How To Read Your Meter

Bolinas Community Public Utility District

Reading Your Meter

Reading your water meter is similar to reading the odometer in your car. Read all the numbers from left to right that appear under the words Cubic Feet.

The first digit on the right represents one cubic foot, the second from the right represents 10 cubic feet, the third from the right represents 100 cubic feet, or one CCF, and so on.

One revolution of the water meter sweep hand (the red dial in the photo above) equals 1 cubic foot or 7.48 gallons. Note, if the white triangular dial is moving, there is water running through the meter.

If you suspect that you may have a leak, please do the following: Turn off all faucets and water using plumbing fixtures or appliances. Don’t forget any outside fixtures. Mark the position of the meter sweep hand lightly with a pencil and/or note the reading on your meter. Wait approximately 30 minutes before rechecking the meter. If the sweep hand moved, a leak is indicated. If you suspect that you have a leak on your property, contact a plumber immediately to find and repair the leak.

You may have an older meter that looks slightly different than the one pictured above, however all meters fall under the same general parameters.

How to find out how many gallons you have used in one day:
First, write down the number displayed on your meter, then go back to your meter in 24 hours and again write down the number displayed on your meter. If any water has been used on your property, then the second number should be higher then the first. Subtract the first number from the second and this will give your the total cubic feet that went through the meter. To figure out how many gallons were used, multiply the total cubic feet by 7.48 (there are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot). This will give you the total number of gallons used during that 24 hour period.

For example:
first reading = 435698
second reading (24 hours later) = 435718
subtract first reading from second 435718 - 435698 = 20 (cubic feet)
multiply 20 x 7.48 = 149.60 (gallons)

In the above example, 149.60 gallons were used between the first and second readings.