Water Meter FAQs

General Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the City of Sacramento installing water meters?

State law requires the installation and use of water meters by 2025 across the state, including in the City of Sacramento. Water metering is part of a statewide effort to protect the reliability of California’s water supply.

What are some of the challenges the City faces with meter installation?

With the City’s aging infrastructure, many meter installations also include relocating leaky water mains from customers’ backyards to the street. In addition, the State law requiring water meters provided no funding to help offset costs.

What progress has the City made to date?

The City has made steady progress over the past several years with both installing meters and obtaining outside funding to help accelerate the program and minimize the financial burden on customers. Highlights include:

• More than 27,600 (or 25 percent) of the required 110,000 water meters have been installed since the City began its program in 2005.
• In 2009, the City secured $22.6 million in federal funds—half in the form of a grant, and the other half a low-interest loan—from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This funding allowed the program to triple the number of meters installed in one year compared to the previous four years combined.

What is the City doing to accelerate meter installation?

The City continues to aggressively pursue outside funding so that it can speed meter installations, minimize the program’s financial burden on rate payers and meet the state’s 2025 deadline for this unfunded, state-mandated program.

Who is paying for the metering program?

The metering program is an unfunded state mandate financed through customer utility payments, as well as grants and loans secured by the City to minimize the program’s financial burden on rate payers.

What are the benefits of water meters?

Meters are an important water management tool that empowers residents to understand how much water they use—and can save. With water meters, customers pay for only the amount of water they actually use—just as natural gas, telephone or electricity services are paid. Water meters can also help customers detect leaks and stop waste.

What is the City doing to reduce the program’s impact on rate payers?

The City of Sacramento is dedicated to complying with the State mandate while minimizing the impacts on its customers. For example, the City is:

• Continuing to educate and update customers about metering implementation and the transition to metered rates.
• Aggressively pursuing outside grants and loans to help accelerate the program and minimize the financial burden on customers.
• Making sure customers are informed about meter installation in their neighborhood well in advance of construction and reducing construction impacts as much as possible.
• Providing customers with at least one year of actual water use data and comparison rates that allow customers to compare their current flat rate bill to their future metered rate.
• Offering free programs to help customers use water efficiently, which may help them save money on a metered rate. Customers are encouraged to contact the City for more information about water efficiency programs by dialing 311 or 264-5011.

Frequently Asked Questions about Water Meter Installation

When can customers expect to have meters installed on their homes?

Homes built after 1992 already have meters installed and are charged a metered rate for their water use. In addition, commercial customers also are currently metered. The City is installing meters on remaining homes over the coming years (visit our Interactive Map to learn more). To meet the state’s 2025 deadline and provide customers with a year of comparative billing, all homes will have a water meter installed by January 1, 2024.

How does the City determine which areas will receive meters in what order?

The City considers the following factors when considering where to install meters next:

• Aging and leaking water mains that need replacement
• Spreading meter installation projects throughout the City (to avoid focusing construction disproportionally on one area)
• Adding new projects next to completed ones (to create adjoining meter reading routes)
• Requirements of grant funding and loans (for example, ARRA funding required projects to be “shovel ready”)
• Planned roadway upgrades and repairs by the City Department of Transportation

Are customers notified prior to installing meters near or on their property?

Prior to installing meters, the City notifies neighbors via a:

• Community meeting
• Postcard mailing
• Doorhanger (one week prior to work on your property and 24 hours prior to disrupting water service
• Follow up doorhanger after installation with information about City water efficiency services and customer service survey

Where will the meter be installed near or on my property?

Your water meter will be installed in one of the following areas:

• Within a park strip in front of your home
• If there is no park strip, the meter will be placed in the sidewalk
• If your neighborhood does not have a sidewalk, the meter will be located in your front yard, behind the curb, at the point of service

Will you need access to my yard?

For homes with mains located in the street, City crews may need access to your property for a short period of time to connect the new water meter to the existing water service line. In addition, the contractor will need to flush the system using the customer’s hose bib. For those with backyard mains, City crews will need access to your property to first locate and then disconnect the older water service line from the main located in your backyard.

Will my water need to be turned off?

Your water service will be turned off for as little time as possible, up to a maximum of four hours. You will be notified in advance of the shut-off.

Will construction impact my landscaping?

It is possible that construction will disturb landscaping. However, landscaping will be returned to as good as or better condition. Crews photograph landscaping before beginning work to ensure a successful job.

What are potential impacts of construction in my neighborhood?

Crews will do their best to minimize inconveniences; however, as with any construction project, noise, dust and machinery are expected. Parking may be limited on your street. Also, residents may be without water for a maximum of four hours during installation. Should you have any questions or concerns during the installation process, please contact the Department of Utilities Engineering Services by calling 311.

