Locate Your Meter
Locating Your Meter
The majority of water meters installed in the BCWS water service area are located outside of the home. They are located inside a meter pit or meter box usually within the public easement. The top of the meter pit or meter box is round.
The property owner is responsible for the meter box sleeve, collar, and lid or the curb stop and the water service line from the meter or curb stop to the building.
While the meter and transmitter are owned by Butler County Water and Sewer, you are responsible for protecting the equipment. If the equipment is damaged, you must pay for repair or replacement.
Note: Please avoid cutting over the meter box lid with lawn mowers. Charges for damage to radio read equipment installed on the meter box lid will be applied to your monthly bill.
If you have an inside meter they are usually installed in the basement or in a utility room. You are responsible for maintenance of the curb stop located outside and the service line from the curb stop to the building.
The meter must be accessible at all times for reading, inspection, and replacement. If you have an inside meter BCWS may contact you from time to time to set up an appointment to access the equipment as necessary. It is important that you contact us to set up an appointment at your earliest convenience. See Estimated Billing.
Residential Meter Reading Information
Our water meters measure water usage in gallons. Residential meters consist of 3 basic components: main case, measuring chamber and sealed register. Water meters are designed and engineered to be precise and to meet rigorous industry standards.
Monthly readings are recorded by Automated Meter Reading (AMR) radio read drive-by devices that increase accuracy, efficiency, and control. The AMR system sends a radio signal from a transmitter connected to your water meter to the mobile unit.
Usage is calculated in hundreds of gallons, rounding down to the hundreds position.
Can I read my meter?
Yes. Reading your meter will give you valuable information regarding your daily water usage and help you check for leaks.
The register on your water meter will be one of the registers pictured below.
If your meter is outside, carefully remove the lid by loosening the lock nut. The radio transmitter will be attached to the lid by wires, slowly lift the lid. Visually inspect the pit for insects or other animals before reaching in with your hand.
Like an odometer in a car, the register is “straight-reading”. For an odometer to register mileage the wheels turn and move the car forward. For a water meter to register usage water moves through the measuring chamber.
Register 1 has never been used. This model register comes from the manufacturer with the reading 9999970. The zero is static and represents the ones place. The digit in red indicates the number of times the meter has “turned over”. The red sweep hand in the circle measures one gallon of water as the hand moves from one number to the next. One complete rotation of the red hand equals 10 gallons of water. The black triangle is a low-flow indicator that turns as water moves through the water meter.
This is a used register like Register 1 with a reading of 720571. When usage is calculated and the bill is produced the reading is shortened to 7205. The zero on the red dial lets us know this register has not turned over.
Register 2 reads 0282695.9. The digit after the decimal equals one-tenth of a gallon of water for each number increment. Once the dial returns to zero one gallon of water has passed through the meter and the 5 will roll to 6.
When usage is calculated and the bill is produced the reading is shortened to 2826.
Register 3 is a digital register. The lid of the digital register has a magnet that when the lid is opened or closed the magnet triggers the display to show the actual reading or to show the rate of flow.
To activate the register, open the lid. The actual reading will appear for 30 seconds. To see the rate of flow close the lid within in 30 seconds and reopen. The rate of flow is measured in gallons per minute. To return to reading mode, close the lid and reopen.
The reading displayed on the digital register in figure 2 is 217988.81. The lines above 2179 indicate those are the digits read and used to calculate usage. The digits to the right of the decimal read low flow.