Reading a water meter
This page contains information on reading your water meter and how the meters work. You can find out more about our drinking water in our Water supply section.
You can use the meter to work out:
- how much water you are using now
- check whether there is a leak on your property
Watch our video on how to read your water meter.
Water meters - how they work
The meters are highly accurate, certified to international OIML R49 standards and tested before installation.
Your meter is housed in a box, with a blue or black lid, on the street side of your property. The meter is a small cylinder with a counter unit on the top for measuring the volume of water that passes through it.
The meter also contains a small round dial unit with a red arrow below the counter. When the arrow on this dial is moving, water is passing through the meter and being used on your property.
Reading your water meter
- The white numbers on the BLACK background on your water meter, count in cubic metres. This is the reading that your water invoice wll be based on.
- The white numbers on the RED background on your water meter count in hundreds and tens of litres. Use these numbers to track daily use.
- The small dial with the red arrow counts in litres.
- The litte disc in the middle of your water meter spins around whenever water is flowing through the meter. It is very useful for detecting leaks - if it is spinning when all the taps are off and the cisterns are full, you may have a leak.