How to Read Your Meter

Your water meter is underground in a rectangular box with a metal or cement lid, usually found in or near the sidewalk. To get to the meter, you can remove the cover with a large screwdriver.

Reading the Meter

Sweetwater Authority has one basic type of water meter. This water meter is read like an odometer. Simply read the number across the counter.
How to Read Your Water Meter (PDF) 
Meter Diagram 1

​Recording Water Use

Sweetwater Authority water meters record water use in terms of cubic feet. One cubic foot of water is equal to 7.48 gallons. Our bills are based on how many hundred cubic feet (748 gallons) each customer uses. An "average" household uses about 22 units in 2 months, or 274 gallons per day.

Determining Water Use

To determine your water use, compare your reading to one taken a week later at the same time of day. Subtract the 1st reading from the 2nd to find out how many cubic feet of water you have used. Multiply this figure by 748 to find out how many gallons of water you are using each week, and divide the result by 7 to determine gallons per day.

For example, if your meter read 367.10 today and 368.90 seven days later, you've used 1.80 hundred cubic feet of water. Multiply 1.80 times 748, and you will find out you used 1,346 gallons during the week. 1,346 divided by 7 yields a daily water use of 192 gallons.