How does a meter benefit a homeowner?
- You'll know how much water you consume.You can use that information to manage your water use.
- You can prevent damage to your property. Meters provide answers to operators: when you're away from your home a water operator can read the meter to find out if you have a broken water line and turn your water off before the leak does any more damage to your property.
- You might pay less for water in the future. If water rates are based on consumption (not a flat rate) you may end up saving more money if you use less water.
What is the history on why the state required meters?
The 2003 Legislature required that:
- Group A water suppliers not lose more than 10% of the water that runs through their distribution system to leakage; and
- Our agency adopt rules that would establish Water Use Efficiency (WUE) requirements designed to ensure the efficient use of water, RCW 70.119A.180(1).
We worked with stakeholders, including small water systems, to guide the development of the WUE rule. The only way to meet this 10% leak standard is to compare the amount of water pumped from a source to the amount of water consumed by the customers.
Meters installed at each service connection provide valuable information to those that manage or operate the water system. This ensures that water systems operate at maximum efficiency and consistently provide safe and reliable drinking water.
More information is available in the publication Water Service Meters- information for residents(PDF)