Reading a water meter
This page contains information on reading your water meter and how the meters work.
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.