Glendale, AZ Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 33-27 draws the maintenance line at the meter: except as otherwise provided, the property owner must maintain all water service lines and connections within their property in accordance with the city's plumbing code, while the city maintains and repairs meters at its own expense unless the customer or owner damaged them. Section 33-28 then assigns liability for the consequences of a failure on the owner's side: property owners are responsible for all leaks or damages that result from leaks from any equipment on the owner's side of the meter to the property, meaning a burst service line, fixture or irrigation leak inside the property line is the owner's financial responsibility, not the city's.

Section 33-26 backs this with the billing mechanism: the city inspects and repairs mains, meters, services, valves and hydrants, but the customer can be billed for the cost of any repair or replacement necessitated by customer-caused damage, plus any increase in water or sewer service required to fully serve the property afterward. General violations of the water and sewer service division carry escalating civil fines under Section 33-39: not less than $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense, capped at $1,500 for the most serious listed sections.