Dirty water comes out of the tap. Sample application (complaint) if dirty, bad smelling or contaminated water flows from the tap. Where to complain about the quality of tap water

5/5 (3)

Why is tap water rusty?

There are several reasons why rusty water flows from a tap:

  • outdated communications;
  • the presence of sediment in the water;
  • insufficient water purification before supplying it to consumers;
  • planned inspections of communications, related shutdown of water. After checks, rusty water may flow from the tap, but this is a one-time phenomenon, and the color of the water quickly returns to normal.

Initial actions

Important! Before filing a complaint, do the following:

  • Find out who provides water services. For example, in Moscow, OJSC MOEK is responsible for the supply of hot water, and the water utilities of each district are responsible for the supply of cold water;
  • if the quality of the water forces you to file a complaint, first contact the emergency service of the HOA or the housing office. You can contact the organization in person or file a complaint in writing. If you apply in person, the emergency service employee will clarify your details, record the fact of the appeal, and give you its serial number. You can also find out the date of arrival of a specialist to check communications;
  • you can order a free water analysis at the sanitary and epidemiological station. If, as a result of the inspection, inadequate water quality is recorded, the costs will be borne by the organization that has the communications at its disposal. It should be noted that the check can take a long time, so at the same time you should take other measures to solve the problem;
  • contact the water utility with a complaint about inadequate water quality;
  • you can also highlight the problem in the local media, this will help speed up the process of resolving it.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues.

When can I write a complaint to the Criminal Code

Often, after scheduled inspections of communications or work to replace them, rusty water flows from the tap for several days, which is not the norm.

In this case, call the emergency hotline and describe the situation in as much detail as possible.

The operator will record the received appeal in a special registration journal, assigning a serial number to it. After that, he will tell you this number, as well as the date the application was accepted.

It is not uncommon for an operator to immediately be able to explain to you the cause of water pollution and offer options for solving the problem.

If the reasons for the deterioration of water quality for the operator are unknown, this appeal is noted in the log. According to the provisions of the contract for the provision of services, before carrying out planned work on cleaning communications, residents must be made aware of this. If this resulted in the supply of contaminated water, you must recalculate the water supply for the corresponding period.

If the water quality leaves much to be desired for a long period, you have the right to file a complaint with the management company.

Where can you turn if you are not satisfied with the quality of water

If you are not satisfied with the quality of the water flowing from the tap, you should not immediately file complaints with government agencies. First of all, you should try to solve the problem with the help of emergency services.

Important! You can address your complaint directly to this organization:

  • call the emergency hotline, explain the situation to the operator. He will record the fact of the appeal, give you his number. If the operator has sufficient knowledge and competence to solve your problem, he will give you options for solving it. If the problem cannot be solved by phone, the operator will transfer the application to a specialist;
  • you also have the right to file a complaint with the organization responsible for your home's water supply. Send the document by registered mail. After it is sent, do not lose the receipt confirming the payment. Two days are allotted for consideration of such a complaint. As a result of consideration, the management company will receive an act of recalculation. If the inadequate quality of tap water is confirmed, the fee for this service will be recalculated;
  • an effective way to speed up the process of considering applications and resolving a problem situation is to submit an application to Rospotrebnadzor for the appointment of a water quality test. Based on the results of the audit, an act will be issued. At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor will send to the organization at the disposal of which the communications are located, a requirement to immediately eliminate the causes of deterioration in water quality;
  • If all of the above actions are not successful, you can file a lawsuit in court. When establishing the guilt of the water utility, all legal costs will be borne not by the applicant, but by the defendant.

Making a complaint to the management company

To correctly file a claim, you will need the details of the legal entity, namely the name, legal address and full name of the head.

This information can be found on information boards at the entrances. If you did not find them there, use the official sites and portals.

The claim is addressed to the head of the management company (this may be the general director or chairman of the board).

The document must contain the following information about the applicant:

  • name and address of residence;
  • contact telephone number.

