Turn off all water in your house. Look at the red slow flow indicator on the face of the meter register, it should not be moving. IF it is moving there are possibilities of a leak.
For prompt attention to your problem, call the Field Operations office at 401-5550 and you will be greeted by one of our specialized technicians that will process a work order so a crew can be dispatched.
Most homes have a customer gate valve which is typically located just beyond the meter between the meter and the house. The valve can be inside the meter box, but is usually outside the box housed by a 4” PVC pipe with a small round lid. This is known as a valve box. If you cannot locate a gate valve or if it is inoperable, you will need to call 401-5550 to have a technician dispatched to your residence to disconnect service on the city side. The city shut off (angle valve) is located inside the meter box immediately before the meter. THIS VALVE IS FOR CITY USE ONLY. Tampering with the valve or meter is a violation of Ordinance #82-18, and can be subject to prosecution.
The numbers line of numbers are on the face of the meter register and are read from left to right.
Contact the Utility Billing office at 401-5300. Our friendly and courteous Utility Accounts Specialists will be available to answer your questions.
Yes. Contact Utility Billing at 512-401-5300 to request a meter test and discuss any fees that may be charged to your account for this procedure.
The wires in your meter box are part of the City’s Radio Read Program. They connect meter servicing your home to the Mobil Transceiver Unit (MXU). The MXU communicates with the computer in the vehicle designated to pick up readings from your neighborhood.
Is the City of Cedar Park responsible for the repair of my service?
The Water Distribution Department is responsible for maintaining service up to and including the curb stop which is generally located near the property line. Call Field Operations for repair service at 512-401-5550 or e-mail
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us. Any repair required from the backside of the meter box (lines leading into a building) is the responsibility of the owner.
Why does the City of Cedar Park not repair the lines running to the building?
Water and wastewater service lines located on private property are privately owned; therefore, once the water leaves the meter, it becomes the customer’s responsibility.
How do I locate water mains and wastewater mains if I am doing excavation?
You are responsible to call DIG-TESS at 1-800-344-8377 at least 5 business days prior to digging. DIG-TESS will contact the City of Cedar Park to locate and mark water and wastewater lines per your request. Remember: “CALL BEFORE YOU DIG!”
What is the water pressure to my property?
The water pressure varies throughout the city and depends on a number of factors. Contact Field Operations at 512-401-5550 or e-mail
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us for questions or concerns regarding water pressure.
How do I have my water tuned off in the event of an emergency?
Call the Field Operations at 512-401-5550 during normal business hours, and a technician will be dispatched to assist you. In the event of an after-hours emergency or during scheduled holidays, contact 512-260-4600 Ext. 0, and Dispatch will assist.
My water just started looking milky and dirty, what is going on?
Some products which normally adhere to the inside of water mains occasionally break free when a fire hydrant is opened or a valve is operated. These products may cause water to appear cloudy or dirty. Water main repair or construction can also cause this temporary inconvenience. If the condition occurs at your address, allow the cold-water tap to run (approximately 5 minutes) until the water clears. If the condition persists, call Field Operations at 512-401-5550 or e-mail
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us, and a technician will be dispatched.
What causes the tiny air bubbles in my water?
Air bubbles occur most often when water is very cold and then warms up while in the property’s interior piping. Colder water has the capacity to hold more air than warmer water. Therefore, air is released from the solution in the form of tiny bubbles as the water warms. At times, the water may be densely filled with air and appear cloudy. An easy way to check the cause of cloudiness is to fill a clear glass with the water, set it aside, and watch for changes. If the cloud rises from bottom to top, air is escaping as the water warms. If the cloud sinks from the top to the bottom, you may have a sediment problem. If the condition persists, call the Field Operations at 512-401-5550 or e-mail
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us, and a technician will be dispatched.
Who do I report potholes to?
Please report potholes inside of the city limits to Field Operations at 512-401-5550 or by e-mail at
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us.
Is the City of Cedar Park responsible for streetlights?
Through a contract with the CITY OF CEDAR PARK, Pedernales Electric Cooperative maintains the vast majority of streetlights within the city limits
– depending upon the location. If a streetlight malfunctions, contact Field Operations at 512-401-5550 or e-mail
fieldops1@cedarparktx.us
. We will report it to reported
to P.E.C. The repair time is approximately 7-10 business days.
Note: Streetlights located in MUD districts are maintained by parties other than the City.
Does the City of Cedar Park re-pave all the streets?
City crews do repave some streets while contractors are hired for the larger repaving jobs.
A meter is installed in the water service line of a home to accurately measure the water being consumed. The accuracy of the meter is guaranteed by its manufacturer when it is purchased by the water utility. Limits on the accuracy are set by the standards established for the water industry by the American Water Works Association. These standards assure the homeowner that all water used will be accurately and fairly measured.
Situations do arise in which the homeowner questions the accuracy of the water meter. This may occur when an old, worn meter is replaced by a new one. The higher accuracy level will result in a larger water bill. A leak in the customer’s plumbing system or an unusual usage of water may also result in an abnormally high water bill. In these situations, the customer often asks the utility company if the meter could be running fast or over-registering. The answer is, “No”. A water meter cannot over-register. Perhaps a brief explanation of the construction and operation of the water meter will serve to verify the truth of this statement.
