June 27th, 2023Protect your water meter this winter

With winter now making itself strongly felt in central Victoria, frosts can damage your water meter and this may freeze the water to your home, or worse – burst your meter, prompting Central Highlands Water Authority to issue some timely advice.

The local water management authority says there are a number of simple ways to protect your water meter: “You can cover your meter with a wooden or foam box, part of a tyre, or simply wrap it in thick cloth like old carpet, a towel, a jumper or a hessian sack.”

CHW also suggests: “If you’re a green thumb, growing small, soft shrubs around your meter is another way to protect it from frost. Just make sure the plants don’t prevent access to the meter.” 
 
If your meter freezes it can take up to three hours to thaw out. To speed up the process you can pour lukewarm water over the meter. Do not use boiling water as this can cause the meter to burst, leaving you without water until our maintenance team can refit the service.
 
CHW says that if a number of properties experience meter freezes, there may be a wait before it can assist. “The best thing to do is to keep your water meter snug over the winter months to eliminate freezing.”
 
But those who do need to report a fault or outage, can call CHW’s free call 24-hour service on 1800 061 514.