Water Meters
Water meters are an important part of your home's water supply and increase your control over your water bill. A properly working meter records the amount of water supplied to your home or business ensuring you only pay for the water you use. In St. Albert, it is mandatory for all property owners to have a water meter installed on any pipe that delivers water into the building.
The City's Water Meter Replacement project has resulted in 99.6% of the City's water meters being replaced with AMI water meters in St. Albert homes and businesses. The new water meters have resulted in improved customer service, billing accuracy and meter reading efficiencies. This project upgraded outdated or ageing equipment, reduced the need for estimation of water usage, promoted sustainable practices and increased operational efficiencies in our community.
Meter Reading Alternative Program
The Non-Standard Meter Reading Alternative Program has been developed for utility customers who declined to have an R900 transmitter installed.
The program will have the City obtain water meter readings twice per year, while the utility customer will submit readings to the City the rest of the year. A fee structure for this non-standard program has been approved by City Council.
If you currently have an R900 installed on your home/building and would like to have it removed, please contact Utilities Services at 780-459-1520, Option 2. Applicable fees shall apply.
City Readings: The City will obtain a meter reading from your home/building twice per year (April and October) for a fee of $25 per read.
- Ensure the touchpad on the exterior of the home is accessible. City staff will conduct readings on or around the 15th of the month.
- If City staff are unable to access the touchpad (i.e. gate is locked, dog is in the backyard etc.), the resident will be charged $10 for the unsuccessful meter read attempt and an estimate reading for billing will be applied. The City may return the following month to attempt to obtain a reading. Return visits are subject to the fees as described in the Schedule “A” of the Water Bylaw.
Utility Customer Readings: Customers will be required to submit readings to the City either through the City website, by mail or drop them off to the City Utilities Services for the other 10 months of the year at $7.50 per read. See information under How to Read Your Water Meter and Submit Readings.
- Readings must be received by the City’s Utilities Services office by the 15th of the month.
- If a reading is not submitted by this date, the City will prepare an estimate reading for billing for $10.
Total cost for readings per year is $125. This does not include inaccurate readings, estimate readings or inability to access the touchpad for City readings.
- Log into your MyCity account to see your historical water consumption.
- If a manual reading is required, find your water meter (pictured), which is usually located in the basement.
- Open the cap and shine a bright flashlight for several seconds over the solar panel to active the LCD (cell phone must be on brightest flashlight settings to work):
- The LCD will toggle between the flow rate and total consumption every six seconds when illuminated.
- The nine-digit LCD will display your meter reading in cubic metres and flow rate in litres per minute.
- If you are providing a manual water meter reading, you will need to provide the first five digits. In the example below, the five digits that you would submit are 00200.
For more information, you can download:
Once you have the five digits from your water meter reading, you can submit the information the following ways:
Meter Reading Paper Submission Form
Download and print off the paper form or pick up a paper form at the Utilities Services office. Once filled out, drop it off at Utilities Services or mail it to:
City of St. Albert Utilities Services
Main Floor, St. Albert Place
5 St. Anne Street
St. Albert, T8N 3Z9
Readings must be received by the City’s Utilities Services by the 15th of the month.
Please note: Meter readings submitted over the phone will not be accepted.
AMI System Architecture
AMI System Architecture Description
AMI Meter Information
AMI Meter Information - Government of Canada
AMI Meter Frequency (RF) Emissions
Water meter readings collected by water meters under the authority of section 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) and are managed in accordance with the provisions of FOIP. This information will be used for billing purposes only with the City of St. Albert.
Related Pages
Last edited: July 3, 2025