Be sure to include the date the claim was made.

A certain form of making a claim is not fixed by law, therefore, it is permissible to state the essence in a free form. At the same time, it is necessary to observe the business style of speech, avoid emotional assessment of the facts indicated and adhere to the logical sequence of presentation.

The written text should be concise, and the information presented in it should be accurate and specific.

Claims can be divided into individual and collective. If the claim is collective (the residents of the house joined forces to obtain a positive result), then it contains information about each of the applicants.

At the end of the claim, put your signature with a transcript. If the claim is collective, then all applicants must sign.

Make a double copy of the document.

You can file a claim in person or send it by registered mail.

After receiving the document, the employee of the management company must put a mark of delivery on it. He puts the date of acceptance of the document, signature and seal. Keep one copy of the claim, marked as accepted, for yourself.

ATTENTION! View the completed sample claim to the management company:

Terms of consideration

According to the provisions of the law, a 30-day period is allotted for consideration of the appeal from the date of registration of the adopted document.

At the same time, certain deadlines for the elimination of technical and other malfunctions are legally established.

If you did not receive a response from the management company, or the response received did not lead to any measures to eliminate the problem, file a complaint about its inaction with the management company.

In this case, a copy of the claim and the response of the management company will serve as confirmation of the inaction of the management company.

Watch the video. Where to go if rusty water flows from the tap:

Complaint to the Housing Authority

To complain about the management company, make a written application, submit it to the housing inspectorate.

The application must contain the following information:

  • Name of the applicant, contact details;
  • information about the management company;
  • a description of the problematic situation indicating the facts of violation of the terms of the service agreement between the management company and the consumer;
  • put forward requirements for the elimination of violations;
  • date of issue and signature.

Do not forget that the information contained in the document must be confirmed by certain evidence.

Remember! As evidence, you can use:

  • photographic materials;
  • receipts that confirm the payment of utilities;
  • if you indicated the violated clauses of the contract, attach a copy of such contract to the application;
  • results of an independent examination.

ATTENTION! View the completed sample application to the Housing Inspectorate for a management company:

When to expect results

The term for consideration of the complaint begins to be calculated from the moment the complaint is accepted by the employees of the housing inspectorate. This moment must be recorded.

After receiving the application, the housing inspectorate officer is obliged to issue a receipt on acceptance of the document (the date of acceptance, full name, position and signature of the employee are indicated).

Thirty days are allotted for consideration of the application by the Housing Inspectorate. The applicant will then receive a written response.

The response should indicate specific measures to resolve the problem situation or a reasoned refusal to satisfy the complaint due to insufficient evidence of violations.

If the appeal to the housing inspection was unsuccessful, file an application with Rospotrebnadzor or a lawsuit in court.

Application to Rospotrebnadzor

The application to Rospotrebnadzor is submitted in writing. Make a double copy of the document, keeping one for yourself, and sending the second to this organization. Do not forget that your copy must contain an appropriate mark about its acceptance by the employees of Rospotrebnadzor. The most effective way will be a personal appeal to the body.

The application can be divided into the following parts:

  • document header. In the upper right corner, indicate the following information: full name and position of the head of the territorial department of Rospotrebnadzor to whom the complaint is addressed. After that, indicate the name and data of the applicant;
  • in the middle of the document, indicate the name: "Complaint" or "Statement";
  • then comes the main part. Describe in detail the current situation, indicate the factual and legal circumstances, which consumer rights have been violated. Do not forget that the information provided must be confirmed with the help of various evidence, in particular, photographic materials, certificates, etc.;
  • then state the requirements put forward, substantiating them. For example, this may be a requirement for the return of money paid for a service, as it was provided in an improper form. When filing a complaint, it is recommended to refer to the provisions of laws and other acts, in particular the Law of the Russian Federation “On Protection of Consumer Rights”;
  • at the end put the date of compilation and your signature.

