Frequently Asked Questions

It is important to protect your meter and pipes during the winter months. Please consider the following recommendations when the temperatures become freezing.

1. Know what areas of your home are most likely to freeze: like basements, crawl spaces, unheated rooms, and outside walls.
2. Eliminate sources of cold air near water lines: insulate and seal cracks or holes in the windows, walls, or doors near the meter or pipes.
3. Know the location of the main water shut off valve inside your home. If a pipe freezes or bursts, you’ll want to know how to shut the water off.
4. Protect your pipes and water meter from freezing – Wrap exposed pipes with insulation or electrical heat tracing wire. Wrap the exposed meter with insulation.  Do not use heat tracing on the water meter.
5. Close meter pit lids tightly. Let snow remain on the cover. Check for cracks in the pit cover: a cracked cover lets cold air in, reducing protection from freezing.
6. If your pipes are prone to freezing, allow a small trickle of water to run until outside temperatures have reached a level where the potential for freezing has passed.
7. Open cabinet doors where there is water piping in the cabinet to allow for the free flow of warm air into the cabinets.

There are a few ways to check for a leak. First, check around your house for leaks that are visible, such as dripping faucets or shower heads. Next, check for a toilet leak. It is common for these leaks to go unnoticed, and may result in a significant jump in usage on your water bill. You may not hear or see this leak, so it is a good idea to be checking them every once in a while. To check for a toilet leak, put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. Check the bowl of the toilet in about 10 minutes, and if the food coloring has dripped into it, there is a leak. Another way to check for a leak is to ensure that every source of water in your house is turned off, i.e. your dishwasher, sink, washing machine, then go to your meter. If the red needle on the meter is moving, this means that water is moving through the meter and is indicating a leak. Please see the picture below for a look at what a typical meter looks like.  If fixtures and toilets seem to be leak free but the water meter is indicating a potential leak, a plumber may need to be contacted for assistance.

Customer security is a priority at Pennichuck. We make sure that you can quickly and easily identify every Pennichuck employee. Pennichuck vehicles are clearly marked with our company logo. Employees are required to wear a company uniform and carry an ID badge. You may request to have their ID badge number, and use this to call our company number, (800) 553-5191, to verify the employee is who they claim to be.

Please note: Pennichuck’s logo may appear in the following formats:

• Provide quality water and service at a reasonable cost to all customers.
• Respond to emergencies and service interruptions 24 hours a day.
• Maintain street pipelines that transport water to your service line at the beginning of your property (determined by location of curb box).
• Install and maintain meters.
• Maintain normal water pressures.

• Repair household plumbing.
• Install and repair the service line from the curb stop across your property line into your building. Click here to see our Watertight Protection Plan to protect your service line!
• Install separate service pipes for private Fire Protection Service.
• Keep outside meters in protective housing.
• Keep inside meters in a warm, dry area.
• Keep meter shut-off valves, pressure regulators, and any cross connection control device in proper working order. Protect meter from tampering, and keep accessible for repair and inspection.

As a Pennichuck customer, you have many different options to make your payment.

Please check out our Payment Options page for a listing of the different options.

If you do not pay your bill by the due date, you will receive a Disconnect Notice. Please call us if you are unable to pay your bill by the due date. If we do not hear from you by the date of disconnection, your water service will be disconnected. To reconnect service you must pay your bill and a service charge.

At least one week prior to your closing date, request that a final meter reading be taken at the property by contacting customer service at 800-553-5191, via email at customer-service@pennichuck.com or click here. Information required is the closing date, new owner’s name, mailing address and telephone number, and the forwarding address of seller. If the final bill is required to be paid at closing also provide the fax and contact information for the closing agent.

The service charge portion of your bill is designed to recover a portion of the fixed costs incurred in providing water service. These costs include the cost of maintaining the supply, treatment, distribution and service facilities that are needed to provide water service to your home or business. This charge appears on every bill and does not vary with consumption, but is related to the size and flow capacity of your meter.

Your water bill consists of a customer charge (based on meter size) and a consumption charge (based on the reading obtained from your water meter). The reading is calculated in units and is shown on your bill under “consumption”. Units are calculated in 100 cubic feet (CCF) or 1,000 gallons and billed either monthly or quarterly, depending on your system.

1. You may have increased usage for the time period the bill covers. If you had a gathering, or someone extra staying at your home, you may notice an increase in your bill because consumption will have increased.
2. You may have increased your use of irrigation, or filled a pool. Outside usage can raise your bill substantially if not monitored carefully.
3. There may be a leak at the property. Check around your house for leaks that are visible, and have a plumber check the internal plumbing. A common leak that may possibly raise the consumption on your bill significantly is a toilet leak. You may not hear or see this leak, so it is a good idea to be checking them every once in a while. To check for a toilet leak, put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. Check the bowl of the toilet in about 10 minutes, and if the food coloring has dripped into it, there is a leak. An additional way to check for a toilet leak, or any other leak that may exist in the property, is to ensure that every source of water in your house is turned off, i.e. your dishwasher, sink, washing machine, then go to your meter. If the red needle on the meter is moving, this means that water is moving through the meter and is indicating a leak. Please see the picture below for a look at what a typical meter looks like.
4. The time period on your bill may be longer than your last couple of bills. Not all bills cover an equal time period. Usually, bill periods run anywhere from 25-38 days.
5. The rates may have risen in your area. You will be notified when this occurs. You may call into our Customer Service department at 800-553-5191 with any questions regarding rates.

1. If we are not receiving a reading from the meter and are unable to gain access to the property, we will be unable to get the reading.
2. If your meter is outside in a meter pit, it may be blocked or covered. Please ensure that nothing is blocking the meter, and that there are no shrubs or vegetation overgrowing it.
3. The meter may be damaged or stopped. If this is the case, please contact our Customer Service department at (800) 553-5191 to schedule an appointment to have your meter repaired.
4. There could have been a possible fail of the meter reading equipment. If your dedicated billing specialist notices that your meter is failing to provide a read, they will attempt to book an appointment to allow a technician to gain access to figure out what is going on and possibly repair meter.

Most water meters record usage in units of 100 Cubic Feet.* 1 Unit (100 Cubic Feet) equals 748 Gallons

To find out how much water you used in any given period:

To convert to gallons:

* For most 5/8 residential meters only the first four digits are used in calculating usage since the meter records in cubic feet and we bill for 100 cubic feet.

Depending on how long you are leaving for, you may want to call our Customer Service Department to schedule an appointment to remove your meter. If you are leaving for an extended period of time and do not plan on leaving the heat on in the home your meter and pipes may freeze. This would result in having to fix your pipes and replace your meter at a cost. If you plan on leaving your heat on, do not set it for any lower than 55 degrees, and ensure that you have someone regularly checking the home to ensure the heating system is working properly.