water meters or not

What is peoples experience with water meters. Are they a good thing or something to avoid if can?
The postman

I don't think you can avoid it. I paid MUCH more when I didn't have a meter. Now I pay 1/3 of what I used to pay when they based it on the number of bathrooms. I'd rather pay for what I use.

I know several people who acquired water meters after never having one before. All of them paid much less with a meter then they ever had before. Embrace the meter, Postman.

I suspect I would pay far less with a meter too. Having a pool they think we use a lot of water when in fact we don't. We currently pay about $450 USD per year on the flat rate system.

I take pictures of the meter every 60 days to confirm the reading to the billing amount. Just yesterday I was billed for 457 M^3 vs the actual 14! Check and check again...

457 cubic meters is 457,000 liters how could they think anyone could use that in 60 days??

This may sound funny but my neighbor who has a meter has a problem with kids turning off the blue water valve and you don't know until the tanks run dry. So put the shut off valve away from temptation if you can. I don't have a meter and my shutoff valve is underground in a box and I never have this problem. Save yourself the frustration if you get a meter and hide the valve.

Z

My experience with water meters has been positive. Even with paying for the meter this year I still am not even close to what I used to pay based on 3 bathrooms. I paid for the first 150 liters in advance at the beginning of the year and there has been no problem with doing that. I do look at the meter every now and again.

I have a water meter installed, pay way more now and found out they are not obligatory and was told to have them removed.

I paid less, they are raising the amount for people who dont have meters based upon property size, bathrooms and gardens. Even though my property has 6 bathrooms, I paid about half with a meter as I dont have 50 people living in my property.

We had a meter on the coast and paid way less than what was "guesstimated".
It helps if you have an idea how much water you use to begin with. I would respectfully suggest, Brigitte, that you have a water leak somewhere. Your property is older and it would be hell to find the leak but that is my suspicion.

There are plastic meters and brass meters...the former fail at about the three year mark and can also have a problem with condensation which makes it hard to read the numbers. Started with plastic and ended with brass.

Now I don't even have one but I will always practice water conservation.

CanuckBob wrote:457 cubic meters is 457,000 liters how could they think anyone could use that in 60 days??

The key word is "think"...seems to be a rare commodity these days!

The brass water meters that we had in Mazatlan almost always had to be locked up as they were being stolen for the metal....haven't heard of those sorts of problems here, thank goodness.

We have 2 lots one wth a house where we do not live 6 months of the year and the other with the garden and the pool. I pay way more, the water company advise me to go without a meter.. How can I pay ore than before when we are not living in the house 6 months of the year and I do pay more for the house alone than before, something is wrong but this is my story for the meters..

Yep, that's why I think I would pay a lot less with a meter.

That is what I thought and I am paying way more and I am not even at home.

Thanks for the info. Went to SIMAPA and going with the meter. The new rate book come out mid Dec.
Bill

What is the brand/make of the water meter that SIMAPA is currently selling/instsalling and how much are they charging for them?? Is it a plastic body meter??

Yes it was a plastic body meter as the brass ones seem to be redirected to salvage yards. The meter was 100 pesos and I was charged 400 pesos for installation by SIMAPA in San Antonio.
Bill

Sorry the meter was 1100 pesos not 100. Must be my keyboard.
Bill

I wasn't charged anything for installation in Chapala. The cost of the meter was 1100 pesos. No idea of the make but it is plastic.

Will the meters improve the quality of the water so the filtration system cost is lowered? Jaja

Just to give you an idea of cost, I have seen a couple of new meters that the Chapala SIMAPA guys have recently installed and they are using a meter from a local manufacturer in Guadalajara - ADCCOM. Their website lists the 1/2" plastic multiport meter (MX4 series) at $28 US and the 3/4" version at $42 US. The bronze versions are more expensive. The Ajijic office of SIMAPA told me yesterday that they are charging $1500 MX for a new meter install including parts and labor.

SunshineyDay wrote:Will the meters improve the quality of the water so the filtration system cost is lowered? Jaja

No but since I put a cheap pleated filter before the tanks and such my expensive block carbon filters last about twice as long. I did clean all the underground and above ground tanks in addition to adding the cheap filter. After all that work found out all the contamination was coming from the pipes in the street. Yuck. Went from four sets of expensive filters a year to a little more than two. I do open the cheap filter once a month and flush it out and use it two or three months before replacing. Its my understanding that some houses have sand filters but I have never seen one. When I cleaned out the 3000 gallon underground tank it had six inches of crap on the bottom. Yuck again.
Very happy now especially after adding water softener.

Z