Lake Charles, LA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 21-95 of the Code of Ordinances addresses what happens when a leak distorts a sewer bill. Because Lake Charles charges monthly sewer fees based on metered water consumption under Section 21-92, a slab leak, broken service line, or running fixture that keeps the meter spinning for weeks would otherwise translate directly into an inflated sewer charge, since sewer usage is derived from water usage rather than measured separately. Section 21-95 gives the mayor or the mayor's designee, in practice the utility billing division under the Department of Public Works, discretionary authority to estimate what water usage would have been for that three-month period absent the leak, and to charge the customer according to that estimate instead of the raw meter reading.

The ordinance does not create a mandatory customer reporting duty, a repair deadline, or a documentation checklist; it is a billing-relief mechanism triggered by the city's own recognition that a leak occurred, and the customer's practical remedy is to bring the leak to the billing division's attention so the estimate can be applied. A companion authority at Section 21-96 lets the city estimate consumption entirely, using factors such as past usage at the location, square footage, and comparable customers, for accounts that lack a city-approved water meter or are not connected to the city water system at all.

Neither section imposes a penalty on the property owner for the leak itself; enforcement in this chapter is aimed at nonpayment of the resulting bill, not at the leak. A customer who fails to pay the adjusted sewer charge remains subject to disconnection of water service under Section 21-98, and continued nonpayment can be pursued as a misdemeanor under Section 21-99, punishable per the general penalty in Section 1-8 of the Code. Practically, this means the burden falls on the resident: there is no automatic credit, and the mayor's designee retains discretion over whether and how much to adjust the estimate once notified of the leak.