Elko County, NV Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Elko County Code § 9-6-9(B) is the leak rule in the Elko County Water Ordinance for the Unincorporated Town of Montello, Nevada (§ 9-6-1(A)). It states that no customer shall negligently or knowingly permit leaks or waste of water, and it defines waste as nonbeneficial use. Where water is wastefully used on a customer's premises, the County can discontinue the service if the conditions are not corrected within five (5) days after the County gives the customer written notice.

Several neighboring subsections shape who pays and who fixes. Under § 9-6-9(D), the customer is liable for damage to the service facilities when it originates on the premises through an act of the customer or the customer's tenants, agents, employees, contractors, licensees or permittees, and the County is reimbursed promptly on presentation of a bill. Section 9-6-9(F) requires the customer to provide a valve on the customer's side of the service installation, as close to the meter location as practicable, to control the flow of water to the piping on the premises, and the customer shall not use the service curb stop to turn water on and off for convenience. Under § 9-6-9(N), Water Department representatives have the right of ingress and egress to the customer's premises at reasonable hours for any purpose reasonably connected with furnishing water service. Section 9-6-9(C) puts the County's own facilities on private property under County maintenance, repair and replacement without owner consent, and obliges the owner to use reasonable care in protecting them.

Elko County's other water systems print parallel language. In the Jarbidge system, § 9-3-25(B) makes the customer responsible for maintenance and repairs of pipes and fixtures beyond the service connection and allows no allowance for loss from faulty fixtures, except that when a loss or leakage occurred without negligence the District can make an allowance at the Town Board's discretion. The Jackpot system's § 9-1-26 carries the same five (5) day written notice rule and a Board discretion allowance, and § 9-1-27(B) provides that inspections of plumbing or water use on the customer's premises after a complaint are offered without charge. Other cities in the county, including Elko, Carlin, Wells and West Wendover, run separate utilities under their own codes.