Dothan, AL Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 102-37(a) draws the responsibility line at the point of service connection: the city maintains the meter and everything up to that point, while the customer is responsible for the working condition of all facilities and equipment past it, including leak repairs. To recover part of an inflated bill, a residential or commercial customer must request a leak adjustment, available only for domestic leaks and excluding new construction's first year, irrigation systems, and automatic pool-filler valves (§ 102-37(b)(4), (c)(5)). Each metered location may receive only one leak adjustment every five years, regardless of a change in occupant, though property management companies may claim more than one under a primary account as long as each location stays within that five-year limit (§ 102-37(c)(4)-(7)).

The adjustment applies only to the three most recent billing cycles and is denied unless the first meter reading after the reported repair date shows consumption back to normal (§ 102-37(c)(3)). To document the repair, the customer must submit a repair bill, invoice or letter from a licensed plumber or repair company, original parts receipts if self-repaired, or other records the city requires (§ 102-37(e)(6)). Calculations refund 50 percent of the excess water cost above normal average consumption, capped at three billing cycles, plus up to 100 percent of any resulting excess sewage charges if the leak drained into the sewer system (§ 102-37(d)(1)-(3)).

Approval authority scales with dollar amount, from the utility collections manager (up to $250) through the finance and utilities directors (up to $5,000) to the city manager beyond that (§ 102-37(e)(1)-(5)). Separately, § 102-34(k)(2) keeps service disconnected at reconnection if a water leak or burnt lug creates unsafe conditions, until a repair meeting City of Dothan standards is made.