By now, most Long Beach Township homeowners know they need to have a water meter installed by July 2020.  If your home is located in Long Beach Township (any area on LBI that is not Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom, or Beach Haven), now is the time to call for a free estimate to have a water meter installed before the spring and summer rush. 

Our technician will meet with you at your home to determine the best location to install the meter.  Many factors contribute to determining whether installation in your crawl space, in a heated area of your home, or in a meter pit is appropriate.  Factors such as whether you winterize your home professionally each year, whether your crawl space is sealed enough to protect the meter from freezing, and finally location of the water main all play a role in determining the best location

Meter pits are ideal for those that leave the water on all year as they are deep enough in the ground to prevent freezing, but the downside is they are much more experience to install as digging with a backhoe is involved and the materials needed are more expensive. 

Meters installed inside your home in a heated space such as a utility closet, are also ideal for those who leave the plumbing on all winter.  Be careful, though, as water meters have a freeze plate designed to crack first if it freezes.  A prolonged power outage or heating system failure can happen at any time and can cause plumbing to freeze.  We recommend installing wifi thermostats that will alert you if the temperature drops below a certain level inside your home, indicating a problem with your heat and possibly averting costly water damage. 

Water meters can be installed in your crawl space, so long as the crawl space is weather-tight or as long as you have your home professionally winterized each season.  For meters that are installed in a location prone to freezing, they should be completely disconnected and emptied of any water each season to reduce the risk of freeze damage.  Draining your pipes won’t guarantee the meter is safe from freezing as there may still be water inside.

We recommend calling and scheduling your free consultation for installing a water meter today to avoid the rush as we get closer to the deadline. We prefer our client meet with us at the home so we are all on the same page as to location of the water meter and to discuss how winters are handled at the home.

Barnegat Light residents will be required to have meters installed as well.  Barnegat Light Borough will be providing the meters for free to homeowners.  Water meters should be available early May.  As of this writing, we are not aware of a deadline or aware of the process of obtaining a water meter from the borough.  Stay tuned for further updates on availability of water meters in Barnegat Light.  We are still able to schedule a free estimate for water meter installation.