In Irkutsk, automated water standpipes have begun to be installed, which dispense water only by electronic card and help Vodokanal fight extra consumers. But the new system already has critics. Residents complain about stagnant water, inconvenience, and even one standpipe being vandalized soon after installation. Why clean water now costs not only money but patience is in the report.

Only those who pay for it can fill the buckets. Also, clean water can be obtained only by draining off the stagnant water. And that already costs a pretty penny.

Buckets of water are everywhere in the kitchen. It has not been turned off, as happens in summer. In Ivan’s house there is neither hot nor cold running water. So several times a day he has to replenish the water supply at the standpipe.
— There is no water at home. We have to save, — says Irkutsk resident Ivan Klintsevich.
Residents on Obrucheva Street have already grown used to taking such conveniences philosophically. In June, they had to get used to something else. Their old standpipe was replaced with a new one, from which water flows only if a special card is held against it.
This is an automated water standpipe. Impact-resistant, with heating. Still a rarity in Russia. Irkutsk Vodokanal bought 22 such devices for testing, and half of them have already been installed.
— Today in the city of Irkutsk there are many places where not only summer residents but also tanker trucks pull up hoses, fill up, and sell water at dachas. These are direct losses and damages to our enterprise, — says Vadim Kuznetsov, Deputy Director for Sales at the Irkutsk municipal unitary enterprise Vodokanal.
It really did become possible to get rid of the extra water consumers. Every summer there were battles with summer residents at the standpipe used by local people. Now any water consumption is immediately reflected in the account of the electronic card holder. The cost of a cubic meter is about 10.5 rubles. It used to cost the same before.
— As soon as this season starts, summer residents here draw water from early morning until late evening. We constantly had to argue with them. They say, get in line, but we pay for this standpipe, — says Irkutsk resident Igor Erin.
The standpipe did not last even a month before it was vandalized and had to be replaced. And the cost of one standpipe is 39,000 rubles.
— It’s inconvenient. Are we supposed to keep these liters? Stagnation builds up. It’s dirty. The liters are flying out fast, fast, — says Irkutsk resident Marina Nadtochiy.
— In winter, if you stand there, it will still run onto the ground. Until it stops. And there will be ice, — says Irkutsk resident Vera Barkova.
The complaints from residents at Vodokanal were promised to be taken into account. Including minimizing stagnant zones. To draw clean water now, city residents first have to drain two buckets onto the ground.
However, modern standpipes are planned to be installed throughout the city. This will cost 23.5 million rubles.