Water metering and reporting

If you are a water licence or water resource works approval holder, you may be required to meter your water usage and provide us with the meter readings.

Your responsibilities - water metering and use

The conditions of your water licence or water resource works approval outline your metering and meter reading obligations. If you are required to meter, your responsibilities include:

• Installing and maintaining your meters in accordance with the South Australian Licensed Water Use Meter Specification.
• Reading and submitting your meter reads on time.
• Ensuring your metering equipment is not faulty.
• Actively monitoring your water use against your allocation by reading your meter.
• Not taking in excess of your water allocation at any time (including undertaking water trade if necessary).

To assist you in understanding your metering obligations, please refer to the following:

• The legislation and policies on water metering
• Frequently Asked Questions: South Australia's Metering Framework
• User Guide to the South Australian Licensed Water Use Meter Specification
• Reports on water metering in South Australia

Submit your meter read

To provide a meter read, submit an online meter reading form. Alternatively, if you have a mywater login and user profile, you can use mywater to lodge your meter read. For instructions on how to submit a meter read in mywater, please refer to this video.

To submit a meter reading you will need:

• your licence number or works approval number(s)
• the name of the licence or works approval holder (exactly as it is on each licence)
  note that if you are using the meter reading form, you need only enter one name on the form, even if you have more than one name recorded on your licence.
• meter serial number(s) for each meter (see the 'how to read your meter' fact sheet to help identify the serial number)
• it may be useful to take a photo of your meter dial and reading when you do your meter read to refer to when submitting your reading. This photograph can also be uploaded to the mywater meter reading form.

You will not receive a water usage advice after submitting your meter read(s). If you require information about your licence or account balance, please contact your regional water licensing office. 

Please call your regional water licensing office if you are unable to use the online form.

How often do I need to do a meter read?

Check your licence or works approval to see how often you need to submit a self-read. It will be at least annually.

Annual meter reads: If your licence requires an annual read, read your meter between 1-14 July and submit by 31 July each year.

Quarterly meter reads: If your licence requires a quarterly read, read your meter and submit on the following dates each year:

• 1-14 October and submit read by end of October
• 1-14 January and submit read by end of January
• 1-14 April and submit read by end of April
• 1-14 July (end of year read) and submit read by end of July.

How to notify us of work or changes to your meter

If you are required to meter your water usage (as per the conditions of your licence), you must tell us when you have:

• a faulty meter
• installed and validated a meter
• revalidated a meter
• repaired a meter
• tested a meter
• relocated or permanently removed a meter.

The Meter Notification Form can be used to notify us of the above events/activities. The Meter Notification Form (combined with the validation certificate) can be found here: PDF version and Word version. Alternatively, you may notify us using the mywater customer portal.

Faulty meters

If your meter is faulty or has stopped working, you are required to notify DEW as soon as possible. You must then undertake to have your meter repaired or replaced within 28 days and notify DEW using the Meter Notification Form (PDF version and Word version).

If your meter is faulty and therefore meter readings are unreliable, other methods will be used to determine your water usage, as determined under the ‘Notice of Assessment of Quantity of Water Taken when Meter Readings are Not Used’.

Validation certificates

Meter installations must be validated by a certified meter installer and validator (certified person) who must complete and provide a validation certificate within 28 days of the installation of a meter.

When a certified person performs a validation on a new or replacement meter, they are required to install security seals on the meter installation. The type of seal to be used must be a South Australian Government badged security seal purchased through Irrigation Australian Limited.

Validation certificates can be found here: PDF version and Word version.

Further information for certified persons is available at Fact sheet for Validators.

Metering exemptions

The South Australian Licensed Water Use Metering Policy requires all licensed water use to be metered, resulting in approximately 95% of water take being metered. However, in limited low risk circumstances, exemption from metering may be granted (for example stock and domestic water use or to permit water use from multiple sources to be recorded through a single meter).

Metering exemptions or flexibility can be granted upon application by the licence holder(s). Where metering exemptions or flexibility applies, further details can be found in the meter implementation plan for that area (meter implementation plans are listed below under ‘further information’). In instances where the requirement to meter is exempt, in accordance with the ‘Notice of Assessment of Quantity of Water Taken when Meter Readings are Not Used’, the volume of water deemed to have been used each year is equivalent to the allocation (e.g., if the allocation is 50ML, then 50ML is deemed used) which has implications for carry over and allocation trades/transfers.

Further information

• Fact sheet for Validators
• Fact sheet: Overview of National Metering Standards
• Water metering policies and legislation
• How to read your meter fact sheet

Meter implementation plans

• River Murray Prescribed Watercourse
• Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area
• Western Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area
• Barossa Prescribed Water Resources Area
• Clare Valley Prescribed Water Resources Area
• Marne Saunders Prescribed Water Resources Area
• Mallee and Peake, Roby and Sherlock Prescribed Wells Areas
• Southern Basins and Musgrave Prescribed Wells Areas
• Central Adelaide Prescribed Wells Area

Contact us

Please contact the appropriate water licensing office if you have any further questions regarding your metering obligations.