There is a five-day period for consideration of applications. If the document contains information that requires a comprehensive long-term analysis by employees of Rospotrebnadzor, then the consideration period is extended, of which the applicant is notified in writing.

ATTENTION! View the completed sample application to Rospotrebnadzor for a management company:

Going to court

Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation contains requirements for the content of the statement of claim.

Important! The document must contain the following information:

  • the name of the court in which the claim is filed;
  • Full name of the plaintiff and his data, if a representative acts on behalf of the plaintiff, then information about him must be indicated;
  • Name of the defendant and his data;
  • information about which rights were violated and how. State the requirements put forward, substantiating them with references to legislative norms;
  • evidence base;
  • calculation of the price of claims, which includes the disputed or recoverable amounts of money;
  • information about the procedure for pre-trial settlement of the dispute;
  • documents forming an annex to the application;
  • date of issue and signature.

Where to file a claim

The statement of claim will be considered by a justice of the peace or a district court, generic jurisdiction depends on the value of the claim. According to Article 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, if the value of the claim does not exceed 50,000 rubles, a justice of the peace considers the case. Accordingly, claims, the value of which exceeds the specified amount, are referred to the district court for consideration.

With regard to territorial jurisdiction, according to Articles 28 and 29 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, a claim can be filed at the location of the legal entity that is the defendant, as well as at the location of its separate structural unit.

In cases related to the protection of the violated rights by the consumer, the state fee is not charged from the applicant. In this case, the legal relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant falls under the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", therefore, the state duty is not paid.

Terms of consideration of the claim

As practice shows, from the date of filing a statement of claim to the day of the preliminary court session, it takes from one to two months. After the preliminary meeting, the main meeting is scheduled. As a rule, the period between them is about a month. If on the day of the consideration of the case a decision was made to postpone the hearing, a new day of the court session is appointed. Usually the period between these meetings is also about a month.

After the decision is made and announced in the courtroom, the judge draws up its final version. In practice, the operative part is often announced first, and then the motivational part.

Many users are faced with a situation where rusty water begins to flow from their taps, unsuitable for use. If such a problem occurs extremely rarely, then it's okay, but if rusty tap water begins to flow with enviable constancy, various actions must be taken to fix the problem. And in this case, the most effective way to solve the problem is to file a complaint with the responsible organizations.

Why rusty water flows from the tap - the main reasons

Among the main causes of rusty tap water are:

  1. A high level of deterioration of communications responsible for the water supply of consumers.
  2. Water supply with precipitation, which accumulates and leads to the appearance of rust in the water.
  3. Poor water treatment. Since the water contains a significant amount of metal particles, it must be thoroughly purified before being supplied to end users.
  4. Planned outages. The public utilities check each house before and at the end of the heating season for deterioration of utilities, and perform the necessary repair actions. After that, rusty water may appear in the taps, but this problem disappears rather quickly.

Rusty water comes out after turning off the water - why

Many of our readers are concerned about the question, why does rusty water come out after turning off the water? It is worth noting that This phenomenon is recognized as a norm at the legislative level., however, on the condition that during this period the utilities perform a scheduled inspection of pipelines.

Since most of the pipes are made of metal, rust forms on the surface due to oxidative processes. When the pipe is completely filled with water, oxidation is much slower. As soon as the water supply is turned off, the process accelerates sharply, and within a short period of time, rust deposits form on the inner surface of the pipe. After turning on the pressure, it is washed off, and therefore, during the first minutes after turning on the water, we have the opportunity to observe rust.

Is it possible to wash in rusty water

Consumers are interested, can you wash in rusty water. As numerous data of analysts show, rust is always present in water. If the concentration is not more than 0.3 mg per 1 liter of liquid, it is impossible to see rust. Such water is quite suitable for consumption, and you can also wash with it. However, experts recommend that when drinking such water, boil it first.

