How do I read my water meter?

Your water meter's dial is like the odometer on your car. It continually reads your water consumption and is a cumulative total of the water that has run through the meter since it was installed.

Meter box lids are not locked down and you have full access to the meter at any time to verify the meter information, including your meter reading.

The Town has two types of readouts on its water meters: analog (ProRead and ProCoder) and digital (E-Coder). 

ProRead Meters (Analog)

ProRead meters have six moving dials and one fixed zero. The fixed zero represents the one-gallon dial. Since Town water bills are based on 10s of gallons, you must include the fixed zero in the full meter reading. This will ensure that you are reading your meter correctly.

Please click here for an example of the resolution readout.
 

ProCoder Meters (Analog)

ProCoder meters have eight moving dials and no fixed zeros. Since Town water bills are based on 10s of gallons, you must replace the seven dial with a zero and drop any remaining digits to the right of the seven dial. This will ensure that you are reading your meter correctly.

Please click here for an example of the resolution readout.

E-Coder Meters (Digital)

E-Coder meters have nine moving dials and no fixed zeros. Since Town water bills are based on 10s of gallons, you must replace the seven dial with a zero and drop any remaining digits to the right of the seven dial. This will ensure that you are reading your meter correctly.

Please click here for an example of the resolution readout.

Note: if you are trying to view the reading in the dark or if it is a cloudy day, you may need to shine a very bright flashlight over the register face to activate the LED screen. This may take several minutes, but, eventually, the reading will appear.

Calculating Your Consumption

Since 100 percent of the Town's meters are read via radio, the readings are electronically transmitted from the meter to a truck-mounted radio read receiver. After the readings are uploaded, they are subtracted from the previous reading on your account by the billing software. That is what determines your water consumption.

To monitor the accuracy of your meter reading you should: 

1. Note on your bill the approximate due date on your previous bill.
2. Write down your reading on approximately the same due date of the following month.
3. Then subtract the reading from the previous month on your billing statement to determine your consumption.
4. Compare your calculated consumption to your next bill.
5. If you want to narrow down the time period of excess consumption, take your reading on a weekly or daily basis.

Note: The Town's reading date may be a few days before or after the date you took a reading due to scheduling and weekends.

Please contact Utility Billing at 972.874.6010 to update your personal contact information to include a phone number and email address.