Relocating Water Mains

If a water main is located in my backyard, will it be replaced? If so, what are the impacts?

Before the State law requiring water meters took effect, the City committed to replacing aging and leaking water mains located in customers’ backyards as part of a long-term capital improvement project. Now that meters must be installed, the City is conducting a joint meter installation and main replacement program. In neighborhoods with older backyard mains, the City disconnects the backyard main and replaces it with a new main in the street when they install meters. In most cases, disconnecting the old pipe takes less than a day, and residents will be without water for less than four hours.

Why is it important to relocate water mains from backyards to the street?

The City committed to replacing aging water mains even before the State-mandated water meter program began for several reasons: Many older water mains are beyond their useful lives and have started to leak. When backyard mains leak or break, they can cause significant damage to private property. In addition, accessing backyard mains for repair and maintenance can be problematic for crews and inconvenient for customers.

Are heavy equipment and digging required when disconnecting a water service line from a backyard main?

Locating and disconnecting the water service line from the main requires minimal digging and no heavy equipment. City crews work to minimize impacts to landscaping and our customers. If landscaping is disturbed, it will be restored to as good as or better condition.

How often will crews need to access my backyard when disconnecting a water main?

Crews and project managers will request several visits to your property to:

• Locate and verify the size of the existing water service line
• Determine the best plan for disconnecting the water service line from the main
• Actually separate the old line from the main

What if the water service line is located under a structure, such as a pool?

City crews will work with customers to locate an alternate disconnection point that minimizes impacts to structures and landscaping.

Other Installation Questions

Who is responsible for maintaining the meter box installed on my property?

The City is responsible for maintaining the meter box and will conduct necessary maintenance, as needed.

What happens if the meter breaks? Am I responsible?

The City is responsible for the meter, meter box and the main up to the point of service. Homeowners are responsible for the pipes from the point of service into the home.

Why did the contractor pour black asphalt around the meter instead of cement?

Sometimes crews pour a temporary asphalt patch around meters while completing additional meter installations in a community. Using a patch is only a temporary measure designed to increase efficiencies and cost savings. Ultimately, the asphalt patch is replaced with cement.

Why must the contractor install meters on one side of the street only rather than working on both sides simultaneously?

For safety and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, City code does not allow construction to take place on both sides of a street at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions about Metered Billing

How is my metered bill calculated?

Your bill is calculated in two parts: One for your water consumption, and one for your service charge. The water consumption charged is based 100 percent on the amount of water you use. The service charge is based on the size of your meter and covers the cost of providing service, including water system maintenance and meter reading.

How will water meters affect my water bill?

With water meters, customers pay a monthly service fee based on the size of their water meter and a charge for the amount of water they actually use. Compared to the current flat rate system, metered water bills are typically higher in the summer and lower in the winter. When reviewed over the course of the year, the majority of households on a metered rate find that their metered bill is the same as—or less than—their flat-rate bill.

When will customers be charged a metered rate?

State law required the City to begin billing a metered rate beginning January 1, 2010 for all customers with meters already installed on their property. All customers with meters installed after January 1, 2010 will be billed a metered rate beginning one calendar year after the meter is installed on their property and the customer receives a year of comparative billing data.

What if I think the consumption recorded is inaccurate?

You may call the Department of Utilities at (916) 808-5454 to have a meter reader check your meter function.

How can customers prepare for the transition from flat to metered rates?

Once a meter is installed, customers receive one year of comparative billing data on their Utility Service Bill, demonstrating how their current flat rate compares to what they would have paid on a metered rate. During this period, customers are responsible for paying the flat rate only and can see the impact, if any, metered rates will have on their water bill.

Can I switch to a metered rate early?

If you have a meter installed on your property, you may switch to a metered rate at any time, even before receiving one year of comparative billing data. Compared to the current flat rate system, metered water bills are typically higher in the summer and lower in the winter. When reviewed over the course of the year, the majority of households on a metered rate find that their metered bill is the same as—or less than—their flat-rate bill.

Can the City identify ways that customers can reduce metered water bills?

The City’s Water Conservation team is available to help customers identify water waste and recommend ways to use water more efficiently. Free City services include Water Wise House Calls, rebates for replacing older toilets and clothes washers with high-efficiency models and water efficient landscaping programs. For more information, please call the Water Conservation office at 808-5605.

I have a pool. Is there additional cost to me?

You will be billed for the amount of water you use. With proper maintenance, you should not need to drain and refill your pool. Follow these tips to reduce the amount of water you’ll need to add to your pool: Use a pool cover to prevent evaporation during hot summer months, check for and fix leaks and manually clean pool filters.