If the concentration of rust is in the range of 0.4-0.8 mg, it is absolutely impossible to use water as drinking water, but it is still suitable for washing dishes.

If the rust in the water is pronounced, and the water itself has a yellow or orange color, then washing with it is categorically contraindicated.

At the same time, it is also worth remembering that rusty water can seriously damage household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and kettles. Therefore, it should be ensured that dirty water comes into contact with household appliances as little as possible.

How to clean

The only option for cleaning rusty water is to install special filter elements. The filter will retain rust particles, thereby allowing the consumer to enjoy clean water. However, do not forget that filters also need care, and they must be changed or cleaned at regular intervals. Otherwise, harmful microorganisms may occur that adversely affect human health.

Speaking about how to clean rusty water, do not forget about settling.

To do this, it must be poured into a container and left for a while. After a few hours, a layer of rust forms on the bottom of the container. The water can be carefully drained, being careful not to stir up the cloudy sediment, and it can later be used for washing dishes, but in no case for drinking.

When to Complain

Every consumer must know where to complain about rusty water. In accordance with the current legal framework, even the irregular appearance of rusty water is a violation of consumer rights. The fact is that each user pays monthly for the water used, and in the case of rust, he drains it, thereby losing his money.

The exception is situations when a scheduled inspection of water communications is performed. After repair and replacement of damaged areas, rust residues enter the water, and may reach the end consumer. According to the approved rules, this is the only reason when a small amount of rusty water in the taps is allowed. If the appearance of rust in the water is not associated with planned work, in this case, you should write a claim.

Where to complain?

If the appearance of rusty water is irregular, and has isolated cases, then it is worth going with a claim to the management company. The same action should be taken if the quality of the supplied water has noticeably deteriorated after changing the pipes or cleaning the boiler.

If the management company ignores the claims of citizens, or the problem continues for a long period of time, then filing a complaint with the resource supply structure (in this case, a water utility) will bring greater efficiency. In such a situation, the necessary analyzes of drinking water will be carried out, and the causes of pollution will be clarified.

If the water utility cannot help in any way, then it is worth writing complaints to Rospotrebnadzor and law enforcement agencies. However, as practice shows, most often the water utility and the management company try to prevent such a development of events, and therefore promptly respond to citizens' appeals.

Proof of

It is quite natural that in addition to the claim, the consumer must provide evidence of the violation. First of all, this is a photo and video material, which shows that dirty or rusty water flows from the tap, and evidence that there is a bad smell.

If, at the request of the user, any studies or analyzes on water quality were carried out, then their results should also be attached to the application.

In addition, as evidence, the user can attach to the complaint an agreement with the management company, and a utility bill for water.

How to file a complaint, what you need to specify, sample

  1. There is no single sample complaint, so you can write it in any form.
  2. It is necessary to indicate in the text of the complaint the reason why the user decided to file a complaint.
  3. You should also indicate the facts of the supply of low-quality water (with the exception of cases when planned work is carried out on water pipes). Additionally, you can specify other reasons. So, if the faucet remains cold, although hot water should flow, this is also a violation.
  4. The user has the right to demand compensation in the form of compensation for moral damage and the cost of damaged property (damaged filters, a broken dishwasher, washing machine, etc.), a refund of the money that was spent on the purchase of bottled water. In addition, since the service is of inadequate quality, the consumer may be exempted from paying for water.

What to do next if there is no adequate response to the claim

If no action is taken, and rusty water continues to flow from the tap, then written statements should be submitted to several higher authorities, including the prosecutor's office, the district court, Rospotrebnadzor and the State Housing Inspectorate.

However, it is worth noting that it is possible to file a complaint with these structures only if there is an appropriate evidence base. In particular, if any studies were carried out by independent experts, their results should be attached to the application.

Tap water, in terms of its hygienic qualities, hardly inspires confidence in a consumer who is experienced in the quality of drinking water, but there are times when dirty tap water simply amazes with its color and smell.

