According to the provisions of Federal Law-102, in force since 2008, to calculate the consumption of utility resources, instruments are used that give uniform and correct values. To comply with this rule, regulatory deadlines for checking hot and cold water meters are established, recorded in the technical data sheets of the devices. Regular monitoring is carried out by specialists, during which critical failures and breakdowns are identified and the issue of the need to replace equipment is resolved.
Is verification of water meters required?
Verification of individual metering devices (IMU), or meters, is a mandatory procedure. This is enshrined in Article 13 of the Federal Law “On Ensuring the Uniformity of Measurements” No. 102-FZ of June 26, 2008, as well as in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of May 6, 2011.
If you do not verify on time, you will not be able to pay for hot and cold water according to meter readings*. From the 1st day of the month following the month in which it was necessary to carry out verification, accruals will be carried out as follows:
- the first 3 months - according to the average calculated readings of your meters over the last six months;
- from the 4th month - according to the standard.
You will again be able to pay for water according to meter readings after verification.
Rules for the provision of utility services to owners of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of May 6, 2011 (see paragraph 59).
Is this procedure required?
When the regulated period for verification of an individual metering device expires, its readings will be officially declared invalid. The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for any penalties for delaying this procedure. However, in this case, a person will pay for water supply not according to meters, but according to standard indicators for the last 6 months. They are calculated based on the number of people registered in the apartment.
In some regions of the Russian Federation (mainly in republics and autonomous okrugs) there are certain amendments to this regulation. Thus, the period for which standard indicators are calculated may vary (not 6, but 3 months). Therefore, it is better to clarify this information with local authorities, or directly with your HOA.
Please note: people with temporary housing registration will also increase their overall water costs.
Legal basis
The procedure for verifying a water meter, which measures the accuracy of their operation, is based on Federal Law No. 102 and Federal Law No. 261. Home owners are required to verify operating water supply control and measuring devices based on the requirement established by clause 1 of Art. 13 Federal Law No. 102.
Detailed legal regulations regarding water meters, in particular, an explanation of what the calibration interval of water meters (MPI) is, is made in government decree No. 354, adopted in 2011. The latest edition of this regulatory act, containing the Rules according to which public utilities should be provided to the population, dates back to 2020.
When using vane-type drinking water meters, you must follow the requirements of GOST R 50601-93.
Hot water meter verification period
What is the calibration interval for water meters? Simply put, this is the date determined by official documents by which the water meter must be checked. In the absence of verification or its official confirmation, citizens acquire the problem of charging them money for the provision of a resource according to the standards adopted in the housing and communal services system. That is, the equipment begins to be considered inoperative.
Let us remind you once again: for hot water monitoring devices, the verification period is usually determined at 4 years. For some foreign manufacturers it may be a year or two longer. Why this time period is shorter for hot meters is explained by the fact that, due to a more aggressive exposure environment, they have higher wear and tear on the materials from which they are made.
Cold water meter verification period
It is generally accepted that the following factors influence wear:
- Chlorine in water;
- Heavy metals;
- Small garbage;
- External mechanical damage;
- Term of the work.
Sometimes, due to these destructive phenomena, residents in Moscow check their water meters ahead of schedule. There are currently no regulations limiting the frequency of verification. For their own confidence, citizens often conduct it once every twelve months or more often. In 2020, Sobyanin’s decree abolished the verification of the hot water meter every 4 times and the cold water meter every 6 times. According to Russian legislation, this procedure is carried out at an interval specified by the manufacturer itself.
Therefore, the laws establish the verification interval for water meters for individuals, which is usually equal to six years. Variability appears when it comes to more complex types of meters.
Most flow meters are tachometer. However, there are more complex devices:
- With heat sensor;
- With pulse output;
- Electromagnetic;
- Ultrasonic, etc.
The first two types also belong to the tachometer type, since they work based on the rotation of the impeller blades inside the pipe, and only have additional functionality. Their manufacturer, based on this, has the right to indicate the timing from verification to verification, at its discretion. By law, the consumer must follow them, since wear directly depends on the design features.
Some of them may be more vulnerable due to fragile components. For example, pulse flow meters (automatically transmitting measurements at a certain frequency directly to the control unit) have such an element as a hermetic contact. It is defined as key in the system, but cannot be repaired at all. However, “smart” meters are now bought in Moscow only for some specific conditions, where it is difficult to do without them. Conventional mechanical ones are popular.
