Your water meter measures the amount of water used in your household. The readings from your water meter help determine the amount you are charged on your water bill. You can read the meter yourself to help verify your bill, monitor your water use and check for suspected leaks.
Most residential meters are located inside, in a basement, crawlspace or utility closet. However, some customers may have a “meter pit” which is located outside on the portion of the property where the water service line comes into the home.
If the meter is located inside, it is usually located close to where the water line comes into the home, next to your “main valve.” It’s important to know where your main valve is located as well – if you have a problem with your plumbing, this is where you or the plumber would shut off the water coming into your home.
If the meter is located outside, you can remove the meter pit cover (about the size of a dinner plate) with a specially designed key (available at plumbing supply stores), and view the meter inside the pit.
Meters record water usage in either cubic feet or gallons much in the same way that a car’s odometer records miles. The digital numbers are read from left to right.
The reading will be on the top of the meter. The display will look similar to a car odometer. Please report all digits including zeros.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (up to 8 digit number)
How to read a Digital Display:Open plastic lid on top of meter. The digital meter needs light for activation so you may need to shine a flashlight on it. The display alternates between the meter read and the flow rate. The meter read equals the gallons (or cubic feet) used while the flow rate equals the number of gallons (or cubic feet) per minute flowing through the meter. Please report all digits including 0’s.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (9 digit number)
In gallon meters, sometimes the last three digits are outlined in black. Connecticut Water reads gallon meters to the nearest thousandths, so the last three digits would not be recorded when your meter was read. Additionally, some meters record in tenths of a gallon indicated by a decimal point which assists in identifying leaks within your system.
The next time your meter is read, the digits will have moved forward. For example, we would simply subtract your last reading from the current reading to obtain the difference, which is how much water you are billed for.
In a cubic foot meter, the last two digits are sometimes outlined in black. Connecticut Water reads cubic foot meters to the nearest hundreth, so the last two digits would not be recorded when your meter was read.
The next time your meter is read, the digits will have moved forward. For example, we would simply subtract your last reading from the current reading to obtain the difference, which is how much water you are billed for.
To help determine if you have a water leak by using your water meter, please see our Leaks Cost Big Dollars fact sheet.
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