Reading Your Meter

Step 1: Find Your Water Meter

First, you must locate your water meter. It may be indoors or outdoors in a pit.

Indoor Meter

Most meters are located indoors. Find your indoor meter along a basement wall or wherever the water line enters the building.

Outdoor Meter

Some water meters are located outdoors. Find an outdoor meter inside a meter pit in the ground. You must lift the meter pit lid to view your meter.

Step 2: Identify your Meter Model

Next, identify which type of meter you have. The York Water Company uses two types of meters. Look at the face of your meter and click on the type that you have from the meters below to learn more.

STep 3: Read your Neptune ARB Meter

How do I read my water meter?

To read your Neptune ARB meter, complete the following steps:

1. Look at the number display located on the face of the water meter. This is your water meter reading.
2. Adjust your reading: York Water bills in hundreds of gallons, so if your meter reads 3,487 gallons, we will bill for 3,400 gallons. We won’t bill for those extra gallons on the meter until the reading surpasses 3,500 gallons.
3. Compare your adjusted meter reading to the one on your most recent water bill. Subtract the water usage on your bill from your adjusted water meter reading to calculate how many gallons of water your household has used since the last water meter reading of that bill.

How can I tell if there is a water leak in my home?

If you feel that your water bill is unusually high, your Neptune ARB meter may indicate that there is a leak somewhere in your home or business.

Most often, the cause of high-water usage is a leak in a toilet or a running toilet tank. These are not the only reasons there may be a leak. If you suspect another cause for a leak, it’s a good idea to hire a professional plumber to help you.

Find the low flow dial on your water meter:

On the face of the Neptune ARB meter, there is a small red or black diamond or triangle. If that dial is spinning, water is moving through the meter at that exact moment. If no one in your home is using water, the low flow dial should be completely still. If it is moving, there is a leak somewhere in your home.

Step 3: Read your Neptune E-Coder Meter

How do I read my water meter?

To read your Neptune E-Coder meter, complete the following steps:

1. Your meter display needs light to activate it. If the LCD display is blank or looks dark, shine a flashlight on it. The light will activate the meter.
2. When you activate the meter, the LCD display will first show “8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8.” The reading will appear within a few seconds.
3. When the reading appears, it will stay on the LCD display for 12 seconds. The reading will contain numbers with commas and a decimal point. It shows your meter reading in gallons.
4. Adjust your reading to hundreds of gallons. York Water bills in hundreds of gallons, so if your meter reads 3,487.20 gallons, we will bill for 3,400 gallons. We won’t bill for those extra gallons on the meter until it surpasses 3,500 gallons.
5. Compare this reading to the one on your most recent water bill. Subtract the water usage on your bill from your current water meter reading to calculate how many gallons of water your household has used since the printing of that bill.

View printable instructions for reading your Neptune e-Coder meter. (This link will open in a new window.)

How can I tell if there is a water leak in my home?

If you feel that your water bill is unusually high, your Neptune e-Coder meter may indicate that there is a leak somewhere in your home or business.

Most often, the cause of high-water usage is a leak in a toilet or a running toilet tank. These are not the only reasons there may be a leak. If you suspect another cause for a leak, it’s a good idea to hire a professional plumber to help you.

This is how your Neptune e-Coder meter may indicate a water leak:

1. Follow instructions 1-3 in the How do I read my water meter? section above.
2. After the initial water meter reading appears, the word RATE will appear at the top of the LCD display. The flow rate will appear for 4 seconds. The flow rate shows in gallons per minute.
3. Your meter automatically checks to see if water is flowing in your system every 15 minutes. The image of a dripping spigot is a the leak indicator for this meter model. If it appears, this indicates there may be a leak. You may also see these variations of the leak indicator:

Flashing leak indicator: If the leak indicator is flashing, this means water has been used for at least fifty of the ninety-six 15-minute intervals during the previous 24 hours. This may indicate a leak in your system.

Continuous leak indicator:  If the leak indicators appears continuously, water has been used for all of the 15-minute intervals during the previous 24 hours. This may indicate a leak in your system.