Corvallis, OR Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Corvallis splits responsibility for water leaks by where they occur. Under Section 3.01.080(8), a leak between the City's main and the customer's meter is the utility's problem: the City repairs it free of charge. That same subsection puts the cost of repair on whoever caused it if a service pipe at the proper grade is damaged by a contractor or destroyed by electrolysis, billed at the City's labor and material cost plus a 10 percent administrative fee. Leaks on the customer's side of the meter, between the meter and the building, are handled through billing relief rather than free repair.

Section 3.06.070(2) lets the City adjust a bill once it determines an underground leak exists there, or that the leak was otherwise undetectable, provided the owner, agent, or occupant repairs it within a reasonable time after the City gives notice: the City may credit 50 percent of the estimated excess water consumption for up to two months, and 50 to 100 percent of the associated wastewater charge depending on whether the leak drained into the sewer system. The City calculates the estimate either from the customer's own use in the same season the prior year or by comparing similar customers under similar conditions.

Because the adjustment depends on prompt repair after notice, a customer who ignores a leak notification loses the reduced-rate treatment and stays on the hook for the full metered consumption.