Recently my water bill had an ad for a water monitor. Apparently the meters are read remotely by unit in a vehicle going down the street. For a modest charge I have a device about the size of two packs of cigs, press a button and it polls the meter using an RF link. Fun to see how much water a load of wash takes or what is the rate of use to water the garden. The council subsidises the price as it can be used to motivate water conservation.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The water meter-reader comes around
> once per month to read ours (they have to lift a cover off of the
> hole in the ground where the water meter is located; usually it is
> typically in the front yard (most are actually in the parkway; the
> grassy area between the sidewalk and the street).