The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District Drought Preparedness Campaign:
Happy June 1, Water Conservation Enthusiasts! In the spirit of knowledge is power, the message for Week 11 of the 2021 Water Preparedness Campaign is about how and why to read your water meter.
Finding Your Meter: Your water meter will usually be located close to your house or next to your sidewalk. Use a screwdriver or stout stick to carefully lift the cover and slide away from the hole to find the meter below. Be careful to not drop the lid onto the water meter. In some cases, the water meter may be inaccessible.’
Reading Your Meter: Some water meters are measured in gallons, others in cubic feet. One cubic foot equals 7.48 gallons. The water meter pictured below measures in cubic feet but the process to read your meter is the same for gallons. Please note that the low flow indicator may be an arrow, triangle, or another shape on some meters.
The water meter odometer shows how many cubic feet have been used and the dial shows how many tenths of a gallon/cubic feet have been used. The reading for the meter above is 0.13 cubic feet. To check water usage, read your meter at two different times and subtract the numbers:
Second Reading – First Reading = Gallons/Cubic Feet Used
Example: 369,200.67 – 368,200.07 = 1000.60 gallons used
Why Do This?
Many leaks are so slow that we do not notice them, but your water meter does! Reading your meter enables you to track your water usage and detect if you have an unidentified leak. It is also fun. Watch your meter while someone takes a shower and be amazed at how quickly the little numbers fly by. Leaks may seem like a small problem, but even a slow leak of one drop per second wastes over 2,000 gallons of water every year!
For instructions on how to do a meter leak test, check out this video:
Why Do This?
Many leaks are so slow that we do not notice them, but your water meter does! Reading your meter enables you to track your water usage and detect if you have an unidentified leak. It is also fun. Watch your meter while someone takes a shower and be amazed at how quickly the little numbers fly by. Leaks may seem like a small problem, but even a slow leak of one drop per second wastes over 2,000 gallons of water every year!
