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My Water Use

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1. What is this online program for reading my meter?

Customers can now keep an eye on daily water use online. There is a 24 hour delay, but you can see hourly, daily, and monthly water use in a table and a bar graph format. All you will need is your account number and address number.

2. How do I access my water use online?

From our website: www.padredam.org, click on ‘My Water Use’ and type in your 10-digit Padre Dam account number and your address number. Once you are logged in:
• Select the period of time you would like to see from the drop down menu.
• Click ‘Create Graph’.
• Your data will come up for you to review.
• To change the time period, go back to the top and select a new period and click ‘Create Graph’.

3. What benefits do I get by looking at the new graph of my water use?

The new online system can show hourly, daily and monthly water use. If you use the hourly option you can see how much water is used when you irrigate, do laundry or take a shower. The graph will help you understand when you are using water and help identify areas you could find savings.

4. Can meter reads be hacked to change my bill?

No. The reporting system is a closed system. If something were to happen to the electronic system we can send someone out to read your meter manually.

5. How can I use this system to estimate my next water bill?

Once you are logged into 'My Water Use', follow these steps.
1. Select From Last Read from the menu next to the number 1. Then click Create Graph. This shows you the usage so far for the current billing. The third bullet point above the bar graph will show your use in HCF. Note this number.
2. Now go to the top right corner of the page and click on Bill Calculator.
3. Go to Choose a Billing Period and select the billing period that includes today's date.
4. Enter the number from step 1 as your units used in this period Click on Click to Calculate.
5. The page now shows what your water charges would be if you used no more water in the current billing period. Add what you estimate you will use during the rest of the billing period to get the total estimate of water charges for the current billing period. For example, if you are one month into the billing period and you have used 27 units, if you think you will use about the same water next month then double your use. 27 units for one month x 2 (there are roughly two months in a billing period) = 54 units estimated for the billing period. Reenter this estimate in the box "Units You Expect to Use" and click on "Click to Calculate".

****Please note when estimating bills with the bill calculator if sewer charges apply to your bill they will not be included in the estimate****

6. Why does the graph show use when I wasn't using any water?

The online system helps customers be sure water use shows “zero” when you are not using water. If the graph is showing water use during a time you know the water was off, this may indicate you have a leak or water has been left on. Because our new system can show you water use on an hourly basis it can help you discover leaks much sooner than when you receive your next bill.

7. Why aren't readings showing everyday?

Your water meter records water use and does not rely on the radio to function. The attached radio will record reads from the meter on an hourly basis and transmit the data to Padre Dam. There are various reasons why your radio may not be reporting a read for a given day. Some reasons include:
• Regular maintenance of the electronic technology reporting reads to Padre Dam.
• The radio device reporting data may have had a malfunction and was unable to report at a given time.
• The radio transmitter may have become unplugged from the meter.

If any days are available during the period you chose, those will be shown. If you choose a period where NO data was available, the phrase “No meter data available” will appear, in red, in the upper left hand corner of the page.

If you are trying to track your use an alternative method is to take manual reads at the meter. Physically read your meter daily about the same time each day. Write down all the numbers you see and subtract the current days read from the previous days read to determine how much water was used that one day. Continue to track it as long as you need.

8. Why do I show several days with zero use and then a huge jump?

Temporary signal interruptions, regular maintenance or technical issues can cause your radio to temporarily stop reporting use to the system. However, this does not interrupt the functioning of your water meter. When the system restores the signal and begins reporting again, all of the use from the no read period is reported in one cumulative bar on your graph. This will be noted as an orange bar on the bar graph.

9. Why does 'My Water Use' data show a Current Bill that I have not received?

This occurs during the week your new bill is being prepared. Billing reads are captured before bills are calculated and mailed, allowing you to review use on your new billing period prior to receiving your bill. Your new statement should arrive within a week.

10. I didn't use any water during the hour the online graph says I did.

The usage shown on the graph is water that was used during the previous hour. For example, usage shown at 2:00 PM reflects water used sometime between 1pm and 2pm.

11. Some hours on my graph show zero water use, but I know I have a leak.

The online measurements are presented in cubic feet. In order for a leak to register every hour it must be using at least 1 cubic foot (7.48 gallons) each hour. If a leak is smaller than 1 cubic foot per hour it will only show up on the graph once the meter measures 1 cubic foot of use. For example, if your leak is 4 gallons per hour, it may show usage every other hour on your graph.

12. Why does my graph sometimes show negative amounts?

Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information provided is accurate. However, sometimes temporary signal interruptions, or technical issues may cause errors to appear in the online reporting. Your meter is still recording water use and can be verified manually, if needed. If you have any doubt about your online reads, please call Customer Service at 619-258-4600 and we can help you troubleshoot your situation.