Your water meter is underground in a rectangular box with a plastic, metal, or concrete lid and is usually found near the street. To get to the meter, remove the lid. Burney Water District meters measure water used in cubic feet. One cubic foot equals 7.48 gallons. Our bills are based on how many hundred cubic feet units (748 gallons) each customer uses. Most of the water meters read like an odometer. Simply read the numbers across the counter.