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

240(A), a property owner receiving city water service may apply for a bill adjustment when a water leak has been discovered on the property, a water line failure occurred, an inadvertent error caused excessive usage, or an unexplained abnormal meter reading occurred. The adjustment cannot exceed 100 percent of the difference between what was billed and the property's average usage, computed from the preceding 12 months of meter reads. Subsection (B) limits the adjustment to no more than two consecutive billing periods, and any bill submitted must exceed twice the average usage.

The owner must submit a signed application on a form prescribed by the finance director within 90 days of the last day of the billing period. Under subsection (C), the customer services manager reviews the application, may enter and inspect the property, and will not approve an adjustment if the meter still shows abnormally high usage after the leak is reported. If approved, subsection (D) directs the manager to issue a credit to the billing account, or a check if the owner no longer holds the account.

Subsection (E) allows the owner to request reconsideration by the finance director in writing within 30 days of the decision; the finance director must issue a written decision within 45 days, and that determination cannot be appealed to the hearing examiner or city council. Subsection (F) limits an owner to one adjustment application every 12 months and requires proof of completed repairs, such as invoices, before a second adjustment for the same leak is granted.