Most commercial buildings that have meters 3” or greater require regular maintenance. All valves (inlet, outlet, and bypass) must be in a safe and working condition. DC Water recommends that valves are exercised regularly to keep them in good condition and operable. Refer to DCMR Title 21-Chapter 3, for information regarding the responsibility of properties to maintain all appurtenances for the meter. Vaults must be kept dry to preserve optimum operational conditions for the water meter; thus water should be pumped out of vaults regularly. Our technicians will only enter vaults that are in safe condition. Ladders must be inspected for deterioration, and vaults treated for rodents and insects. Make sure that meters are accessible during DC Water working hours. 

Technicians will try to get the meter reading to transmit to our AMR system, however, we may ask you to install a conduit to allow our transmission device to be mounted to the exterior of your building. Locations with no meter reading transmissions may receive estimated readings and additional fees for manual meter readings may be applied to your monthly water bill.