Read your Water Meter

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Reading and understanding your water meter is an important part of using our water resource efficiently and effectively. Accurate readings will allow you to:

Monitor water use as closely as you like; daily, monthly, seasonally
Detect leaks that may be silent or invisible
Join all of Brentwood in using our water resource efficiently

To read your water meter, follow these steps (for additional help, see our video How to Read Your Meter):

Locate Your Meter
The water meter is usually located near the curb in front of the house or business. It is in the ground, housed in a concrete box marked water. Carefully remove the meter box lid using a tool such as a large screwdriver. Visually examine the area around the meter to ensure your safety (Black Widow Spiders are known to nest in meter boxes).

Read Your Meter
Reading a water meter is similar to reading an automobile odometer. Most meters have a seven-digit number on the face called the readout. This shows the total of gallons used since the meter was installed. When water passes through the meter, all of the numbers revolve except the last one on the right which is fixed at zero. The large sweephand registers for this last increment - revolving one time for every ten gallons used.

Figure Your Water Use
To calculate your water use, pick a starting point at which to read your meter; record the reading and date. A day or two later, read your meter again. Subtract the first reading from the second to find out how much water was used, for example:

Second Reading: 1168180 Gallons
First Reading: 1167150 Gallons
Water Used: 1030 Gallons

(Note: Brentwood charges for water by the 1000 gallon unit. 1030 gallons would be rounded off to 1 billing unit on your water bill)

To monitor your water use, follow these steps...

Monitor Your Water Use
Read your meter on a regular basis to track water use. Keep a record of all readings. You will be able to detect trends from season to season and year to year. If your household changes in any way that affects water use (e.g., new family member, plumbing upgrade, etc.), you will be able to determine the effect of the change.

Check for Household Leaks
The little triangle on the face of the meter is a low flow indicator. It will rotate with even a very low flow through the meter. To check for leaks, turn off all known water uses inside and outside the house. If you have an automatic ice maker, make sure it is not operating. When all water is turned off, the low flow indicator should not move.
If the low flow indicator is moving, there is water flowing somewhere on your property. Try turning off the house shut-off valve (usually located where the waterline enters the house). If the low flow indicator is still moving, there is water flowing outside the house (most likely on the irrigation system). If the low flow indicator stops moving with the house valve off, water was flowing inside the house (this could be a toilet leak, a leaky pipe, or any number of problems). See "Find and fix leaks" for tips. When you have finished reading the meter, put the meter cap down and carefully replace the meter box cover.

Water Use

Inside the Home

Activity	Water Use
Running the Tap	2 - 5 gallons per minute
Taking a Shower	2 - 7 gallons per minute
Taking a Bath	20 - 60 gallons per bath
Washing a full load of clothes	25 - 40 gallons per load
Flushing the Toilet	1.5 - 7 gallons per flush
Running an Automatic Dishwasher	10 - 20 gallons per load

Outside the Home

Activity	Water Use
Running the Garden Hose	5 - 10 gallons per minute
Watering 1000 square feet of grass in the Summer	850 gallons per week
Watering 1000 square feet of grass in the Fall	400 gallons per week
Watering 1000 square feet of low-water use shrubs in the Summer	450 gallons per week
Watering 1000 square feet of low-water use shrubs in the Fall	200 gallons per week
Watering a mature fruit tree (15 foot diameter canopy) in the Summer	131 gallons per week
Watering a mature fruit tree (15 foot diameter canopy) in the Fall	41 gallons per week