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

The leak rule sits in Section 13.04.070 of the San Jacinto Municipal Code, the city's water conservation and supply shortage program. The permanent version, in subsection E, prohibits excessive use, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or other malfunctions in the water user's plumbing or distribution system for any period after the escape should reasonably have been discovered and corrected, and in no event more than seventy-two (72) hours after receiving notice from the city. The trigger the code prints is notice from the city of San Jacinto, and the clock is the repair deadline.

The deadline shortens as a shortage is declared. At Level 1, all leaks, breaks or other malfunctions must be repaired within seventy-two (72) hours of notification by the city. At Level 2 the window is forty-eight (48) hours, and at Level 3, the emergency condition, it is twenty-four (24) hours. At each level the requirement carries the qualifier that the repair deadline stands unless other arrangements are made with the city. The city manager determines the level, and a level is declared by resolution at a public meeting and takes effect on the tenth day after the declaration.

A second, older rule in § 13.04.120 puts the duty on every consumer of city water to keep all pipes, hydrants, faucets and outlets free from leaking, dripping or wasting water. For failure to do so, the superintendent can disconnect the consumer from the use of water without previous notice. The code also makes the city's right of entry explicit: under § 13.04.080 the superintendent or other authorized officer has access at proper hours to all premises supplied with water to inspect the supply system and see that the rules for taking and using water are complied with.

The chapter does not apply to uses of water needed to protect public health and safety or for essential government services, or to recycled water.