Every home, office building, municipal building, and industrial plant has a water meter. This meter measures how much water is used in that location. Most water agencies send an employee - a meter reader - to each location to read the meter. The meter reader records the information so the agency can bill the customer correctly.

Today, many water meters are being replaced by computerized meters. These new meters can be read with a special receiving device from a car. Instead of walking from house to house, meter readers can drive through neighborhoods to record the meter readings. In the near future, water meters may have telecommunications equipment. If so, they can send the meter reading to a central site which processes it for billing. For now, meter readers:

• keep a record of meter locations;
• maintain a fixed schedule for reading meters;
• interact courteously with the homeowner or other person who lets them into the building;
• make an accurate meter reading and report it to the billing office.