Pierce County, WA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Pierce County's sewer charge is calculated from water meter readings under PCC 13.13.055(A), so a leaking water service pipe on your side of the meter can spike your sewer bill even though the lost water never reached the public sewer system. PCC 13.13.055(H) is the fix: the property owner may be entitled to an adjustment of the sewer bill, but only after submitting a written request to the Department. That request must include the date the leak was repaired and copies of the repair invoice or parts receipt; the code puts the burden of proof squarely on the applicant to show the adjustment is warranted. The Department reviews the submission and notifies the applicant of its decision in writing, with no fixed turnaround time specified in the section itself.

Because 13.13.055(H) sits inside the broader billing-adjustment chapter, the general rules of PCC 13.13.050 also apply: any billing error must be reported within 90 days of the billing date under 13.13.050(B), and a granted adjustment reaches back no more than 36 months of overcharges under 13.13.050(C). Miss that window and the Department may simply deny the adjustment. Homeowners with a metered irrigation line should also check PCC 13.13.060's submetering option, which lets a customer meter uncontaminated water separately so it never counts toward the sewer charge again.