Santa Cruz County, CA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

SCCC § 7.69.030(B)(3), part of the water-waste chapter adopted to curb wasteful use during drought, makes it unlawful to let water escape "through leaks, breaks or malfunction within the water user's plumbing or distribution system for any period of time within which such break or leak should reasonably have been discovered and corrected." The code does not leave "reasonable" undefined: it creates a presumption that 24 hours after the water user discovers the leak, or after the Health Services Agency Director or the public water supplier gives notice of the condition, whichever comes first, is a reasonable window to fix it or arrange for repair.

The duty applies to every water user in the unincorporated county, residential and commercial alike, and covers plumbing and distribution-system failures, a separate prohibition from outdoor irrigation runoff under § 7.69.030(B)(2). The Health Services Agency Director administers the chapter directly, or may deputize a public water supplier under § 7.69.060 that has adopted requirements at least as strict as the county's. Enforcement runs through § 7.69.090: the Director can mail a notice of intent to record a code violation, giving the property owner 20 days to request a meeting to contest it before the Director records a notice of violation with the County Recorder, cleared only by a notice of expungement once the leak is corrected. Knowing and willful violations also draw civil penalties and enforcement costs under SCCC § 1.12.070.