Los Banos, CA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

30 places full responsibility for leaks past the meter on the property owner or tenant, not the Water Department. The section requires every consumer to furnish, install and keep in repair, free from leakage and in safe condition, all service pipes, fixtures, stopcocks and other apparatus needed to receive and use city water, entirely at the consumer's own risk and expense. The Water Department expressly does not assume any duty to inspect a customer's plumbing or fixtures and carries no liability for loss or damage traced to improper installation, negligence, or a wrongful act by the consumer, an agent, employee, or licensee in installing, maintaining, using or operating that equipment.

Any damages that flow from a consumer's failure to keep those pipes and fixtures leak-free are the consumer's to pay under this section. 31 shields the City from liability for damage caused by a break beyond the street service cock or by any interruption in supply from broken machinery or necessary repairs. Reporting a suspected leak promptly matters because bimonthly bills stay due regardless of whether the water actually reached a fixture, and fault for an unrepaired leak sits with the property side of the line.