Pocatello, ID Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

A spike in a Pocatello water bill from a hidden pipe leak is not automatically forgiven; it depends on how the customer handles it under City Code § 13.30.080(D), part of the utility billing chapter's adjustments section. The code starts from a presumption against relief: meter readings and charges for water service will be considered accurate unless protest is made to the utility billing department within thirty (30) days after receipt of the bill, so a customer who lets that window pass loses the right to challenge the reading at all.

Even within the window, a credit is not automatic. The ordinance requires the customer to clear three conditions at once: evidence must clearly show that the apparent excessive consumption was due to underground leaking of pipes or fixtures, that the situation was promptly reported to the utility billing department, and that repairs were promptly made. A leak discovered but left unreported, or reported but not fixed promptly, does not qualify. Once those conditions are met, the utility billing director determines the number of gallons of water usage which could reasonably be the result of leakage and authorizes a billing credit of one-half of the charges attributable to leakage, and only for one billing period, not the full span the leak may have run undetected.

Customers who believe the leak affected more than one billing cycle, or who want a larger adjustment, do not get a second review from the utility billing director; § 13.30.080(D) sends those requests to the water superintendent instead, whose decision shall be final, cutting off any further administrative appeal.