Franklin County, NC Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Franklin County Code § 34-128(f), part of the county's mandatory outdoor water use restrictions, requires that leaking water services or plumbing be repaired within five days of written notification from the public utilities department. The notification requirement gives customers a fixed, short window rather than an open-ended courtesy period, and the department tracks compliance the same way it tracks watering-schedule violations under the rest of § 34-128. Under § 34-128(h), enforcement escalates in fixed steps: a written warning for a first violation of the section, a $200.00 civil fine for a second violation, $500.00 for a third, and for a fourth violation the county interrupts water service to the property.

Before cutting service the county sends written notice of its intent and then waits 24 hours, and service is not restored until the public utilities director is satisfied the risk to the county water supply has been resolved. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation, so an unrepaired leak that runs past the five-day window can accumulate fines quickly. Any fines assessed must be paid within 30 days of the first notification; unpaid fines trigger a service interruption of their own, and service stays off until the fines are paid. The ordinance ties this enforcement authority back to G.S. 160A-175, the state provision letting counties use any lawful means to enforce their own ordinances.