The Meter
Water System and Security
Did you know that it is illegal to tamper with any portion of a public water system? It starts with the water meter and continues backwards to the mainline and covers all devices, lines, valves, control points, reservoirs, fences, communication systems and more. The Bioterrorism Act, which became law on June 12, 2002, increased the penalties for tampering or attempting to tamper with a public water system. Under the new law, any person tampering with a public water system can be imprisoned for up to twenty years. Anyone attempting to tamper with a system can be imprisoned for up to ten years. EPA can also bring a civil action against anyone who tampers with a system; the maximum penalty for tampering is now $1,000,000, while the penalty for attempts can be up to $100,000.
All of the Water Meters are read manually once a month. UBWA uses a water meter that is extremely accurate and reliable. They are referred to as positive displacement water meters. Once the water meter senses any flow it causes a disc to nutate and therefore it records the flow using the water meters register. If there is no flow into the chamber and over the nutating disc, then there is no flow being recorded by the water meters register. Basically this means that the meter only records when water is flowing through it. The faster or slower the water flows through it, the faster or slower it will record the usage. Again, if there is no flow through the meter, then the meter is not recording any usage. It will not spend faster than the flow of water travel through the meter.
Click HERE for a short video on the operation of a Badger Nutating Disc Water Meter.
Nearly all water meters currently in service on the UBWA system have a similar variation of the dial shown below. Notice that your water meter has only one dial. They not only look like an automobile odometer, they work like one too.
The dial has a sweep hand which measures water usage in gallons. One complete revolution equals ten gallons of water used. The odometer-type register in the middle of the dial registers the hundreds of gallons used.
To read the meter you record the numbers from the odometer-type register. Since the odometer registers in hundreds of gallons you do not record the last two numbers. (The last number is a permanent number and the next dial registers tenths.) The remaining dials register the actual (in hundreds) water used. Subtract the previous reading from the new reading and you will know how many hundreds of gallons of water you have used
The set up in your meter box should include the meter, and a gate valve. Outside of the box on the member side of the meter you will find a pressure regulator and an in-line check valve. If you require a backflow device it will be located in a separate box, generally a couple of feet away from the meter box. The location of the backflow device may vary due to the members requirements.
Some services will not have a regulator connected to their system due to the elevation of their residence. The gate valve is installed to provide you as the member a way to shut off the flow of water to your residence if you have a leak in your home service line or you are planning on doing some type of plumbing work. The check valve is to keep water from draining out of your service line in case of a break in our mainline. If you do not have a in-line check valve or gate valve, it is broken or the parts are missing, please call a plumber and get it replaced. DO NOT USE the Curb/Angle stop just before the meter to shut off the water to your residence. This device is the property of the Association, it is not built for constant use and if you damage it or a leak does develop because you are using it, then you will be charged for its replacement. This can cost around $1000.00 dollars in parts and labor to replace. So please, DO NOT USE the angle stop to control the flow of water to your residence with this device. Use your gate valve!
Water Meter
