Killeen, TX Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Officer duty
- Report pipe leakage to water commission, Sec. 30-38
- City duty
- Inspect and repair leaks, Sec. 30-13(e)
- Customer duty
- Repair leaks promptly after city notice
- Drought trigger
- Uncorrected leak = prohibited use at Stage 2
- Max fine
- $2,000 under Sec. 30-14(b)
- Service cutoff
- 3 violations allow disconnection
- Reporting agency
- Water commission / water and sewer department
Summary
Killeen's water code assigns leak duty to three parties. Sec. 30-13(e) requires city staff to investigate customer reports of low pressure or possible leaks and to inspect and repair confirmed leaks promptly. Sec. 30-38 orders every officer on patrol to watch for and report pipe leakage to the water commission. Sec. 30-9(d)(9)e turns a customer's failure to fix a leak after city notice into a prohibited water use once a drought stage takes effect.
It is the policy and practice of the city's water utility to investigate customer complaints of low pressure and possible leaks. Additionally, as required by 30 Texas Administrative Code §288.2(a)(2)(A), city staff visually inspects suspected leaks and prioritizes and completes the timely repair to any leaks detected.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 38 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Killeen splits leak duty three ways across Chapter 30. City staff carry the detection burden: Sec. 30-13(e), the water conservation plan's leak-detection section, commits the utility to investigate every customer complaint of low pressure or a possible leak, and requires staff to visually inspect suspected leaks and prioritize their timely repair, tracking results in the record-management system required by 30 Texas Administrative Code Sec. 2. Police carry a watch duty: Sec. 30-38 makes it "the duty of every officer" on patrol to look after fire hydrants, leakage of water pipes and faulty connections and report what they find to the water commission, alongside checking that customers are using water as their service application describes.
Customers carry the repair duty. Sec. 30-32 conditions service on keeping sprinklers, hydrants, faucets, valves and hoses in good repair, and the city will not supply water to a defective or leaky fixture except at an advanced rate. The drought contingency plan sharpens that into an enforceable stage-2 rule: once notified, "failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice by the city" is classified a prohibited non-essential water use under Sec. 30-9(d)(9)e, punishable the same as any other drought-stage violation.
Sec. 30-14(b) sets that penalty at up to $2,000 for provisions touching public health and sanitation, with repeat convictions authorizing the city to disconnect service until a reconnection fee is paid.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a city notice to fix a leak is treated as a drought-plan violation under Sec. 30-14: a Class C misdemeanor, fined up to $2,000 for a provision touching public health and sanitation, with each additional day the leak runs a separate offense. Three violations of the plan let the city manager disconnect service after due notice, restorable only after a reconnection fee. Sec. 30-32 backs this up on the utility side: the city can refuse or restrict service to any connection with defective or leaky fixtures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I report a water leak to in Killeen?
Can I be fined for not fixing a leak on my property?
Will Killeen refuse water service over a leaky faucet?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Killeen
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