Conroe, TX Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 70-41 places an affirmative duty on the owner of any private water line, hydrant or irrigation system connected to Conroe's municipal supply to maintain those facilities so they do not leak. Once the city sends written notice of a leak, the owner must promptly repair it, and the notice can require the owner to disconnect a leaking irrigation system from city water until repairs are complete. If the owner has not repaired or disconnected the leak within three days of that written notice, the owner becomes liable to the city for the estimated volume of water lost, billed at four times Conroe's regular per-gallon rate rather than the standard tier.

The city calculates the loss based on the estimated duration of the leak and the customer's average usage. Leaking private fire lines and hydrants get separate treatment because of the public-safety stakes: the code declares them a public nuisance, and if the owner does not fix them within ten days of written notice, the city may perform the repair itself, bill the cost to the customer's utility account, and place a lien on the property under sections 26-51 through 26-54 to secure payment. Failure to pay can also lead to termination of utility service.

Separately, section 70-41(c) makes it an offense for anyone with a repair or disconnection duty to let ten days pass after written notice without acting, independent of the billing consequences. This leak-repair duty differs from the unavoidable-leak variance in section 70-40, which lets a customer request a reduced bill for a leak that occurred before they could reasonably have discovered it; section 70-41 instead governs what happens after the city has already given notice.