If the case is single, then you can simply drain the dirty liquid well. But recurring incidents should grab attention and spur action.

There are several factors that affect the pollution of the water supply:

The situation is worse for the first two reasons. To eliminate them, the intervention of public utilities is necessary.

How to understand that the water is dirty

Frankly dirty and muddy water is visible to the naked eye. But with poor water purification, poor-quality water can only be detected by carefully observing the condition of household items and relying on your sense of smell. The main indicators of harmful liquid:

  • greenish marks on the dishes indicate an increased presence of sulfuric or hydrochloric acid;
  • black stains on the sink indicate the maximum allowable concentration of hydrogen sulfide;
  • alkaline water foams on contact with aluminum pans;
  • an unpleasant odor indicates the presence of extraneous organic impurities.

These impurities are unacceptable in drinking water and are harmful when consumed. You can deal with this phenomenon yourself. Settled water passed through the filter, and even with the addition of reagents, is suitable for use. But these are additional material and time costs.

What should a consumer do when poor-quality water is detected?

The supply of low-quality water is a violation of the rights of residents as consumers of the service and a violation of legal sanitary and hygienic standards. The task of citizens is to find the guilty structure and force it to do the job of fixing the problem. To do this, you must perform the following steps:

  1. If the water very often comes in an unnatural color or is cloudy, this fact must be recorded. It is better to make video material for evidence in case of proceedings. You can also make its selection in a transparent glass bottle.
  2. Apply to the Criminal Code with a statement about poor-quality water and with a demand to create a competent commission to investigate this issue. The working commission should consist of representatives of the operating organization and Vodokanal. You can insist on an invitation to the commission of an employee of the communal department of the municipality and a sanitary doctor to analyze the quality of the selected sample.
  3. The commission examination, which must take place no later than two days after the application is submitted, ends with the drawing up of an act. The act indicates the reasons established initially and visually. If necessary, fluid samples are sent for analysis. And after all the procedures, but no later than 10 days later, the consumer is given a response with an exact indication of the culprit and the timing of the problem.
  4. If the elimination time is unreasonably high, the consumer must complain to the territorial department of Rospotrebnadzor. Supporting the complaint with copies of all drawn up acts, the results of examinations and the responses of utilities.

Consumers should know that for receiving low-quality water, the utility organization is in full, but only if the fact is proven and confirmed.

If the guilty party does not voluntarily take responsibility, the tenant has the right to file a lawsuit. Where, in addition to the standard requirements, you can claim reimbursement for the purchase of bottled water, for the repair of household appliances and other damaged property. But all expenses must be confirmed in writing.

The requirement of proper quality for both cold and hot water is a legal right of the consumer. At the same time, actions should be thoughtful and only with written confirmation of each step. Empty squabbles and telephone threats on your part will lead to nothing.

The quality of the provided utilities is not always perfect, even though they are paid on time.

What to do if dirty water flows from the tap in the kitchen and bathroom or there are other household problems that worsen the quality of life in the apartment.

There are a number of services that are responsible for the safety of water supply, its constancy. Residents of apartments do not always know, if there is a problem with rusty tap water, where to complain?

As a result, they experience inconvenience for a long time, wasting days looking for a responsible person.

There are several reasons for the poor quality of water supply, and the type of organization responsible for eliminating the problem depends on their type.

  • One of the common reasons is planned shutdown of water supply. At the end of each heating season or before it begins, utilities, heat supply networks turn off the water to check the working condition of the heating system. If such a check was carried out unprofessionally, the presence of rust and iron in the pipes is not excluded, after connecting the water supply, the quality of tap water will be low. You should contact the water utility or the heating network to report the problem.
  • Gorvodokanal is obliged to thoroughly purify water from impurities. Underground, it often has a large amount of metal particles. Poor cleaning, use of outdated equipment at the water utility leads to the fact that the liquid comes to the consumer with sediment, painted with rust and metal.
  • Rust or other contamination may appear in the working environment of the pipes and for other reasons, which can be established by specialists.

