Local Government (Galway) Act, 1937

Improvement of the law relating to the contract water rate.

12.—(1) The Corporation may require that all water supplied by them to any house, building, lands or premises for other than domestic purposes shall be taken and measured by meter, and in every such case the Corporation shall not be bound to afford a supply of water otherwise than by measure.

(2) The Corporation may instal and hire such meters and fix and charge a rent for any meter provided by them and shall have the like powers for recovering any such rent as they have for recovering water rates.

(3) The Corporation shall at their own expense keep any meter let on hire by them to any consumer in proper order for correctly registering the supply of water and if they fail so to do the consumer shall not be liable to pay rent for the meter while the default continues.

(4) Where the Corporation supply water under this section by meter the register of the meter shall be prima facie evidence of the quantity of water consumed.

(5) If the meter on being tested is proved to register incorrectly to any material degree the price to be charged by the Corporation to the consumer for the period since the last occasion on which the meter was read shall be calculated by reference to the amount registered in the corresponding period of the year previous.

(6) The price to be charged by the Corporation for a supply of water by meter shall be fixed by the Corporation and may be recovered in the like manner as water rates.

(7) The law for the time being in force at the passing of this Act in the District in relation to meters and the supply of water for other than domestic purposes (in so far as not inconsistent with this section) shall apply in the case of meters hired and water supplied under the provisions of this section in like manner as if the same were respectively hired and supplied by agreement.

(8) The powers conferred upon the Corporation by this section shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other power of the Corporation in relation to the supply of water.