How to Read Cubic Feet in a Commercial Water Meter

If you want to get some idea of what you may owe in an upcoming water bill, or if you want to track your water usage over time to see if you can economize, you can get this information from your water meter. To read a commercial water meter, you do not need any special tools or training. Once you have the reading, you can keep a journal to track usage, and ensure that you are being charged the correct amount on your bills, or find out if you use more water on a seasonal basis.

Things You'll Need

• Large screwdriver

Instructions

1. Find the water meter on your property. It will likely be in an underground box with a marked lid indicating the water utility or the meter.

2. Carefully insert the screwdriver into the lid via the access hole.

3. Pry the lid up.

4. Read the meter. The numerical reading is the total water used in cubic feet. The pointer on the dial shows increments of a cubic foot, customarily tenths of a cubic foot.

5. Multiply the cubic feet of water used by 7.5 if you wish to translate the figure to an estimate in gallons of water.

Tips & Warnings

• Tracking your water meter readings before and after filling a pool will tell you the pool's actual volume, and help you budget for future pool fillings.

• Do not attempt to open the lid of your water meter using your fingers.

References

• City of San Diego: How to Read Your Water Meter
• Contra Costa Water District: How to Read Your Water Meter