When are water bills mailed?
The water department reads all of the town's water meters in July and January and sends out bills in February and August of each year.
What if I need to reach the water department when the office is closed?
If it is not an emergency, call the water department number 508-255-1200 and leave your message on the answering machine. If you have an emergency, contact the Orleans Police Department at 508-255-0117.
They will phone the on-call water department employee who will respond to your emergency as soon as possible.
How do I read my water meter?
Understanding Your Water Meter
Learning to read your water meter can help you discover water leaks, monitor your usage and double check your water bill.
Water meters are typically located in your basement. Call the water department office at (508) 255-1200 for assistance in locating your water meter.
Once you have located your meter, you will notice a glass dial similar to a car’s odometer (example below). The sweep hand measures each gallon of water up to 10 gallons. The first number on the right is called the “stationary zero.” It represents the ones place. There is no need for it to move because the sweep hand does its work. The movable dials on the left of the “stationary zero” represent the 10’s, 100’s and 1,000’s of gallons and so on.
The meter below reads 740, 620 gallons:
Locating Leaks
Now that you know how to read your water meter, use this knowledge to locate leaks in your home:
- First, turn off all water inside and outside your home
- Then, read your water meter. Mark where the pointer hand is on your meter
- Wait for an extended period of time. Some people do this while they are sleeping or at work.
- Re-Read the meter again, as well as look at the location of the pointer hand. If there is any change, you have a leak in your house
Monitoring Household Appliances
To find out how much water (and money) is required to run your sprinkler system, dishwasher, shower, washing machine and so on:
- First, turn off all water inside and outside your home
- Then, read the meter
- Turn on the appliance you wish to monitor
- When the appliance has shut off, read the meter again
- Subtract the old reading from the new reading to discover how much water was used
| 
