New Britain, CT Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Repair deadline
- 15 days after certified-mail notice of a lateral break
- Emergency deadline
- 48 hours for a public health or safety emergency
- Enforcing agency
- Board of Water Commissioners and Department of Public Works
- Consequence of non-repair
- City repairs the break and bills owner full cost
- Unpaid bill
- Becomes a real estate lien under G.S. Section 49-73b
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances Section 23-117, Breaks to be repaired
Summary
In the City of New Britain, the board of water commissioners must notify a property owner by certified mail whenever a break occurs in a private water lateral. Code of Ordinances Section 23-117 gives the owner fifteen days to repair the leak, only forty-eight hours during a public health or safety emergency, before the city fixes it and bills the owner.
(a)Notice to repair. The board of water commissioners shall give notice in writing by depositing such notice at the post office, postage prepaid, to the property owner at the address used for water service bills whenever a break occurs in the private lateral water service pipe of such property. Private water lateral is defined as the pipe or pipes or other appurtenances which carry water from the publicly-owned water line to the private structure.(b)Consequence of failure to repair. If the property owner fails to repair the break within fifteen (15) days from the date of notice received by certified mail, the board of water commissioners and/or department of public works shall proceed to repair such break and shall bill the owner of the property for the reasonable cost thereof. In the case of a public health or safety emergency, the property owner must repair the break within forty-eight (48) hours from the date of notice received by certified mail or the board of water commissioners and/or department of public works shall proceed to repair such break and shall bill the owner of the property for the reasonable cost thereof.
Full Breakdown
New Britain's Code of Ordinances places the duty to fix a broken water lateral squarely on the property owner. Sec. 23-116 requires board of water commissioners approval before anyone taps or connects to a city water main, and Sec. 23-117 (Breaks to be repaired) picks up from there: whenever a break occurs in the private lateral, the pipe carrying water from the city's main to the private structure, the board gives written notice by depositing it at the post office, postage prepaid, mailed to the address on file for the owner's water bills.
The owner then has fifteen days from the date the certified-mail notice is received to fix the break. If the break is a public health or safety emergency, that window shrinks to forty-eight hours. Miss the deadline and the board of water commissioners and/or the department of public works steps in, repairs the break itself, and bills the owner for the reasonable cost. If the owner does not pay, the city can sue in its own name and place a real estate lien on the property under General Statutes Section 49-73b.
The same chapter's water use restriction ordinance, Sec. 23-124(e)(3), separately presumes that seventy-two hours after a customer discovers or is notified of a service-line leak is a reasonable time to stop the flow, reinforcing that leaks are the customer's responsibility to correct promptly. Report a lateral leak to the water department promptly to avoid the city performing the repair and adding the cost, plus potential lien exposure, to your water bill.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a certified-mail notice under Sec. 23-117 does not make the leak go away: after fifteen days (forty-eight hours in a health or safety emergency), the board of water commissioners or department of public works repairs the break itself and bills the property owner the full reasonable cost of that work. An unpaid repair bill becomes a real estate lien against the property under General Statutes Section 49-73b, and the city can also sue the owner directly to collect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I report a water leak to in New Britain?
How long do I have to fix a water leak once notified?
What happens if I don't pay the city's repair bill?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Britain
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