Water meter
In plumbing
A device that records how much water passes into a property so the bill can be based on use. It is often fitted in a chamber near the boundary, sometimes indoors, and it can help find a leak: with every tap and appliance off, a meter that keeps turning means water is escaping somewhere.
Using Water meter in a plumbing system
Updated
A distinction worth remembering
A supply serves the building; a service valve controls a smaller part of the system. Finding one valve does not tell you what every connected outlet does. Learn the layout, recognise shared supplies and ask the water supplier about equipment outside your responsibility.
Questions to take further
- Will closing one valve always turn off every tap?
- No. Stored supplies, separate feeds and shared arrangements can change what remains available. Identify the system and confirm the effect rather than relying on the valve's location alone.
Sources
- Skills England: plumbing and domestic heating technician — The systems, materials, planning and customer responsibilities in the England occupational standard.
Where Water meter fits in the learning path
The Cold Water Basics section covers these topics:
- The Incoming Water Supply
- Cold Water Storage and Backflow
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- The Incoming Water SupplyCold Water Basics
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The pipe that carries mains water from the boundary of a property, usually from the outside stop tap, into the building. The property owner is normally responsible for it, and the water supplier for the pipe from the main up to the boundary. Who looks after which length can differ by nation and supplier, so it is worth checking locally.
Supply pipe
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Supply pipe
The pipe that carries mains water from the boundary of a property, usually from the outside stop tap, into the building. The property owner is normally responsible for it, and the water supplier for the pipe from the main up to the boundary. Who looks after which length can differ by nation and supplier, so it is worth checking locally.
Read the Supply pipe entryStop tap — Stopcock
A valve that shuts off the cold water supply to a building or to part of it. Most homes have an internal stop tap where the supply pipe comes in, often under the kitchen sink, and another outside near the boundary, usually under a small cover. Knowing where the internal one is, and checking that it turns, is the first step in dealing with a leak.
Read the Stop tap entryBefore you start: some plumbing work is regulated or notifiable
Some water fittings work needs notice to, and consent from, the water supplier before it starts. Check the rules where you live.
Gas work is for competent workers covered by a Gas Safe registered business in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate gas regulations. Do not work on gas pipes or appliances yourself.
In England, installing an unvented hot-water system over 15 litres is notifiable building work: use a competent installer registered with a competent-person scheme, or tell building control before work starts. Leave this work to a suitably skilled person.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own water and building rules; check which apply before work starts. Electrical connections belong with an electrician.
This guide does not qualify you or make you competent, approved or registered for plumbing, gas or unvented work.
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