Keeping Tabs on Water Consumption: How OUC’s Water Metering Department Tracks Millions of Gallons per Day

Every day, more than 156,000 OUC water customers rely on water for everything from cooking dinner and taking showers to irrigating landscaping and filling resort swimming pools. Behind every gallon used is a team that works quietly in the background: OUC’s Water Metering team, the group responsible for accurately tracking millions of gallons of water consumption every single day.

Their work doesn’t just support monthly customer bills. It helps customers better understand their water usage, identify leaks early and ensure OUC’s water system continues operating efficiently as Central Florida grows.

“We capture all of that consumption, so it’s our responsibility to make sure these services remain reliable through continual maintenance,” explained Charlie Wright, Meter Services Director.  “We must also ensure that all new services are installed on time. Our job is to accurately measure water use while supporting both our existing customers and future growth.”

Not long ago, meter reading meant manual checks and delayed detection if something went wrong.

In recent years, the department has completed a large-scale modernization project, transitioning to a fully cellular-based metering system that tracks water usage every 15 minutes. Having access to more detailed data allows customers to make more informed decisions about their water usage.

Leak Detection, Faster Than Customers Notice

The meters can also identify leaks much faster and detect irrigation problems, which helps customers understand spikes in their water bills. Information from the meters is passed along to different OUC departments to enable accurate billing and support conservation efforts. In some cases, OUC can even determine when irrigation is running too often or at the wrong times of day.

Sometimes, the issue is simple: a power outage or failed battery resets an irrigation controller, causing sprinklers to run too long, or at the wrong time. Before customers ever see an unexpected bill, OUC can quickly spot the anomaly and help pinpoint the problem. That means no surprise high water bills.

Serving Central Florida’s Biggest Water Users

The department’s responsibilities go beyond homes and neighborhoods. Water Metering manages some of OUC’s largest and most complex customers. Large commercial meters serve places like:

• Airports
• Hotels and resorts
• Apartment complexes
• Manufacturing facilities
• Shopping centers
• Theme parks

Nearly two-thirds of OUC’s water revenue comes from large commercial meters, which makes regular testing and maintenance essential. Precision matters: even small inaccuracies can affect thousands of gallons.

Keeping Up with Growth Across Central Florida

Development across the region keeps the department busy. Supervisors coordinate with builders to ensure meters are ready as new projects come online – from subdivisions to office buildings to retail centers.

“Each week, we’re inspecting five, six, seven builders or projects,” said Jose Rodriguez, Water Metering Supervisor. “As they’re deemed ready, we start installing meters so we can capture their consumption.”

And it’s not just permanent meters. The team also manages nearly 300 portable meters —temporary meters used at construction sites, community events, city and county vehicles, and even marathons to provide drinking water.

Protecting One of the Community’s Most Valuable Resources

Whether installing meters in a new neighborhood to providing meter readings that help other OUC teams troubleshoot a homeowner’s hidden leak, OUC’s Water Metering team plays a critical – but often invisible – role in delivering reliable water service every day. Their work ensures customers are billed accurately, supports the region’s rapid growth and protects one of Central Florida’s most valuable resources.

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Exploring OUC’s Water Teams

Water Metering works closely with other teams at OUC to serve customers across its 200-square-mile water service territory. As part of this six-part series, you’ll learn about Water Production, which pulls water from the Floridan Aquifer; Water Distribution, Water Distribution, which maintains mains, service lines and critical infrastructure; Water Operations, which provides emergency response to leaks and other issues, as well as proactive maintenance; Water Engineering, which designs, plans and manages new infrastructure and systems; Water Metering, which collects data for customer billing and system monitoring; and the Water Quality Lab, which tests water at multiple points in the system.