Unit 8: Our

Water
Footprints

Reading water
meters
activity guide
and worksheet
Developed

by

This project was funded by the Department of

Sustainability and Environment.

Unit 8: Our Water Footprints

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. A copy of this licence is available at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/au/ or by writing to info@creativecommons.org.au. However logos are
protected by copyright.

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Reading water meters activity guide and

worksheet
Estimated duration: 30-50 minutes
Aim

To understand the water metering process

To calculate average daily water consumption rates at home
or school

Outcome
By the end of this class, students will be able to:
use practical and numerical skills in reading water meters
use numerical skills in calculating average daily consumption
rates
make inferences, draw conclusions and make
recommendations based on the daily averages

Resources

Student Worksheet: Reading Water Meters

A water meter students can look at, if possible

Activity Description
This activity will be best if you can show students a water meter. Try
to find where the water meters are at the school or college and take
them to it.
1. Ask students what the units of measurement are for volume, for
example when they are buying drinks. It is also interesting to show
them how 1 litre is equivalent to 1 cubic decimetre (that is a cube of
10cm x 10cm x 10cm).
2. Ask them if they know what the prefix kilo stands for, as in
kilometre.
3. Hand out the worksheet. There are a number of examples of
water meter readings on it. Ask students to read the figures and
convert them into kilolitres (kL) and litres (L).
4. Students may need help with the interpretive questions. The
water consumption is higher than the recommended amount. It may
be higher on Saturday for various reasons. It may be household
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washing day, people may play sport all day and need additional
showers before going out or it may be the only day that it is possible
to water the garden. Students are then asked to make
recommendations to reduce consumption. For example, is it really
necessary to have two showers? Could they be shorter? Is the
washing machine water setting appropriate for the size of the load?
Could more use be made of grey water to water the garden?
5. Have students find a water meter they can check regularly over a
period of at least a couple of days. Get students to record the
figures, and then answer the questions in the worksheet about this.

Student Roles and Responsibilities

Participate in agreed tasks
Contribute to class discussions
Complete activities and worksheets
Work cooperatively with others
Participate in survey and collect data
Identify other sources of information
Seek teacher assistance and support when needed

Level of Teacher Support

Facilitate discussion
Organise materials and equipment
Provide encouragement
Introduce tasks and activities
Provide assistance when requested
Teach or reinforce statistical or graphical skills and understanding
Provide examples of mind maps to assist brainstorming
Advise on how to identify sources of information
Remind students about timelines and commitments

Assessment
To use these learning activities as assessment tasks, collect
evidence such as:
Teacher checklist and observation
Student research notes and report
Copies of student materials and worksheets
Student notes
Teacher checklist for class discussions

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Unit 8: Our Water Footprints

Reading water meters worksheet

Every house has a water meter that
records the water being consumed in
litres (L). The school or educational
institution you are in has one too. They
are usually found somewhere in the front
garden. Each three months someone from
the local water company reads your meter
to find out how many litres you have used
and then issues you with a bill. They also
issue you with standard changes for other
services like the sewage.
To read your water meter, start from left
to right. For example, the figures in the
diagram to the left and the example below
read 23,412L. The figures in black are the
number of kilolitres (kL). 1000L = 1 kL.
The three numbers in red are the number
Example. This meter reads 23,412L or 23.412 kL.

0 0

3 4

1 2

Write the litres and kL for each of the following meter

readings:
1.

0 3

1 0

2 8

6 0

9 7

3 0

2.

You can check your daily use by comparing the figures at the
same time each day. For example, if you reading was
61,734L on Saturday 10am and 62,654L on Sunday 10am you
could calculate the daily use
62,654 61,734 = 920L. How many 9L buckets is that?
You can estimate the approximate consumption per person
by dividing the total volume consumed by the number of
people in the house. If there are four people living in the
house, 920/4 = 230L per person. A figure of 230L per day is
well above the government target of 155L per day.
Q. What reasons can you think of to explain the high
consumption on that day? (Clue: Saturday).
Q. How could you use the meter to prove there was a water
leak in the pipes?
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Unit 8: Our Water Footprints

Reading water meters worksheet, p.2

Activity: Chart the daily consumption of water at

home or school
1. Find the water meter and check that you can read the
numbers.
2. Decide on a time each day that you can measure the
water meter. Try to build it into your routine. For
example, on your way to school each day (home) or just
before recess or lunch (school).
3. Record the figures in a table. You can use this one or
design your own.

Day/Dat
e

Time

Meter
Reading

Consumption (L)
(e.g. Day 2
Day 1)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Total Daily Consumption
You can calculate an average daily use by adding the total
consumption and then dividing by the number of days.
For example, if you used a total of 7000L over a 10 day
period, that would be an average of 700L per day. 7000/10 =
700L/day.
Q. Calculate the average consumption for that house if 4
people lived there. How are the people in that house doing
relative to the 155L per day recommendation?

Q. What if it was a 2 person household? What

recommendations could you give them to help them get on
track?

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Option: Create a line graph or bar graph to represent your

daily water consumption.

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