How to Use your Meter to Check for Continuous Flow

• Be sure no water is on inside your home. This includes flushing toilets (leave valve on), ice makers, washing machines, etc.

Examples of meters with antenna on side and in center

• If your meter has an antenna on the side of the meter, place your finger on the fingerprint icon on the right of the meter face to toggle to the screen to check gallons per minute (GPM). If this number is greater than 0.00, there is water flowing through the meter. 

• If your meter has an antenna in the tope center of the meter, check in the bottom left corner to check gallons per minute (GPM). If this number is greater than 0.00, there is water flowing through the meter.

What To Do If You Have Continuous Flow 

We ask that you check your meter box (usually located in your front yard, near the street) for standing water or dripping in the box (on a dry day). If you see signs of a wet meter box, please call the Madison County Water Department (MCWD) first at 256-746-2888. We will generate a work order to have a representative check for an issue on the county side. Once the work order is complete, we will notify you of the findings. If the issue is determined to be on the county side, we will take care of the repairs.

If you do not see water in the meter box, common causes of continuous usage on the customer’s side include:

• a toilet that continuously runs after being flushed or runs periodically without flushing;
• a dripping faucet;
• an open or dripping hose bib or outdoor faucet;
• around the clock watering of new grass, trees, or plantings;
• a deteriorated or poorly connected pipe or service line.

How to Check Your Toilet Tank for Leaks

To check if your toilet tank is leaking, put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, wait about 15 minutes, and look in the bowl. If the food coloring shows up there, the tank is leaking.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) requires backflow prevention devices to be installed on the customer side of the water meter on service lines. This prevents contaminated water from flowing back into the public water supply. MCWD currently maintains the check valves at our meter boxes. If you have any issues or notice water leaking at the check valve, please call (256) 746-2888 and a Water Department representative will repair or replace the check valve. Removal of a check valve is considered tampering and is a violation of State Law. 

What Water Pressure Does the County Provide?

Madison County Water Department maintains at least the minimum required AWWA pressure of 20 psi for our customers. MCWD has higher pressure within water mains in certain areas due to the varying terrain and varying infrastructure of the service area. There may also be fluctuations in pressure during scheduled upgrades or repairs. MCWD encourages all customers to install pressure regulators to maintain more consistent pressures in their plumbing.

If you have concerns with your pressure, please call (256)746-2888 and a Water Department representative can perform a pressure check. There may be a cost associated with requesting a work order.

What is a Pressure Regulator?

Water pressure regulators or pressure-reducing valves (PRV) are compact valves used to reduce high incoming water pressure from the public water main to provide a lower, more consistent water pressure for distribution to your household plumbing and fixtures.

Example of a pressure regulator

Why Should I Have a Pressure Regulator?

Madison County Water has high pressure within water mains in certain areas due to the varying terrain and varying infrastructure of the service area. Maintaining a set pressure in the house, usually around 50 pounds per square inch (psi), may ensure that home piping and appliances operate under a safe and satisfactory pressure. Consult user manuals for your appliance's recommended water pressures. 

Who is Responsible for Maintaining Pressure Regulators?

Given the unique properties and varying needs of each customer’s on-site water system, the customer is responsible for installing and maintaining a PRV on the customer’s side of the meter, preferably as close as possible to the downstream side of the meter to ensure all the customer’s plumbing is protected. PRV's can be purchased at a home improvement or plumbing supply store and can be installed as a do-it-yourself project or by a qualified plumbing contractor. 

What are Some Signs That My Pressure Regulator is Bad?

• Diminishing or fluctuating water pressure
• No water pressure
• Thumping, banging, hammering, or vibrating noises in the pipes
• Higher than normal water pressure, water leaking from faucets, constantly running toilets. 

Unused Wells

Wells that are unused and have been improperly decommissioned (abandoned) pose a serious risk to Alabama’s groundwater quality. Improperly decommissioned wells, which are often left open to the surface, provide a direct conduit for contaminated surface water to enter groundwater. This can contaminate an individual water supply, as well as the water supplies of some or all of the well owners in an area. The threat of contamination is heightened since surface water can bypass the filtering action of the soil and move directly into groundwater through the well. Extremely high levels of biological and/or chemical contamination can be reached very quickly.

Well owners are sometimes tempted to use abandoned well to dispose of sewage and/or other wastes. This is NEVER acceptable. It is literally like pouring waste directly into water which you may be using for your drinking water, and the health risks cannot be overstated.

Should you have an unused well that you would like to have decommissioned or you have a well that you feel has been improperly decommissioned and you would like some advice, the following authorities may be of assistance: ADEM, Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Alabama Soil and Water Conservation District, certified well drillers, and local water departments. Please contact us if we can assist you.

Dry Weather Water Conservation Tips

Drought conditions will cause a larger than usual consumption of water, resulting in some customers experiencing lower pressures.  During dry weather patterns, please be mindful of your water consumption and do your part to help conserve water.  Here are a few outdoor conservation tips for you to follow:

• Water your lawn only when necessary. It takes 660 gallons of water to supply 1,000 square feet of lawn with 1 inch of water (his is almost the same amount you use inside the house in an entire week).As a general rule, established lawns do not need to be watered more often than every 5 to 7 days.
• Water lawns and gardens early in the morning or at night, when temperatures are lowest, and save 30% or more of water typically lost to evaporation.
• Do not allow sprinklers to water your street, driveway, or sidewalk.
• Raise the height of your mower so that you are cutting at the highest recommended height. A higher cut encourages grass roots to grow deeper, shades the root system and holds soil moisture better than a closely clipped lawn.
• Avoid over fertilizing your lawn. Fertilizer applications increase the need for water.
• Use mulch around trees and garden beds to retain moisture in the soil.
• Do not use the hose to clean your driveway or sidewalk - use a broom.
• Use a shut-off nozzle on your hose so that the water flows only as needed.
• Do not leave sprinklers on hoses unattended.
• If you wash your car, park it on the grass and use a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle.