Downey, CA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

5's fire and potable water piping provisions treat leaks as a conservation priority, not a customer courtesy. Section 7350(d)(3) states plainly that leaks shall be repaired as soon as discovered and shall not be allowed to continue for more than 48 hours, placing an affirmative, time-bound duty on every customer connected to the City's distribution system regardless of whether the leak is on a fixture, an irrigation line or interior plumbing. That duty sits alongside the older § 7332 Waste of Water rule, which requires every consumer to maintain all water pipes, faucets, plumbing fixtures and other water appliances in good repair specifically to prevent water waste.

Where a consumer willfully wastes water in any manner, including through an unrepaired leak, § 7332 authorizes the City to shut off water service until wasteful practices stop or repairs are completed to the satisfaction of the Water Department Superintendent. Compliance is tracked under § 7350(f)(1) through visual inspection, camera and video review, and remote meter monitoring transmitted by radio, cellular tower or satellite, which the Water Department Utilities Division uses to flag unusually high consumption consistent with an active leak. The same section allows the City to install flow-restriction devices or remote-read meters on a property to confirm a leak has been fixed. Because both sections sit inside Article VII's Water Conservation Regulations and Restrictions, enforcement runs through the administrative citation process rather than criminal prosecution.