Wide Bay Water Corporation operates a user-pay pricing system. In order to calculate water usage, meters are installed on all properties connected to the city’s water supply, usually just inside the front boundary of your property.

The size of your meter depends on your consumption requirements.

A standard meter installation:

If you need to undertake plumbing work or you have a burst pipe, you can turn off the flow of water to your property by turning off the ‘stop tap’.

Helping you understand your water meter

The first thing you notice when you lift the lid and clean the casing and plastic covering, is the engraved number on the metal casing of the meter. This number is the meter serial number and identifies which property the meter belongs to. This number also appears on your water bill.

You’ll notice another sequence of numbers on your water meter (refer below). Black/white numbers indicate kilolitres (kl) - 1 kilolitre equals one thousand litres, and red numbers indicate litres. Only kilolitres are used to calculate your bill.

Kilolitres	Litres

Numbers are read from left to right.

For example, the reading above is 1862 kl as only kilolitres are used to calculate your bill.

Here’s a step by step guide on how to work out how much water you consume and what it costs you.

• Take a meter reading first thing in the morning.

• Take another reading seven (7) day later (this will determine your weekly usage).

• Deduct the first reading from the second reading and multiple by the current water charge ( $1.05 per kL).

For example:

First water meter reading - 1933 kl

Reading seven days later - 1945 kl

Deduct first reading from second reading 12 kl x $1.05 = $12.60

Your water bill is sent quarterly and is calculated using the method above.
Each quarter is called a cycle (cycle 1, 2, 3, 4).

(Water Bills are sent every 4 months - 3 Times a year)

Spare a thought for our Meter Readers!

The reading of meters is a simple job that only takes a few minutes. However, this can be made difficult for our Meter Readers if they don’t have easy access to the meter on your property. It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure the metre is easily accessible and clean.