A person has a lot to think about when building an accessory dwelling unit, putting an addition on their home, or even adding an irrigation or fire suppression system to their property. One thing Clark Public utility customers shouldn’t overlook is determining the correct size water meter of their property’s needs.
Water meters do more than just measure how much water a home or business uses; they also have a direct influence over the volume of water a property can receive at any given time.
“Knowing whether you’ll need to update the meter for your property is similar to knowing whether you need a garden hose or a fire hose for a given project,” said Clark Public Utilities Water Operations Manager Andrew Holmes. “Most of us can do everything we need with the smaller one. But if you know you’re going to have sustained periods of high demand, you may need to scale up.”
On the Clark Public Utilities water system, most customers are on a 5/8-inch water meter, which provides enough flow to the average family home. Larger homes or additions of an ADU or larger irrigation system may require moving up to a larger 3/4-inch meter. Either size can be incorporated into the utility’s water system without issue.
Holmes said the average person likely won’t be the one to determine the size of the water meter they need. That’s done by a builder, plumber or their engineer.
“Those calls come from specialty contractors who may be building a custom home, a plumber expanding the number of connections on the property, and also water engineers planning a system for a business or other large-scale customer, who are trained to get it right,” he said. “The utility doesn’t advise anyone on meter sizes, but once they select one we will maintain it for the lifetime of that connection.”
All customers are required to pay a system development fee upfront, which is an investment to offset their impact on the system in proportion to the size of their meter. The larger the meter the greater the impact and the larger the charge. Over time, customers pay to maintain the system via the basic monthly charge and their usage rates.
Generally speaking, the larger the meter, the greater volume of water able to travel through the system, but the location of customer’s property and the area’s water pressure can make things a little complicated.
Water utilities work hard to equalize pressure across the system, but physics is physics. For example, water pressure will likely be lower on top of a hill than it is at the bottom of a hill. So, two houses of equal size that require similar water volumes may need different sized meters to meet their needs. A house on the hill will possibly need a larger meter to counterbalance its relatively weak water pressure, whereas the house on the bottom will be fine with a small meter.
So what should a person do if they’re building a new house or expanding their plumbing?
“Talk to a professional,” Holmes said. “We’re here to deliver outstanding service, but you want to be sure you have the right connection.”
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98688.
