Reading your water meter

Reading your water meter can help you to:

• monitor your water consumption
• test for a leak
• calculate your water consumption per person.

Your water meter is generally located on the nature strip outside your boundary line and set in the ground in a black or blue meter box.

Please note that if you live in an apartment or unit block there may not be individual water meters for each residence.

How to read your water meter

Open the lid on your water meter and read the meter from left to right. Your meter will have either:

• black numbers on a white background or white numbers on a black background. These numbers register your consumption in kilolitres (thousands of litres)
• red numbers or small dials (the dials display fractions of a kilolitre).

Please note that not all water meters look the same. If your water meter has:

• four black numbers and three red numbers – record all these numbers
• four black numbers and four red numbers – record all the black numbers and only the first three red numbers
• numbers and one dial – record all the numbers. Do not record the dial
• numbers and two dials – record all the numbers first and only the smaller dial
• numbers and four dials – record all the numbers first then record the first three dials from right to left.

 Calculate your average daily consumption:

1. Use the guide above to take a reading from your water meter, noting the day and time you took the reading.
2. Two weeks later take another reading from your water meter on the same day of the week and the same time as the previous reading.
3. Subtract the first reading from your second reading.
4. Divide the result by the number of days between your readings.

How to test for a leak

1. Turn off all your taps and record the reading from your water meter.
2. Do not use any water for at least one hour. This includes not flushing the toilet.
3. Record another reading from your water meter. Any significant change in the reading is a good indication that you may have a leaking pipe, fixture or fitting.
4. If you think there is a leak then contact a private licensed plumber to investigate further.

It is important to remember that property owners are responsible for monitoring, maintaining and repairing all plumbing fixtures and fittings on their property.

What if I think my water meter is faulty?

You should first test for leaks as described above. If there is no leak and you think your meter is faulty, you can contact Queensland Urban Utilities and ask for your meter to be tested.

If the water meter is found to be faulty, Queensland Urban Utilities will replace the water meter, refund the test charge and review the water consumption charges for the property.

How to calculate your water consumption per person

1. Use the ‘Average Daily Consumption’ figure from the personalised Water Advice that accompanies your Water and Sewerage Account, and
2. Divide this figure by the number of permanent residents in your household to calculate individual water consumption.