How do I read my meter?

Reading your meter on a regular basis is an important water conservation tool. To track your water consumption, read your meter and write the reading on a calendar on daily, weekly or monthly intervals. If you have any questions understanding the reading, please call our office and we can assist you.

Most meters are also equipped with a leak detection dial. This dial rotates when water is passing through the meter. If you see the dial moving, even if it is moving very slowly, this means there is water being used in the home. Even slow leaks can become very costly over a period of time, so that is why it is important to check your meter frequently.

Many customers often ask, “my water bill is too high, my meter must be bad?” A meter is a mechanical device much like a motor. After a time, the device slows down until it will not function any more, completely stops and a meter change is necessary. Just like an aging automobile, with many miles, they never run better and faster after 100,000 miles.

Many types of meters are installed through our system. Some of the most common are explained and pictured below:

 

 

Sensus meter (analog) – The sensus leak detection dial is the round red dial below the meter reading. One turn of the dial is equivalent to 10 gallons. Therefore if you have a leak and in 15 minutes, the dial turns one revolution, in 1 hour you have used 40 gallons. Over a month, this would equate to around 28,000 gallons of water.

 

 

 

Sensus IPERL (Digital) – The new Sensus meters are the first in the Derry system that have a digital display. To read your water meter, simply open the hinged lid on the top of the meter. The number that first appears on the display is your meter reading. By closing the hinged lid and reopening the door, the meter will display current gallons per minute being used. For leak detection, simply pay attention to the last two digits on the meter. These meters read down to a 1/100 of a gallon, so by watching the digits to the right of the decimal point, you can easily determine small flows of water.