How to Read Your Meter
Warning:
Visually examine the area around the meter box and meter to make sure there are no harmful insects or other animals. South Florida is known for many insects and some can be harmful. Black widow spiders, scorpions, fire ants, aggressive honey bees, snakes and reptiles are known to inhabit water meter boxes in our area.
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Step 1: Locating Your Meter
Your water meter is normally located in the front of your home near the street or sidewalk. The meter will be inside a black rectangular box. In many of the Ave Maria communities there will be two similar black boxes close together; the box closest to your home is yours and the other one is your neighbor's.
You may also find a similar rectangular box that is purple in color. This is your irrigation meter.
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Step 2: Reading Your Meter
Your water meter records the amount of water used in gallons. Reading your meter depends on the type of meter installed at your location. Refer to description and photos below to determine which type of meter you have.
AMCO Meter
The numbers on the dial are read from left to right just like your car's odometer. The long hand measures water consumption and shows larger water flows. The white triangular hand shows smaller water flows and can be used to determine if there is a leak in your system.
Find the 7 digits on the meter which together look like a car odometer. The first four digits on the white background measure water consumption by hundred gallons and are read for billing each month. The black background digits show the one gallon (fixed 0), ten gallon, and hundred gallon amounts.
Sensus Meter
This meter measures to the hundredth of a gallon (i.e., 0000000.00). In the photograph, the current reading is 2,026.81, which is two thousand and twenty six gallons. This meter shows low flows, such as small leaks, by advancing the decimal units.
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Step 3: Checking for a Leak
For AMCO meters, if the triangular hand is moving (and you have made sure no water is being used in or outside of the house for things like toilets, ice makers, dishwashers, washing machines and faucets), you probably have a water leak.
For Sensus meters, if the digits after the decimal point are advancing when there is no water being used, you may have a leak.
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