Reading your water meter will tell you how much water you’re using and whether you have a leak. Most meters are located near the curb in front of your home under a concrete lid. Washington Water uses 100 cubic feet (Ccf) of water as a billing unit, so you should monitor your water usage using these units, as described below.
Dial meters
There are two basic types of dial meters: the straight-reading meter and the round-reading meter.
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| Straight-reading meter (reading: 123 Ccf) |
Round-reading meter (reading: 123 Ccf) |
If you have a straight-reading meter, simply read and record the figures shown in white (123). Subtract your last reading from this reading to determine your usage in hundreds of cubic feet. To convert your usage to gallons, multiply by 748. To check for leaks, observe the large sweep or test hand for at least 15 minutes with all water turned off. If there is any movement, there is a leak.
To read the round-reading meter, begin with the dial labeled 100,000 and read clockwise to the dial labeled 1,000. If the hand on any dial is between two numbers, use the lower number. The hands on individual dials may rotate either clockwise or counter clockwise. Subtract your last reading from this reading to determine usage. The “one foot” dial may be used to detect leaks. If there is any movement while all water is turned off for at least 15 minutes, there may be waste occurring.
Digital meters
The following will display the four views of the Badger ME and cell registers.
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| View 1 | View 2 | View 3 | View 4 |
| View 1 shows all of the digits available in the read. Digits with lines above and below are the billing portion of the read, i.e. we bill in increments of 100 cf. — anything below that is not included in the billing. Places to the left of the decimal are ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands and hundred thousands. Places to the right of the decimal are tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. | View 2 is an abbreviated view of the read. Digits with lines above and below the billing portion of the read, i.e. we bill in increments of 100 cf. — anything below that is not included in the billing. | View 3 shows the meter model number. This particular meter is a 5/8″, also known as a .625″ meter, so the model number is 25. | View 4 shows the rate of flow in gallons per minute. This particular meter does not have water running through it at this time, so it is not showing a rate of flow. Example: if the meter showed 0.07, then 0.07 gallons per minute are flowing through the meter. |
Examples for calculating consumption:
- Gallons per hour: multiply 0.07 gpm X 60 mins. = 4.20 gallons per hour
- Gallons per day: multiply 4.20 gph X 24 hrs = 100.80 gallons per day
- Gallons per month: multiply 100.80 gpd X 30 days = 3,024 gallons
To effectively monitor your usage, we suggest you read your meter daily or weekly.