Hollywood, FL Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 51.039(A) of the Hollywood Code of Ordinances places an affirmative duty on every owner, agent or tenant to exercise due diligence to prevent the waste of water. That duty has two parts: stop leaks on your own premises immediately, and notify the Public Utilities customer service office promptly if you discover a leak on property that is not yours, so the department can act. Persisting in willful waste, or neglecting to promptly stop a leak, is sufficient cause under § 51.039(A)(2) for the city to discontinue service and shut off the water supply to the premises without any advance notice.

Once service is shut off for leaks or waste, § 51.039(A)(3) keeps it off until the customer removes the cause, gives the city satisfactory assurance the condition will not recur, and pays the service disconnection charge required under § 51.130. Section 51.130 ties back to § 51.039: if a customer whose water was disconnected for leaks or wasted water turns the curb stop back on without city assistance, that self-help reconnection is itself a violation of the chapter, triggering additional fees, charges and an administrative fee set by resolution of the City Commission.

Section 51.039(B) forecloses any billing relief for the water itself: no abatement, allowance, deduction or refund is available for water used, lost or wasted through leaks, carelessness or neglect once it has passed through the meter. The only relief available is the rate adjustment in § 51.039(C): an account whose usage exceeds 200% of its average monthly usage over the prior 12 months can be considered once every 12 months for an adjustment down to the lowest tiered water rate, for up to two billing months, if the customer documents the leak's existence and repair. Approval requires sign-off from both the Director of Financial Services and the Director of Public Utilities.