Chelsea, MA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 30-100 of the Chelsea Code of Ordinances, titled Water conservation, is part of the DPW's water rules and regulations. Subsection (b) states plainly that no user shall knowingly allow water to leak or run to unnecessary waste, a duty that falls on every metered customer regardless of whether the leak is inside the building or on the customer-owned side of the service line. c. 21G, to limit decorative fountains and outdoor irrigation during MWRA-declared drought watches, warnings and emergencies, and to require recycling mechanisms on water-cooled air conditioning or refrigeration units that use more than 60 cubic feet of water an hour.

00, with the money going to the city for uses the director directs. c. 40, § 21D, and otherwise follow the general penalty procedure of Sec. 1-8, which lets police or DPW personnel issue a written warning in lieu of a fine for a first-time offense. Each separate instance of noncompliance found after a warning or citation counts as its own violation, so an unrepaired leak can generate repeated $100 fines. Subsection (f) gives the director, the director's designee, or DPW agents the right to enter any property to inspect or investigate a suspected violation of the leak provision, which in practice is how the department confirms a reported leak before or after issuing a citation.