Your water meter, like so many things in our lives, is something you might not give much thought to until something goes wrong. It’s not as flashy as the iPhone X, but to your water service provider, it’s a key piece of tech, which is why we’re going to dispel some common misconceptions you may have about your water meter.
Misconception 1: Checking your water meter has no benefit.
You may think that whether or not you go to the trouble of reading your meter, you’ll still use the same amount of water and pay the same bill. Not so. According to a study by the Alliance for Water Efficiency, customers with water meters use 15% to 20% less water on average than their unmetered peers. It turns out that seeing what drives water usage up has a pretty significant effect on making people want to save!
Misconception 2: Measuring water usage is difficult and time-consuming.
While reading a water meter may not really be “difficult,” we can see how it’s not as top of mind as checking your phone and it adds another thing to your hectic to-do list.
Try and make water meter checking a habit. When you incorporate it into your schedule, you’ll be able to quickly identify any odd water usage trends and you’ll reduce the time it takes as the process becomes more automatic.
Need a refresh on how to read your water meter? Watch this video.
In the future, the adoption of new water meter technology like Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) - also known as “smart” meters - will make checking water usage even easier. Homeowners using an AMI can quickly and easily take a look via a web or app dashboard, with real-time readings made hourly so adjustments can be made as quickly as needed. San Jose Water is running test pilots on the technology and evaluating which AMI meters are the most accurate and user-friendly.
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