Astana, 11 November. Serviceable water meters do not have to be replaced: meters installed earlier keep working provided they are verified on time, the Ministry of Industry and Construction explained after changes to the water metering rules that have applied since 9 November.
The changes were made by the minister's order of 23 October 2026 No. 538 to the Rules for choosing, installing and operating water meters and systems in the water supply and sewerage systems of settlements (order of 8 August 2025 No. 295). The order was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 28 October as No. 40245 and published on 29 October in the Reference Control Bank of Regulatory Legal Acts. A meter stays in service until it is physically worn out, fails or is found unfit by verification.
Meters with remote data transmission are installed only at first installation, when replacing a failed, worn-out or unfit meter and in the cases provided for by paragraph 4 of Article 107 of the Water Code. Meters and data-transmission devices put into service earlier that use other protocols may be used until they wear out or fail. The rules do not name a specific data-transmission technology, and the requirement for a mandatory shut-off valve has been dropped: according to the ministry, this widens the choice of meters, including domestically made ones.
It has also been clarified who is responsible for operation, maintenance, repair, verification and data transmission. For meters on the supplier's balance sheet, the supplier is responsible; for meters owned by the water consumer, the consumer; at unfinished construction sites, the customer or developer; for common building meters not on the supplier's balance sheet, the body managing the condominium. A failed battery during the warranty period is replaced by the manufacturer or supplier; if the battery is in a separate compartment and replacing it does not affect the measuring mechanism, the verification mark and the seals, no extraordinary verification is needed. The requirements do not apply to systems not connected to the centralised networks of settlements or to primary metering of water from natural water bodies.
What it means: The new rules mostly concern new and replaced meters: keeping working meters does not require replacing them, and verification must still be passed on time.
What to do: According to the ministry's explanation, a serviceable meter with valid verification does not need replacing, and verification should be done on time; if it breaks, becomes unfit or wears out, a meter with remote data transmission is installed. Owners should keep the seals and equipment intact and let the supplier's representative in to take control readings. The ministry suggests reading the full text of the order in the Adilet system.
Background: A condominium is an apartment building in which the common property belongs to the owners of the flats. Verification is a check that a measuring instrument meets accuracy requirements. The rules set the procedure for choosing, installing and operating meters intended for commercial metering of water in water supply, including hot water, and sewerage of settlements, Zakon.kz wrote. They had already been amended earlier: the amendments fixed the definition of remote collection and transmission of data, a classification of meters by data-transmission method (NB-IoT, LoRaWAN) and a warranty period of at least five years, Kazlenta reported.
