How to read your meter
Customer Service
Phone: 717-735-3425
How often will I receive my water/sewer bill?
Residential water bills are mailed on a rotating, thirteen-week billing schedule meaning you will receive a water bill every thirteen weeks or four quarterly bills per year. Below is a brief explanation of how to read your water meter, how to handle a billing discrepancy and how to read your water bill. If you have questions about your bill, please contact Customer Service at (717) 735-3425 before the due date. It is your responsibility to pay any and all assessed charges by the due date if the billing discrepancy has not been resolved. The City will credit your account if it is determined that a billing error has been made.
How do I read my meter?
Reading your meter will allow you to determine the amount of water you use daily, check for leaks, pay on an actual meter reading instead of an estimated bill and verify that the inside and outside meters are reading the same.
First, locate your water meter. You are most likely to find it at the end of your basement nearest the street. Do not confuse it with your electric or gas meter. Open the lid (if one is present). On all meters, you will see a row of numbers that resemble the mileage indicator on the car. Read and report all numbers to Customer Service and they will calculate your consumption.
Why do I owe more for water/sewer now that the meters were changed?
Your water meter is located in your basement. There is also a remote device on the exterior of your home from which the City obtains readings to determine your consumption and calculate your bill. The inside meter is a mechanical device that changes as the water flows through the meter. The exterior device receives small pulses generated by the meter inside. Over time, pulse resistance and other conditions can cause the remote device to slow down and register readings lower than actual usage. When the City replaces either of these, a reading is taken from the inside meter. If the reading from the inside meter is higher than that recorded on the outside device, you will be billed for the difference as it represents water consumed for which you were not previously billed.
What should I do if I think my bill is wrong?
Contact Customer Service with concerns if you think your bill is inaccurate. Please have the current inside meter reading when you call. In cases where a meter was read incorrectly, report the correct reading and your bill will be adjusted. In cases where the inside and outside meter readings do not match, you will be billed for the usage on the inside meter as it represents the actual volume of water consumed. All other issues will be investigated and a decision made after reviewing all facts. Part of this investigation may require the removal of the meter for testing. If the meter is malfunctioning, your bill will be calculated on prior average usage. If the meter passes all tests, a $10.00 meter testing fee will be added to your bill and no change will be made to the original amount billed.
How to I check for water leaks?
First, be sure that no water is currently being used (including washer, dishwasher, etc). Then, look at the meter inside and note if the small diamond-shaped leak detector dial is moving. If it is moving, there is a leak in the home. Alternatively, you can read your meter at a specific time and, without using any water, wait an hour or two and reread the meter. If the reading changed, there is a leak.
If you determine from the steps above that you have a leak in your home, there are several simple steps you can take to find out what appliance is leaking.
- Shut off the water to toilets using the shut-off valve. Check the meter. If the diamond dial has stopped spinning, your toilet is probably leaking.
- Turn the water to the toilet back on and put a few drops of food coloring into the tank. Do not flush the toilet. If, after a few minutes, the coloring makes its way into the bowl, there is a leak.
- Check all faucets for visual leakage.
It is important to have any and all leaks repaired as soon as possible to avoid high water/sewer bills as they are calculated based on the consumption reflected by meter readings. Over a three-month period, a continuous leak at an average household water pressure of 60 psi will result in the following water loss and cost. Note that hot water leaks also waste energy.
|
Water Waste Chart |
|
|
Diameter of Stream |
Gallons
Lost Per
Quarter |
Estimated cost
of Leak per
quarter |
Meter
Installation
|
Neptune
Meter
|
Invensys
Meter
|
| l 1/4" |
1,181,500 |
$ 2,579 |
| l 1/8" |
296,000 |
$ 736 |
| l 1/16" |
74,000 |
$ 234 |
| l 1/32" |
18,500 |
$ 58 |
How do I obtain a final water/sewer bill?
When you, the homeowner or business owner, knows the closing date for a property being sold, you must read the meter yourself or have someone of your choice (ex: your realtor) read the meter. Then, mail the settlement request with the appropriate fee in advance. The current fees are as follows:Tax Certification $20.00 Trash Final $9.00 Water Final $9.00 Complete Final $38.00. If information is not received by the City in a timely manner, you will need to estimate the water/sewer and trash bills, real estate taxes and any other information and hold that estmaited amount due to the City in escrow. With the request, the new owners name and billing address must be provided. The final bill will be available the day after the request is made. The water/sewer account will be transferred to the new owner’s name once settlement has been completed and the bill has been paid in full. No settlement information will be provided without all completed information, including all new owner information.