Verification of the device with and without removal: pros and cons
Dismantling and subsequent verification have a number of significant disadvantages, namely:
- After removing the unit, it is tested in laboratory conditions for 2-3 weeks;
- At this time, water charges are made based on the average for the previous 6 months;
- To remove the unit, you need to call a plumber;
- After the repair, you must re-invite a plumber for installation and sealing;
- The cost of laboratory testing of a malfunction is on average 1000 rubles.
Checking water meters without removing them will help you save money. It will take less time and the cost will be lower. As a rule, all work takes about an hour and costs an average of 600 rubles.
There will be savings on verification without dismantling only if the device is technically sound. If not, then add about 1200 more to the 600 rubles (for work on replacing the meter).
How to choose the right company
To choose the right company to do the job, there are some things you need to consider. It must have a license for state accreditation of activities. You can find out this information directly by calling an employee of the organization, or independently on the website of the Federal Accreditation Service.
Business organizations providing this type of service are considered illegal if there is no accreditation license. When the owner is aggressively forced to carry out work to monitor the operation of the individual control system, he has the right to contact the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection.
If the company’s actions are unlawful and illegal, then you can complain to the police or prosecutor’s office.
Grounds for an unscheduled inspection
Water metering devices are checked every quarter, as well as once every 12 months.
Activities are prescribed to achieve the following goals:
- identification of defective devices;
- detection of facts of incorrect and unauthorized use of meters;
- lack of individual water consumption devices.
The apartment owner may not even pay attention to a faulty mechanism. In this case, the readings are displayed incorrectly. Monitoring is carried out to identify malfunctions. It is difficult to independently identify an error in work, and employees of the management company and housing and communal services use tools.
Reasons why an unscheduled check of the hot water meter at home may be carried out:
- the disk rotates chaotically, including when the DHW or hot water supply is turned off;
- the presence of a manufacturing defect that became the source of incorrect readings;
- requirement of the Criminal Code due to damage to the seal;
- installing a new seal on the metering device;
- initiative of the owner when doubts arise about the correctness of measurements;
- The owner of the apartment suspects the management company of deliberately overstating the cost of the resource.
It is necessary to carry out after-hours checks of meters due to high water consumption. As a rule, this happens if the mechanism is constantly exposed to dirt or there is a pressure drop in the system.
How is verification carried out without dismantling?
To check water meters in an apartment, you must first agree with the work contractor, discuss a date, and then, according to company rules, sometimes you need to fill out a working agreement. Next, a metrology specialist comes to your home with professional equipment.
When checking water meters, the employee performs the following actions:
- The hose from the calibration device is connected to the mixer;
- Records available cold or hot water meter readings;
- On the control device panel, sets the reading of the water being driven;
- Opens a hot or cold water tap;
- It passes through the calibration device;
- The error is automatically calculated;
- The verification procedure without removing the unit is repeated several times to calculate the average error of the installed water units.
In case of an acceptable error, the specialist makes a record of this in the technical passport of the unit, and also issues a certificate and a certificate of work performed. If the value is higher than acceptable, then an employee of the verification organization refuses to certify the IPU and recommends replacing it with a new one.
Verification procedure
It includes submitting an application to dismantle the meter (however, sometimes verification can be carried out right on the spot, without dismantling), direct verification in the laboratory, subsequent installation of the device back and documenting all this. Let's briefly look at these stages.
Drawing up an application
To carry out verification, you should submit an application to the management company or service provider. The timing of meter verification should be calculated independently; you can also find them on the State Services website or from your management company, if it has one. The application can also usually be completed and submitted directly through the website. After which you can submit the device for verification.
As a result, specialists from there will dismantle it for further verification. After its completion, the installation of the IPU in place and its sealing will also have to be carried out by a specialist from the management company or water utility, after which a certificate of commissioning of the meter will be issued.
Filing an application
The verification itself will be carried out by another company, and after an application for its conduct has been submitted, you need to submit an application for it separately, choosing the company you intend to apply to. The company must have the appropriate certification.
Carrying out verification
The verification itself can be performed either directly on site or in the laboratory. In the second case, the device is usually delivered to the laboratory independently, and the total verification period can be a week or even two. But if the meter is not removed, then the process usually turns out to be short-lived, and everything can be over in just half an hour.