In a water meter, the motion of the measuring element, called an impeller/fan, is transmitted by a system of magnets and gears to the sealed register which records the flow in convenient units of measurement such as gallons. The register reading is thus dependent on the number of operations of the impeller. The reading is a true measure of usage only when the meter has been properly calibrated. For a new meter, this calibration takes place at the manufacturer’s plant and is normally checked by the utility company when it receives the meter. For a repaired meter, the utility company checks the calibration by running an accuracy test on an accurately calibrated test bench in their meter shop. After proper calibration, the meter will continue to register accurately only so long as the impeller continues to make the correct number of cycles for each gallon of water passed through the meter. If any conditions should develop whereby the impeller is compelled to make other than required number of cycles per unit volume, the meter reading will not be accurate. Under ordinary working conditions, a number of factors may cause inaccurate registration, even after a comparatively short interval. However, in every case, these factors will cause the meter to under-register and in no case will the meter be caused to over-register. Examples:
Excessive Wear – Excessive wear of the moving parts of the water meter may be caused by the over-speeding because the meter being used is too small for the water demand at the residence. The results of excessive wear of the measuring chamber are slippage and under-registration. Wear causes the clearances between the impeller/fan and its housing to increase, allowing water to slip through un-metered. Excessive wear in the gear train may cause the gears to slip or to bind. In either case, if the meter does not stop entirely, under-registration will result.
§ Temperature Extremes – Water meters are not affected by water temperatures up to 80 degree Fahrenheit. Excessively high temperatures can cause expansion of the measuring impeller creating unusual friction or binding in the chamber. The result is slippage and under-registration or a complete stoppage of the water meter. High temperature water can be caused by a backup from an improperly installed water heater. Quite often the water can be hot enough to cause permanent damage to the internal parts of the meter. Low temperatures have no noticeable effect on the working parts unless the water freezes which will cause damage to the meter. Once again, the meter will either stop completely or will under-register.
§ Corrosion – All the metals used in the construction of the meter are affected by the corrosive action of water, although the action is very, very slow with most waters. Corrosion will cause excessive clearances to develop in the measuring element which will allow water to slip through un-metered, causing the meter to under-register.
§ Materials in Suspension – Foreign materials carried in suspension in the water have a tendency to fill the space between the impeller and the measuring chamber thus affecting registration. All meters are provided with strainers which will retain the larger particles in suspension, but the strainer will soon become clogged if the water is not kept reasonably free from suspended matter. Sand is especially destructive and water utilities take extra care to keep sand from reaching the water meter. Any suspended matter may cause a bind between the measuring element and its chamber causing it to slow down, which, once again, will result in under-registration of the water meter.
Water utilities are well aware of the problems which can occur in their water meters. Maintenance plans are usually followed wherein the water utility will replace a water meter on a predetermined schedule with one which has been calibrated for accurate measurement. The time interval between replacements should be based on local conditions and the amount of consumption. Normally this time period is between 10 to 15 years.
Your water utility company carefully monitors any unusual usage of water. Excessive usage resulting from a leak will normally be brought to the customer’s attention. Abnormally low usage may be an indication to the utility company that the meter in that residence is suffering from one of the problems outlined above and should replace or investigate the problem.
RESIDENTIAL WATER METER OPERATION
Water flows through the inlet/backside of the meter, goes through a strainer, and then goes to the measuring chamber where it will make the impeller/fan move. This fan has a magnetic coupling on the upper side of it so it can transmit the rotations to the drive magnet sealed in the register on top of the meter body. The only possible way for the impeller/fan to move is if water makes it rotate. The rotation of the impeller/fan is determined by the usage being asked by the consumer. The water meter will only register if water flows through it. The typical residential water meter will register down to ¼ gallon per minute but it will register at 97% not so accurate because of the slow flow. The normal operating range is from 1 to 20 gallons per minute and will register at least 99% accurate. A meter will not register faster it will only register slower. The more usage the meter has the slower it will move and keep accuracy of the water usage. The standards are adopted from the AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION ANSI/AWWA standard C708, latest revision. Each meter gets tested before they are shipped out. We as a city will test meters randomly from each box to keep proper quality assurance. We conduct the 3 required tests, low flow ¼ gallon per minute (10 gallon test), medium flow 1 gallon per minute (10 gallon test), and the high flow 15 gallon per minute (100 gallon test). All these tests can be found in the C708 of the AWWA Standards. We can test up to 16 meters at a time in our in-house test bench. Every set of tests takes about 57 minutes; 1st test 40 minutes, 2nd test 10 minutes, 3rd test 6 to 7 minutes.
The SENSUS water meter consists of 3 basic components; Maincase, Measuring chamber and the Sealed Register. A very simple metering device that provides long term service for the community because it is durable and reliable to the customer and the municipal using it to provide water service.