Kill Devil Hills, NC Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Town Code Sec. 04, titled 'Failure to Repair Leaks,' places the burden squarely on the property owner. When leaks are discovered in the plumbing of premises connected to the town water supply system, the code does not give the owner a grace period or a repair deadline: the water to that property is cut off immediately, and it stays off until the owner repairs the leak with approved material and the town restores service. There is no separate reporting hotline named in this section; the town's Utilities Division, part of the Public Services Department that administers Chapter 51's water service rules, discovers or is notified of leaks and orders the cutoff.

The rule sits among the chapter's general provisions alongside Sec. 01's requirement that each structure carry its own connection and Sec. 05's rule that installed water lines and appurtenances become town property once accepted, both of which frame why the town treats a leaking connection as its own problem to shut down rather than simply flag for the owner. Because Sec. 02 also bars anyone but authorized town employees from operating meters, valves or fire hydrants, an owner cannot self-restore service after a repair; restoration has to come through the town once it confirms the leak is fixed with approved material, which in practice means the repair should meet the same construction standards Sec. 20 sets for the water system generally (the North Carolina Administrative Code's 'Rules Governing Public Water Systems').