According to GOST 12.2.003-91, during verification the following IPU indicators must be determined:
- error level under standard conditions;
- reliability;
- safety;
- environmental friendliness;
- ergonomics.
Verification includes:
- external inspection - determines how readable the meter readings are, whether there is damage to the case, whether the device corresponds to its passport;
- testing - a stream of water is passed through the apparatus for five minutes, and it is determined how tight it is;
- error detection - using a special installation, it is measured whether there is an inaccuracy in the measurement; an inaccuracy within 5% is considered acceptable; if greater, calibration or replacement is required.
How is verification done?
It is advisable that at the time of the inspection the period of the previous inspection has not expired completely, but is just coming to an end. This way, you will not need to edit and coordinate water consumption indicators with the water utility.
For verification, you need to remove the device according to all the rules. In this case, it is better to order dismantling from the office that provides the services. Sometimes the work of dismantling the unit must be agreed upon with the water supplier a couple of days before removal. Before dismantling the unit, readings are taken and transferred to the appropriate office.
Which organizations can verify water meters?
To carry out such procedures, you can contact the following organizations:
- Vodokanal, however, to carry out verification, the meter will be dismantled and you may have to wait for some time, in addition, fill out and submit certain documents, which will take some time;
- A special organization that is certified (of which there is documentary evidence) to perform verification work on water meters. The cost of such services is relatively low - for Moscow it is about 500 rubles. In addition, such verification is convenient because the company’s specialists go to the address where the meter is installed and carry out all the necessary measurements at the owner’s home (office, enterprise).
It is also worth noting one important fact that the owners of houses and apartments forget (or do not know) - the period for calibrating meters is set not from the moment of its installation and start of work, but from the date of its release and packaging at the manufacturer.
Thus, having bought a water meter that has been in storage for about three years and installed it to measure hot water consumption, verification will have to be carried out within one year. Therefore, when purchasing such measuring instruments, always pay attention to the date of their production - this will help you avoid premature costs and paperwork.
It is possible that the result of the verification will be a conclusion that the device is faulty and, naturally, the impossibility of its further use. In this case, you will need to install a new one.
Consequences if deadlines are missed
You should not initially wait for the end of this period. It is better to carry out verification in a month or two and not worry about large charges in the receipt for cold and hot water supply. At the same time, we must also remember about drainage; it is also calculated based on the volume of water consumed.
If the meter verification period has expired, then water consumption is calculated according to:
- the average water consumption of the apartment over the past six months;
- established norm of water consumption per person;
- number of people living in the apartment.
According to the law, if the owner of the property stops supplying data from the water meter, the management organization does not have the right to charge according to the standards for three months.
The state provides this three-month period in case of temporary problems with the payer’s money or simply not consuming water for a couple of months. If the data submission starts again, then a recalculation is simply made in the receipt and that’s it.
The owner of the home is required by law to carry out verification of household water measuring devices. Moreover, this should be done in a timely manner and with the signing of all necessary acts. Without documents with signatures, it will be impossible to prove anything to the management company.
But after three months of absence of data from the meter, the management company has every right to begin accrual according to average standards.
If you are leaving home for three months or more, it is recommended to notify the housing office and shut off the water supply. Otherwise, upon your return, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise in the form of a receipt for housing and communal services.
Do I need to change water meters in Moscow?
Residents of the capital are more susceptible than others to the imposition of unnecessary services due to the abundance of companies providing them. Apartment owners are literally bombarded with calls asking them to replace their meters. You can avoid unnecessary expenses only by studying your rights and the law. In order to know exactly when to change water meters, it is necessary to control the calibration intervals, undergo water meter testing on time, have inspection documents in hand, and only replace it if a malfunction is detected.
Many questions are raised by the regulatory act from the Moscow Government - Resolution No. 831-PP dated December 26, 2012. It involves the abolition of mandatory verification periods. This initiative was supported by the prosecutor's office. But a legal collapse arose. Law No. 261 still requires regular verification. Some refer to the fact that the Law covers only legal entities and entrepreneurs, and interpret this wording in their favor. Management companies claim that verification must be carried out in accordance with the deadlines specified in the device’s passport. But the catch is that there are many “craftsmen” who manually enter such data into documents.
Given all the ambiguities, the question of how often water meters need to be changed by law and verified is open. Therefore, many people prefer to check their water consumption meters according to previously established rules. Moreover, it is worth doing this a couple of months before the expiration of the previous verification.
