Residents have the option to submit their own water meter readings if they are interested in doing so. Customers who choose to submit their own readings generally do so to avoid the possibility of estimated billing if their meter cannot be read for any reason. Submitting your own reading is not compulsory. Approximately 2900 residents submitted their own monthly readings for the period September 2021 to March 2022 and you can too.

More than 673 000 meters are recording an amount of water being used at properties across the City. If you know how to read your water meter, you can monitor your water usage, prevent water wasted through undetected leaks and avoid unexpected high bills.

Regularly reading meters can help residents identify spikes in water usage that could signify a leak, to avoid unwanted surprises when the next monthly bill arrives.

‘As residents, we are all encouraged to manage our water usage responsibly so that together we maintain a sustainable level of water use and avoid wasting water.

‘By sharing these tips on how to read your meter and log your own readings, the City is empowering our residents with the tools needed to help manage the water they use and avoid bill shocks due to undetected leaks. There are also useful tips on how to find and fix leaks on your property. We encourage residents to use this information to help manage their usage,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
There is a five day period every month in which readings need to be submitted, based on the billing cycle. Customers who register via E-Services are notified via their profile when they can submit readings.

Customers who want to provide their readings via other platforms like the Call Centre, will need to enquire what their reporting ‘window period’ is to submit readings.

Customers can also visit the Customer Interaction Centres near them to provide their reading in person.

How to read my meter?

• Open your water meter box. If the lid is closed, you can usually open it with something like a screwdriver.
• No matter what type of water meter it is, the black numbers represent thousands of litres, called kilolitres, and red numbers represent litres.
• Water charges are based on the number of kilolitres of water used on the property every month. If you are submitting your own readings to the City (e.g. if your meter is difficult for meter readers to access), you only need to supply the black numbers when submitting your reading.
• Water meters continually record the amount of water that passes into a property throughout the lifespan of the meter. The tally on the meter does not reset from month to month. Subtract the previous reading from your current reading to determine usage for the period between readings.

Leaflets are on the Water and Sanitation education resources page, and the English, Afrikaans and Xhosa versions are on the website.

Monitoring your meter readings to check how much you’re using or to confirm a leak

• Check how much the numbers on the meter increase to see how much water is being used. Monitor this on a regular basis e.g. weekly or monthly, and keep a written record.
• To check if you have a leak, first stop all water use in the house and note how much the meter reading is. Then wait about 15 minutes, and check the meter reading again. If the numbers have gone up, it means you probably have a leak.

You can help the City get an accurate reading for your water meter by doing the following:

• Make sure you know where your water meter is located – it could be within your property boundary, or beyond the boundary, on the Council side.
• Your water meter should be accessible to City officials at all times.
• Make sure it is not obstructed (e.g. by sand or weeds) and is easy to access and read.
• If your water meter is behind locked gates, or if dogs prevent the meter readers from taking a reading, you can submit the reading Yourself (see above).
• Alternatively, ask the City to relocate your meter to the outside of your property, via the City’s Service Requests application, to prevent repeated estimations.

What are estimated readings on my bill?

When the City can’t read your meter on a particular month, we will look at how much the property normally uses for that time of year, and bill the account based on average use.

This method is done throughout the world, to prevent delays in billing and residents’ accounts from accumulating. If accounts accumulate, and residents do not take this into account during their household spending, it can result in unpaid debts, and actions to restrict consumption at the property. The City’s water billing system is sound and accurate.

Source: City Of Cape Town