How to read a water meter

A water meter counts cubic metres, and a cubic metre is a thousand litres. Almost everything that confuses people about reading one comes down to a single question: which digits are whole cubic metres, and which are the fractions nobody is asking for.

The short answer

Read the black digits from left to right. Ignore anything red. On most meters the whole cubic metres sit on a white or black background and the fractions sit on red, or on small dials with red pointers. A supplier wants the black number.

The three types you are likely to have

The straight digital counter

A single row of numbers, like a car odometer. The first digits are black or white, the last two or three are red or separated by a decimal point. Read up to the decimal and stop. If the row is 00234 followed by red 567, the reading is 234.

The counter with separate dials

An older mechanical meter shows a row of digits for the cubic metres and then a set of small circular dials underneath, each with a red pointer. Those dials are tenths, hundredths and thousandths of a cubic metre. They matter for spotting a leak and they do not belong on a meter reading.

The battery-powered digital display

A small LCD screen, usually blank until it is woken. Most wake when the display is touched or when a torch is shone at the small light sensor beside it, and then cycle through readings. The cubic-metre total is the figure with no decimal places showing.

Using the meter to find a leak

This is the part of a meter that earns its keep, and it takes about two minutes.

  1. Turn off every tap. Stop the washing machine and dishwasher. Do not flush.
  2. Find the smallest red dial, or the fastest-moving red digit.
  3. Watch it for a minute or two.
  4. If it is turning with nothing running, water is moving somewhere. That may be a dripping overflow, a leaking loo, or a pipe under the floor.

A continuously running toilet is the most common cause and the easiest to miss, because it is often silent. Suppliers in England and Wales generally have a leakage allowance policy covering supply pipes on a customer's own land, and the terms differ by company — that is a question worth asking the supplier directly before paying for a repair.

Common questions

Which numbers on a water meter do I actually submit?
The black or white digits on the left, which count cubic metres. The red digits, or the dials with red pointers, are fractions of a cubic metre and are almost never wanted on a meter reading.
What is a cubic metre of water?
One thousand litres. Water in England and Wales is billed per cubic metre, which is why the meter counts in them rather than in litres.
How do I know if I have a leak?
Turn off every tap and appliance that uses water, then watch the smallest red dial. On most meters it turns visibly when water is moving. If it is still turning with nothing running, water is going somewhere it should not.
My meter is digital and the screen is blank.
Many battery-powered digital meters sleep to save power and wake when the display is touched or when a torch is shone at the sensor. A screen that stays blank after that is worth reporting to the supplier.

Next

If the meter reading is higher than expected, the question underneath it is usually whether being on a meter suits the household at all. Meter or rateable value?