Find and read your meter

Read your meter to check water use or confirm a leak

Two Watercare workers reading a water meter that is set in the ground

Finding your meter

Most homes have their own water meter. This is usually at the front of the property, near the left or right boundary. In flats or apartments there may be only one meter for all the dwellings in each building.

Water meters are in the ground, in a box made of timber, plastic, concrete, or metal. The lid is usually blue or black. Lift the lid and you should see the meter dial. To read the dial, you may need to remove leaves and debris, or flip up the cover.

Your meter serial number

The number of your meter is on your water bill. See page 2, under ‘consumption details’.

You can also find the number online using MyAccount: Go to MyAccount help and follow the steps for View/download/print a bill.

Meter reading access

Our meter readers need to access your water meter every other month, so please make sure it is not overgrown or covered. Contact us if it is difficult to access your property, for instance because of locked gates, or dogs. Find out more about meter access.

Not sure which meter serves your property?

Reading your water meter

Reading your water meter can be useful if you think there may be a leak somewhere on your property. You may also like to read your meter to see how much water you use during a day or week, or to confirm that the latest meter reading on your bill is accurate. Don’t forget to record the date of your reading.

Most water meters are a digital metric type.

An image showing which numbers on the water meter are billed and which ones are not

You only need to read the black numbers on the white background. These show the amount of water you use in kilolitres (1000 litres). We charge per kilolitre. You can ignore the white numbers on the red background as these show amounts less than a kilolitre.