New Orleans, LA Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 26-117 of the New Orleans Code of Ordinances puts the repair duty on the people closest to the plumbing. It applies whenever a fixture or line is broken or leaks so that water, fluids or odors escape, or when the free flow through it is wholly or in part obstructed. The covered equipment is listed: any water closet, tank, sink, bathtub, washstand, urinal, laundry tub, surgeon's or dentist's sink or cuspidor or other plumbing fixture; any sewer, soil, water, waste, vent or other pipe or conduit; and any drain, trap, sewer or other plumbing. The person responsible must repair or replace what is defective and stop the leak or escape.

The duty falls on the owner, the agent or the occupant, and Section 26-111 defines two of those terms. An agent is any person who legally represents the owner or who receives the rent for the premises in whole or in part. An occupant is any person living on the premises. Section 26-117 does not rank the three, so each one is named as a person who must act.

Section 26-117 prints no number of days of its own. It requires the work within the period fixed in Section 26-119, which is the notice rule. Under that section no affidavit can be filed against an owner, agent or occupant until 15 days have elapsed after the Department of Health deposits a communication in the United States mail, addressed to the person at an office, residence or other known address or to the premises, or delivers it personally. The notice must designate the character of the violation and the location of the premises.

The article reaches every kind of building. Section 26-112 applies it to private markets, buildings on wharves, places of business, hotels, roominghouses, restaurants and all other premises, whether used for public or private business or for boarding or residential purposes. Section 26-113 makes the Department of Health the enforcing agency and allows its officers, agents, employees, inspectors and appointees to enter any premises in the city to inspect for violations.

Two companion sections set the standard for the work. Section 26-116 requires every owner, agent or occupant of premises connected with the city sewer or water system to keep fixtures and plumbing in good sanitary and usable condition and to prevent obstructions and leaks. Section 26-118 sends repair work to the Rules of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, available from the board's plumbing department, for materials, installation and inspection.