How to Read Your Water Meter (UK Guide)

Reading a water meter looks confusing, but it isn’t. Most people simply haven’t looked closely at one before. This guide shows you how to find yours, read it, and catch a leak early. That applies whether you’re on a modern Norwich estate or an older supply pipe, like a homeowner in Attleborough.

Where to find your water meter

Most UK homes have a water meter in one of two places:

• Outside, in an underground box — usually near the pavement, driveway, or property boundary, under a small metal or plastic cover marked “water.”
• Inside the property — more common in flats and newer builds, typically under the kitchen sink or in a utility cupboard.

Not sure which type you have? Check your water bill, since it usually lists this. You can also contact your water supplier if needed.

How to read the dials

Most meters display digits in two colours or two rows:

• Black (or white) digits — show whole cubic metres of water used. This is the number you’ll usually give when reporting a reading.
• Red digits (or a smaller dial) — show fractions of a cubic metre, useful mainly for leak detection rather than billing.

Read the black digits left to right, just like a car odometer. This gives you the whole cubic metres used, which is the figure most suppliers ask for.

How to use your meter to check for a hidden leak

A water meter is especially useful for spotting a hidden leak. Since the check only takes about ten minutes, it’s worth doing regularly:

1. Turn off every tap, appliance, and outside tap in the property — nothing should be using water.
2. Take a meter reading and note it down (or note the position of the small leak-indicator dial, if your meter has one).
3. Wait 1–2 hours without using any water at all.
4. Take a second reading. If it’s changed at all, water is passing through your system somewhere — even with everything switched off.

Watch the small triangular or star-shaped dial during this test. If it keeps spinning, even briefly, that’s a strong sign of a leak. Often it’s something simple, like a running toilet. Sometimes it’s a slower leak in underground pipework instead.

What to do if you find a leak

If your test suggests a leak, the next step depends on where it is. The three sections below cover the most likely locations, although the fix itself is often straightforward:

• Inside the property — check toilets first (the most common culprit), then look for damp patches, warm spots on flooring (a sign of a hot water pipe leak), or an unexplained rise in your bill.
• Between the meter and the house — this is usually the homeowner’s responsibility to fix, and can waste a significant amount of water (and money) if left. It’s a particularly common finding on the longer rural pipe runs found around older properties near Dereham, where the supply pipe can run a long way underground before it reaches the house.
• Not sure, or can’t locate it — it’s worth getting a plumber to check rather than guessing, especially if the leak is underground or hidden behind fixed pipework.

If a leak is already causing damage, or you can’t isolate it yourself, call us. Our emergency plumbing team covers Norwich and the surrounding area, including leak call-outs in and around Attleborough. We can trace the leak and fix it properly.

Getting help

Need help confirming a leak, or want general repairs sorted? Get in touch and we’ll help you figure it out. There’s no obligation, whether you’re in Norwich or out towards Wymondham.