How to read your water meter

A clear photo can help you understand a confusing bill.

The answer in 2 lines. Find your meter, match its serial number to your bill and photograph the display. On a conventional meter, the black digits usually show whole cubic metres; red digits or small dials show smaller quantities. Digital displays vary. Compare dated readings to track usage, and check whether your bill uses an actual or estimated reading. A meter that records consumption while nobody is using water may indicate a leak, but first rule out appliances and toilet cisterns refilling.

The first steps

Locate the meter: look near the indoor stop tap or in a small chamber near your property boundary. Ask your supplier if you cannot find it.
Check the serial number: match the identification on the meter to your bill, particularly where several meters serve neighbouring flats.
Take a dated photo: capture the whole display and serial number. Keep a separate note of the reading you submit.

Stop: danger

Unsafe access: do not enter a chamber, reach into an opening containing exposed wiring or lift a heavy cover yourself. Ask the supplier to arrange a safe reading.
Water near electrics: keep away from wet sockets and electrical equipment. Deal with the immediate leak before trying to investigate consumption.

Which digits should you read?

The display is a running total, rather than the amount used since your last bill. For a conventional meter, record the black digits showing whole cubic metres. Leave out the red digits or small red dials when submitting a routine reading. On a digital meter, the whole units are normally before the decimal point; check the display instructions if several screens appear.

Use the illustrated meter-reading guide to identify the reading and serial number. Replace any frost-protection insert and close the lid afterwards.

Make readings useful

Record readings regularly, with the date and whether anyone was away or staying over. Subtract the earlier reading from the later one to find the water used between them. Compare periods of similar length: a longer gap naturally allows more consumption.

Look for a pattern rather than treating a neighbour's bill as a target. Household size, gardening and time spent at home all affect usage. A remote-reading meter may also provide consumption information through your supplier's account service. Ofwat's metering guidance explains estimated readings and remote access; use it to understand what information your supplier should provide.

What not to do

Submitting the serial number as the reading: it identifies the meter and does not measure consumption.
Removing seals, disconnecting a communications module or attempting to adjust the meter.
Assuming a shared building meter shows only your flat's consumption.

Check for a possible leak

Turn off taps and water-using appliances, and let toilet cisterns finish refilling. Leave the water supply on. Photograph the complete reading, including the smaller units, then take another after a period when nobody has used water. Remember outdoor taps and appliances with automatic cycles.

If it changes unexpectedly, check for visible drips and a toilet trickling into the bowl. The CCW household FAQs explain this test under the high-water-bill question. Follow those checks, or ask your supplier for assistance if you cannot perform them safely. Movement suggests water is passing through; it does not identify the faulty fitting.

If the bill does not match

Check the billed reading date, serial number and whether the reading is estimated. A reading taken today will normally differ from an earlier bill. Contact the supplier using the details on your bill and provide your dated photograph; ask whether it can replace an estimate and explain any remaining discrepancy.

If a leak is confirmed, ask about the household leakage allowance policy, evidence required and repair conditions. Keep photographs and repair records. Ofwat's linked guidance explains that allowances can be refused in specified circumstances: do not assume every dripping tap qualifies or that the entire bill will be cancelled.

Good to know

Take and retain readings when moving in or out, and give them to the supplier alongside your moving date.
An unreadable or inaccessible meter is a reason to request help, rather than guess a reading.
This guide covers England. Water charging arrangements differ elsewhere, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Illustrative example: in Leeds, Amira notices that her bill uses an estimate. She checks the meter serial number, photographs the display and submits the whole-unit reading through her supplier's account service. When later readings still seem unusually high, she checks again with all water use stopped and discovers a toilet cistern continuously refilling.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 4 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for conventional meter readings, household leak checks and the existence of leakage allowances; medium for display-specific instructions and allowance eligibility, which depend on the meter and supplier's policy. No national consumption average or universal allowance amount is asserted.