Ankeny, IA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Ankeny places the water service pipe, defined in § 90.01 as the pipe running from the water main to the building served, including the service saddle, corporation stop and stop box assembly, squarely in the property owner's hands. Section 90.12 makes the owner responsible for all costs of installing, connecting and maintaining that pipe, and requires the owner to indemnify the City for any loss or damage the installation or maintenance work causes. Section 90.13, Failure to Maintain, is the leak-repair duty itself: when any portion of the service pipe that is the owner's responsibility becomes defective or creates a nuisance and the owner fails to correct it, the City may discontinue water service, correct the nuisance, and assess the costs of that work to the property, citing Code of Iowa Sec.

364.12(3a & h). The Administrator of the City water system, defined in § 90.01, oversees this process and may make emergency rules for the system's protection under § 90.02, pending Council approval. Related sections reinforce the same duty structure: § 90.14 requires a curb stop shutoff valve within the public right-of-way or a City easement, § 90.16 requires the code enforcement officer to inspect and approve every service pipe connection before it is covered, and § 90.18 lets the Administrator shut off water to a customer for any violation of the water chapters until the violation is corrected.

Because the City can both fix a leaking service pipe and bill the owner for it under § 90.13, prompt owner repair after notice of a defect avoids both a City-performed repair charge and possible service discontinuance.