Understanding Water Meters & Your Bill

Water Meter Facts

The town currently uses 2 different types of water meters.  Your water meter can be located where your water line comes into your house and typically in the basement in the utility room, but can be located in the ceiling or in a cupboard. Follow the water line coming in and you should find a shut-off valve, then the water meter. 

Touch Pad Meters

Touch pad meters range from 10 to 30 years old and are currently in the process of being replaced with radio frequency meters as they fail. Some residence will have a small black reading box located on the exterior of their house that the meter reader has to physically touch with the meter reader machine in order to get a reading.  The black box can be located anywhere on the outside of the house but typically near the gas meter on the side of the house.  If your black reader is in your back yard and fenced in, staff do have to enter to take the reading. The grey box is associated with radio frequency meters and can be found on some commercial/ industrial units.

Radio Frequency Meters

Radio frequency meters typically have a face covering on them. Open the face plate and your meter will appear to be off, but in fact the digital display is in energy saving mode. A few important facts about your RF meter:

1. The meter number is located at the top of the black box which can be cross referenced on your water bill
2. The solar panel above the digital display. Shine a flashlight on the solar panel, the meter will wake up and read the current reading, take the light away and the meter will go back to sleep mode
3. Digital display will show the reading in m3 with up to 4 decimal readings

Some important information on your water bill:

1. Consumption is the total number of m3 (1000 liters) that have been used since the last billing cycle
2. Billing days is the total number of days in the billing cycle and can change by a few days depending on when your meter was read and what route in the meter system you are
3. **3-7 Days of Leaks.  Intermittent Leaks – this doesn’t mean you have a leak, it means the water meter recorded 3-7 days of flow above the normal flow it normally sees which can include someone taking a longer than typical shower, or washing a vehicle outside or watering your lawn
4. At the bottom of the bill you will notice the total consumption in m3 and the towns water usage rate which is currently $4.17/m3

Water softeners

The Town of Erin water systems which include the village of Erin drinking water system and Hillsburgh drinking water system use deep ground water wells to supply the water.  As the ground water is hard, it will calcify your toilets and facets.  If you have a water softener, it’s important to keep up with the manufactures recommendations for maintenance.  Ensure salt is topped up and the unit doesn’t run out of salt.  Iron Out is a cheap product that can be purchased at your local grocery or hardware store that can be added (follow instructions) to your brine tank that will help keep your water softener working efficiently and extending the life cycle costs. Periodically filters on the end of your kitchen faucet should be cleaned as well as they will slowly build up with iron deposits. 

Hot Water Tanks

Hot water tanks should be flushed periodically to ensure sediment inside the tank doesn’t effect the performance of the hot water tank, you tube videos can assist with this simple exercise.

The Ontario Clean Water Agency operates, maintains and manages water and wastewater facilities and their associated distribution systems throughout the province, including Erin. For more information, visit www.ocwa.com.