As winter approaches, there are quite a few things we already miss about summer- the lush green lawns, the beautifully colored flowers, the bountiful vegetable gardens, the insanely high water bills. Well, maybe not the last one. It’s not too early to start planning for SOME of these things next spring though, and we can help you say buh-bye to the sky-high summer water bills. We can install a secondary, or "maintenance", water meter for you, which can save up to 50% on your yearly water bills & will help you to better track exactly how much water you’re using for “non-essential” outdoor watering.
Anyone not using a well on their property has seen the water meter in
their house or basement. They’re what our municipalities use to track our water usage and figure out what to charge us.
They don’t just charge us for the water coming in though, they charge us for the water (they assume is) going out and going back into the water system to be cleaned, sanitized & turned back into potable water. However, when we’re using water outside of our homes and businesses, it doesn’t go back into the system, it goes into our lawns, plants & pools. With only the one standard water meter though, the city can’t track what the water was used for, so they just have to assume it all went back into the system & you get charged the sewer & waste-water fees on everything. This can be up to half of your bill!
This is where we come in! While your system is shut down for the season anyways, we can install a secondary water meter that attaches only to your outdoor water supply- mainly sprinklers & hose spigots. This meter will track only the water that you use outside for watering plants, irrigating lawns, filling pools, washing cars, etc. and your city will not charge you sewer fees on it. On average, half of the water we use during the spring & summer months is used outdoors, so that can add up.
Having a second meter installed is an easy, two-step process. First- call your city’s water department to purchase the new meter & secure any necessary permits. A few cities still do not allow second meters, but most do. Click here for a list of the cities we know allow them (we will install them in any city within our service area where they’re allowed!). Check with your own city to be sure, though. Then, after you have the meter, just give us a call so we can come out & install it. It’s as easy as that!
At Lakeside Lighting & Irrigation, it’s our goal to continue to go above & beyond for our customers, no matter the season. So when we see cost-saving measures our clients can take, we pass them along. We will make the installation as simple as possible for you. If you have any questions, or are interested in getting the process started, give us a call today at 586.445.2100!