customer's part of the service line. Leaks in the service line past the meter pit will register on the meter, so prompt repair of any service line leak is a high priority.

3. What is a sanitary sewer lateral and who does it belong to?

A sanitary sewer lateral typically is a 4 inches diameter line that runs underground in your yard from the City sewer main, usually near the street, up to your house and into the sanitary piping system in your house. The sanitary sewer lateral is part of the plumbing system of the home, and is owned by the homeowner or property owner. The City is responsible for maintaining and repairing the City's sewer main, and the customer or homeowner is responsible for maintaining the customer's sanitary sewer lateral.