Flagstaff, AZ Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Flagstaff City Code § 7-03-001-0014
- Enforcing agency
- Water Services Division
- Strategy I surcharge
- $25 per violation
- Repeat violations
- Surcharge doubles each time
- Appeal deadline
- 14 calendar days, written
Summary
In the City of Flagstaff, failing to repair a water leak counts as wasting water under City Code Section 7-03-001-0014. The Water Services Division decides what counts as wasting water, and once the City declares a water availability strategy, wasting water is banned outright. A Strategy I violation draws a twenty-five dollar surcharge, and repeat violations double every time.
17. WASTING WATER: To use or expend water thoughtlessly or carelessly. Examples include, but are not limited to, allowing water to run into the street/gutter, allowing water to pool, irrigating during precipitation events, and failing to repair water leaks. The determination of wasting water shall be made by a representative of the City of Flagstaff. ... No person shall: ... ... c. Waste water, as defined in subsection (A) of this section. ... ... 1. A surcharge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be assessed to the account of record for a violation of Strategy I.
Full Breakdown
Section 7-03-001-0014(A)(17) defines WASTING WATER to include allowing water to run into the street or gutter, letting water pool, irrigating during precipitation, and failing to repair water leaks, and the determination of wasting water is made by a City of Flagstaff representative rather than the customer. The City Manager, on the Water Services Director's recommendation and after notifying the City Council, can declare one of three water availability strategies keyed to resource status. Once Strategy I (water awareness) is declared, subsection (E)(1)(c) makes it unlawful for any person to waste water as defined in subsection (A); Strategy III (water crisis) goes further, banning wasting water intentionally or unintentionally for all residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers.
Surcharges under subsection (D) run twenty-five dollars for a Strategy I violation, fifty dollars for Strategy II, and one hundred dollars for Strategy III, and each succeeding surcharge under the same strategy level may be double the previous one. A commercial water hauler found violating standpipe restrictions pays the equivalent strategy-level surcharge before receiving more water. The ordinance traces to Ordinance 1568 in 1988 and was last amended by Ordinance 2024-19, effective July 3, 2024 (Resolution 2024-30).
Violations & Fines
A leak left unrepaired qualifies as wasting water, and once the City has activated Strategy I or higher, it draws a surcharge billed to the water account of record: twenty-five dollars under Strategy I, fifty dollars under Strategy II, or one hundred dollars under Strategy III, doubling with each repeat violation under the same strategy level. The Water Services Division makes the wasting-water determination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the City require me to report a water leak in Flagstaff?
What happens if I do not fix a leak after the City flags it?
Can I appeal a leak surcharge?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Flagstaff
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