Reading Your Meter

How do you read my meter? It's all dirty and I can't read the numbers. How can you?

We read the meters electronically, so we rarely need to lift that heavy cover. Our meter reader has a wand that picks up the information and transfers the data into our computer system.

How can I read my meter?

Your meter is usually located in the front yard, very close to the sidewalk. Please be very careful in lifting the cover or the lid to view the meter. The cover is very heavy and there may be spiders inside the box. Wipe the dial with a paper towel or soft rag, if necessary.

Depending on the type of meter you have, the dial will look something like the odometer in your car. There may be a small arrow or triangle that will turn when water is flowing through the meter. If it is turning and you do not have any water on, you might have a leak on your property!

EGWD, like most water utilities, uses cubic feet as a unit of measure. A cubic foot is a block, or cube, that is one foot long on each side. Look at the numbers on the meter dial. This is your water usage in cubic feet. To figure out how much water you use during a certain period, for example, for one day...write down the number, then check the meter again at the same time the next day. Subtract the old number from the new number to get the total usage for that day.

EGWD bills by 100 cubic feet increments, written as CCF. 1 cubic foot is 7.48 gallons, 100 cubic feet is the same as 748 gallons. Therefore, if your bill says you have used 30 CCF, you have used 22,440 gallons of water in that billing period.

Here's an example from a bill: