Meters
We use Neptune T-10 nutating disk meters with E-coder registers making it a radio read system. We collect readings from all the radio read meters monthly. (We bill quarterly; billing a third of the system every month.)
Meters are generally located in your basement, crawl space, or under a mobile home near where the water pipe enters the building. (See pictures below if you are not sure what your meter looks like.) Customers are required to keep the meters in a location that is accessible, secure, protected from freezing or damage.
Reading your own meter: On the face of the meter there is a display screen that will be blank. Power the LCD panel by pointing a flashlight at the light sensor. The first number displayed is the meter ID, then the current reading will be displayed, the current flow rate, and then display wil cycle between reading and flow rate. Your meter reads in cubic feet (1cubic foot = 7.48 gallons). You may also notice that on the display there may be a flashing arrow, that indicates that water is moving through the meter, or a faucet with a drip that indicates that there is a potential leak in your plumbing. (In section below will be tips on how to use these features to help determine if you have a leak.)
We are able to run various reports from the meter data that allows us identify customers with potential leaks, broken meters, or backflow devices that are not working properly, and by reading monthly we are able to notify customers of a problem with-in a months time as opposed to waiting for 3 months before we know there may be a problem.
We also have the ability to retrieve a meter's data log which stores approximately 90 days worth of hourly meter readings. We are then able to produce graphs showing the water usage and reports of that data. This is a very useful tool to help customers evaluate their water usage, or determine when a leak may have occured. This information is only collected when requested by the customer and requires access to the meter.
Finding Leaks
Keep your plumbing in good repair; even the smallest leak not only wastes water but it also wastes money. The most common cause of leaks in your home are toilets and dripping faucets. Click here to use a leak calculator to estimate how much water that dripping faucet is wasting. (For a dripping faucet count the drips per minute and enter it in the dripping faucet box, for a running faucet time how many seconds it takes to fill a 8 oz. glass and enter that in the running faucet box.)