CONSUMPTION CHARGE PER QUARTER
|
INSIDE CITY RESIDENTIAL |
OUTSIDE CITY RESIDENTIAL |
| WATER |
SEWER |
WATER |
SEWER |
| Rate Effective Dates: |
01/10/2012 |
01/10/2012 |
03/01/2012 |
03/01/2012 |
| First 75,000 Gallons Used |
$ 3.3404 |
$ 5.0068 |
$ 3.72600 |
$ 2.9254 |
| Next 925,000 Gallons Used |
$ 3.0696 |
$ 3.7754 |
$ 3.42400 |
$ 2.2059 |
| All Gallons Over 1,000,000 |
$ 2.0082 |
$ 2.8139 |
$ 2.24000 |
$ 1.6442 |
What happens if my account becomes delinquent?
Water bills are due within 30days after being mailed, as indicated on the bill. If the bill is not paid by the due date, a penalty of 1.5% per month (18% per annum) is added and the property now becomes subject to the water service termination process. Delinquent bills are mailed on the thirtieth and sixtieth days after the due date and water service termination service may occur as early as sixty days past the due date. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse late charges assessed on unpaid account balances. If service is disconnected due to nonpayment, a reconnection fee of $83 will be assessed to the account. All delinquent water charges and the reconnection fee must be paid, by cash, credit card or money order, prior to restoration of service. If water service is not restored within 72 hours, condemnation proceedings will commence.
The City does not terminate water services during cold weather months, from December 1-March 31. If your account is delinquent, you must contact Customer Service at (717) 735-3425 to pay your balance prior to the start of shut-off season on April 1.
How to read your bill:
The following information pertains to the water service and billing address:
- “For Service To” identifies the location of the property receiving City water and/or sewer services.
- Identifies the name and mailing address of the person responsible for paying the water/sewer bill for the property service location.
- “Account Number” is the City number assigned to the property service location.
- “Customer Number” is the City number assigned to the person who is responsible for paying the water/sewer bill.
- “Due date” identifies the last date for which payment is due to the City for the current water/sewer bill. All delinquent amounts are overdue and due immediately.
- “Amount Due” identifies the total balance due on the account. This figure is comprised of the current bill, past due balances and applicable penalties.
- “Cycle” and “Billing Freq” identify the number of the billing cycle and the billing frequency (Q-quarterly or M-monthly) for the property location.
The following information pertains to the meter installed inside your property:
- “Meter #” is the number of the water meter that is installed at the property service location.
- “Meter Type” identifies whether the meter is a water meter (WTR), sewer meter (SWR), or a fire-line meter (FIR).
- “Meter size” is the size of the meter installed at the property service location. Size will range from 5/8 inch to 12 inches.
The following information corresponds to current water/sewer billing:
- “From-To Dates” are the beginning and ending meter read dates used to calculate water consumption to be billed
- “Days” are the number of days in the current billing cycle
- “Read Type Prev” is the type of reading that was used to calculate your previous water/sewer bill. Read Types are shown in the chart below.
|
TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
|
A |
Actual Reading |
P |
Post Card or Phoned-in Reading |
|
B |
Broken Meter Reading |
S |
Special Reading |
|
C |
Changed Meter Reading |
V |
Vacant Property Reading |
|
E |
Estimated Reading |
CR |
Checker Reading |
|
F |
Final Reading |
FS |
For Sale sign posted |
|
I |
Reading from Inside Meter |
NR |
No Reading |
|
N |
New Owner/Tenant Reading |
SC |
Meter System Serviced Reading |
- “Read Type Cur” is the type of meter reading used to calculate the current water/sewer bill.
- “Reading rev” is the meter reading from your previous water/sewer bill.
- “Reading Cur” is the meter reading used to calculate your current consumption.
- “Consumption Actual” is the actual volume of water that passed through your meter.
- “Consumption Billed” is the volume of water that was used to calculate your current water/sewer bill.
- “Water” is the current amount due for water consumption.
- “Sewer” is the current amount due for sewer consumption.
- “Total” is the total current amount due for water/sewer consumption.
- “Amount Last Billed” is the total current activity, past due amounts and applicable penalties on the account. “Balance Due” is the total amount due.
- Payment Stub must be returned with your payment. Indicate amount of payment enclosed.
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