Water meters of different types and sizes are used to monitor and bill the water supply. Although the water is of drinking water quality, its chemo-physical properties often adversely affect the measuring behaviour of a meter after a while. There is thus the risk that they no longer meet legal requirements and may no longer be used. In this paper a test regime with a focus on pH, total hardness and particle load is presented which allows water meters to be tested closer to their operating conditions prior to placing them on the market. The regime goes beyond the conventional continuous durability test as described in OIML R49:2013(E) and ISO 4064:2014. The feasibility and reliability of the test regime has been demonstrated through implementation at different facilities. In the study, the measurement performance of water meters of various types and from different manufacturers was also investigated. A heterogeneous spread of measurement errors was found for both, water meters in mint conditions and those which were exposed to a defined water quality. Furthermore, compared to the conventional continuous durability test, the test regime developed in the study generally leads to stronger changes in the measurement error of the water meters. © 2022 The Authors