IMPORTANT! Most often, bad hot or cold water flows through metal pipes, since the material of manufacture oxidizes as a result of exposure to hot liquids.

In many cases, after turning off the water supply, poor quality water runs for a short time.. After a couple of hours or days, the sediment is washed out and soon the water supply can be used again. If the process is delayed, you should contact the relevant authorities. Rusty water should not be drunk, used for cooking, washing or other household chores..

When to take action to restore water quality

After turning off the water supply, rust, foreign color and odor may appear in the working environment of the pipes. What to do and to whom to complain if this state of affairs does not change during the week?

  • The first step is to call the emergency dispatch service. Perhaps there was an accident on the water supply line and restoration work is underway. A specialized dispatcher will explain why there is dirty water in the apartment and when it will be safe.

IMPORTANT! The complaint must be registered. If necessary, you can find in the registration book an application, the time of its receipt.

  • The emergency dispatcher may not always know the reason why the water supply is supplying dirty water.. But he is obliged to record complaints and provide the consumer with maximum information.
  • In order for consumers to be able to make a supply of drinking and industrial water in advance, water utility services must inform about a planned shutdown of water supply a few days before the start of work.

IMPORTANT! If water flows for a long time with rust, poor quality, utilities must recalculate for the specified period. After all, the quality of services does not meet the requirements.

Complaint to management company

Red water flows in the tap, what should I do? Residents of apartments rarely encounter such a question, but you need to know the phone number and address of the responsible company.

In the event of a terrible quality of the working environment of the water supply, you should complain to the management company.

It is worth filing a complaint in writing in person (with mandatory registration in the journal) or by registered mail and with notification.

The application should be drawn up correctly, indicating the address, from what date water with an admixture, sediment runs. In the dictionary, you need to look at how plumbing is spelled correctly, the spelling of other words.

IMPORTANT! The resource supplying organization has the right to consider a complaint from consumers within two days. Therefore, it is worth contacting the authority as soon as possible after the problem occurs.

Persons responsible for the supply of high-quality water supply must determine whether drinking water is in the house, apartment, for what reason metal impurities and rust appeared in it.

Specialists take liquid samples directly from taps in the applicants' apartment. As a result, the state of the working environment in the water pipes, the cause of pollution, and methods for its elimination are established. Services that are responsible for the quality and safety of water must take measures to eliminate the problem.

ATTENTION! Resource supply companies should understand that the safety and health of consumers depend on the quality of their services.

Help from Rospotrebnadzor

In some cases, laboratory tests take too long, and the problem of the terrible quality of water supply is not eliminated. It is worth contacting the Rospotrebnadzor in this state of affairs. This organization also employs specialists who conduct various examinations on the state of water, draw up Service Level Acts. Rospotrebnadzor can also take effective measures to eliminate the causes of rust..

Going to court

Litigation over the poor quality of the water supply and the failure of the managing organization to fulfill its responsibilities is rare. But everyone who filed a lawsuit has the right to count on consumer protection. What makes it possible to initiate proceedings?

The consumer is required to sue all acts, including from Rospotrebnadzor, confirming the low level of water supply services, the result of water analysis. An important document is a contract for the provision of services.

When providing all the evidence, the court will oblige the responsible company not only to restore high-quality water supply that meets sanitary standards. The plaintiff can count on other points of the decision.

  • The supplier must recalculate the utility bill for the supply of rusty and hazardous water.
  • If the consumer installed filters during this period in order to use the water supply normally, the cost of the equipment must be reimbursed.
  • Compensation for non-pecuniary damage caused by inconvenience due to pollution of the water supply is also awarded.

Rust, metal impurities can ruin plumbing, which will subsequently require replacement. The water supplier, by order of the court, pays the cost of the damaged property.

Useful video
Find out if you can drink rusty tap water