FREEQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I know who is responsible for a water leak/broken pipe or service line.

See the image. Any leaks or broken pipes on the homeowner’s property including inside the home, yard or irrigation,  leading up to the water meter, is the responsibility of the property owner to repair.  If a leak or broken pipe is found on the City side from the water meter after the curb towards the street, call the Public Works immediately.

How do I locate my water meter and is it read every month?

Your water meter is a highly accurate and dependable water measuring device that is owned and maintained by the City. Located in a small box in the ground near the street or the edge of the property, it registers all the water used in your home or building.

All of our water meters have electronic reading devices that allow a meter tech to drive past your home or building and pick up the meter reading remotely.

However, the remote-read meters are the same design as manual read meters with either manual and/or digitally read dials. The manual read is the official read used in case there are questions about the accuracy of the electronic reading. All our meters are read by a meter tech every month.

How do I maintain my meter box?

To assist the meter reader, please keep your meter box free of any debris, like moving boxes, yard waste, parked vehicles, or your trash and recycling receptacles. It is against City’s ordinance to block and/or deny access to a easement. Please do not install fences, trees, or shrubs that could block access, or they may have to be removed. 

It is very common for meter boxes to become filled with dirt, leaves, and other debris because they are generally lower than ground level. The City does not clean inside meter box as a part of regular operation unless there is a problem with reading the meter itself, or a manual reading is needed. In most cases, if a City meter tech needs to get a manual read from your meter box, they can easily clear away any debris in the box.

If you clear away or remove the dirt and debris from your meter box, please refrain from using a shovel as you may damage your water line. Use a pair of gloves and remove the dirt by hand. If the dirt is tightly packed, you can use a small garden trowel to loosen the dirt and then remove it by hand. 

How accurate is my water meter?

The design of our residential and commercial water meters does not allow for City to tamper/adjust or reset the read dials of the meter. With age, the meters slow down and can stop registering completely, but they can not arbitrarily run faster. The mechanical parts are not capable of speeding up to register a significantly higher reading than actual consumption.

All meters are calibrated and tested in the factory before they are shipped. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) requires meters to be within 98.5 percent and 101.5 percent accuracy to be usable. This means they only allow for an error rate of 1.5 percent. After the first 2,000 gallons, your water bills are charged per 1,000 gallons. This means if your usage was exactly 1,000 gallons, the registered consumption could actually be 15 gallons higher or lower each month and be within AWWA guidelines.

If your average billed consumption is 7,000 gallons, that means at 98.5 percent you could actually have used a minimum of 6,895 gallons or 105 fewer gallons per month. If the meter was running at 101.5 percent, that would amount to 1,260 gallons over the course of a year, or $0.44 per month. You could also be undercharged the same amount based on the acceptable meter variance. However, rarely does a meter test high enough on all flow rates to exceed 100 percent. More often, the meter slows down to where it under-registers or even stops.

How do I check the reading of my own water meter?

Your water meter's dial is like the odometer on your car. It continually reads your water consumption and is a cumulative total of the water that has run through the meter since it was installed. Meter box lids are not locked down and you have full access to the meter at any time to verify the meter information, including your meter reading.