Keeping areas clear for water meter readers
From snakes and bees to trees and garden beds, TasWater’s meter readers face a number of hazards
when they come out to take readings at properties throughout the year.
As the people on the ground customers see, TasWater is shining the light on meter readers through a new social media campaign.
TasWater Meter Reading Coordinator Heath Johnson encourages property owners to ensure their water meters are kept clear, as it can help mitigate these hazards.
“Our meter readers can come into contact with a range of different hazards each time they do a read,” he said.
“Spring is when we are more commonly dealing with snakes in the meter boxes, while in autumn bees and wasps are a big nuisance.
“We encourage property owners to help us out by ensuring their water meters are kept clear, so no bushes or flowers are growing over the meters.
“This is not only to ensure we can easily access them but also results in less bees or wasps in the area.”
Although water meters are installed to be read by TasWater, knowing where your meter is situated is also useful for our customers.
“We encourage our customers to find where their water meter is in on their properties, so in the event of an emergency, such as a broken pipe inside the home, you will be able to shut down the supply of water quickly and efficiently potentially averting serious damage,” Mr Johnson said.
“This will also allow for customers to check their own usage and even query their bill if needed.
“We would also like to remind customers to inform us of any meter issues they might have, for example broken lids, so we can ensure they remain safe not just for our staff but for customers too.”
While TasWater is working to install more water meters that can be remotely read, it will take about
15 years to renew the entire state’s fleet which consists of more than 218,000 meters.
“Having clear and direct access to meters will reduce the number of estimations we are required to do when we cannot collect an actual read,” Mr Johnson said.
