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

Milpitas Municipal Code § VIII-6-3.00 makes leak repair a permanent, standing duty and then layers escalating deadlines on top of it once the City Council declares a water shortage level. As a permanent restriction under Exhibit A's Table 3-1, item 3.04 prohibits potable water use 'through broken or defective plumbing, sprinkler, watering, or irrigation systems' at all times, shortage or not. Exhibit B's Table 3-2, adopted into the Chapter by reference, then sets the specific clock: at Level 2 (an 11 to 20 percent shortage) customers must 'fix leaks or faulty sprinklers promptly/within 5 days'; the deadline drops to four days at Level 3, three days at Level 4, two days at Level 5, and one day at Level 6, with each tier marked enforceable ('Yes') in the table's own enforcement column.

The City Manager or designee determines the applicable shortage level through the Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment required by California Water Code § 10632, and the City Council adopts the level and its demand-reduction actions by resolution under § VIII-6-4.00, after which the WSCP restrictions for that level take effect immediately. Section VIII-6-7.00 carves out fountains, irrigation systems, cooling towers and dual-plumbed sites that run on non-potable or recycled water from the leak-repair and rationing rules generally. Improved AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) leak reporting to customers is itself listed as a Level 2 demand-reduction action, meaning the City's own billing system is expected to flag leaks to customers as shortage levels rise.