Meter Reading

The City of Tampa Water Department continued customer service improvements by transitioning to monthly water meter reading. During the summer of 2011, a pilot program of monthly meter reading was implemented in three sections of the service area. Starting in January 2012, two additional meter reading cycles were converted each month, until all 21 billing cycles were modified to a monthly meter reading schedule.

Customers received an insert in their City of Tampa Utilities bill explaining the change when they started on monthly readings.  In October 2012, we completed the transition of all customers to a  monthly meter reading schedule.

• Customers receive bills that reflect actual usage each month. The practice of estimating water consumption every other month is no long used;

• A more timely accounting of water use will allow customers to make usage adjustments to avoid higher water bills;

• The ability to discover and promptly repair service line, plumbing or irrigation system leaks sooner, to reduce the impact of high water bills caused by leaks; and

• Improved consumer confidence.

In November 2011, Tampa City Council approved a contract to provide services to enable a system-wide implementation of monthly readings. Monthly meter reads were recommended by a multi-departmental Water Task Force that convened earlier in 2011. View the Water Task Force Report in a PDF (16 MB) format.

More information on how water services are charged and billed by the City of Tampa is available in Frequently Asked Questions.