Chattanooga, TN Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Report to
- The water company
- Repair duty
- Owner or occupant
- Repair cost
- At no cost to the city
- Purpose
- Sewer service charge credit
Summary
To get a sewer-bill credit for water lost to a leak, Chattanooga requires the leak to be reported to the water company and fixed by the owner or occupant.
No sewer user may receive a credit for an amount which would reduce the resultant sewer bill below the minimum charge required by section 32-31 of this article. To be considered for credit, leaks must be reported to the water company, and corrected by the owner or occupant without cost to the city. The sewer user charge based upon the consumption of water to be paid by the owner or occupant of such property shall be computed at the rates provided in this article less the quantity not discharged into the city's sewers.
(Code 1986, § 31-40; Ord. No. 9384, § 8, 5-29-90; Ord. No. 12023, § 10, 10-2-07; Ord. No. 12410, § 26, 7-6-10; Ord. No. 12962, § 4, 6-16-15)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 40 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chattanooga City Code § 31-40(b) allows the Director to credit sewer user charges for hidden, underground, or catastrophic leaks where the lost water never reached the sewer system. But the credit is conditional: the code requires that, to be considered for credit, leaks must be reported to the water company and corrected by the owner or occupant at no cost to the city. No credit can reduce a bill below the minimum charge set by § 32-31.
Violations & Fines
This is a billing-credit eligibility rule, not a separate offense: failing to report or fix a leak simply means the sewer user charge is billed on full, unadjusted water consumption with no leak credit applied.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chattanooga require homeowners to report water leaks?
Who pays to fix a reported leak in Chattanooga?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chattanooga
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