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

Section 14-21.020(B) of the Santa Rosa City Code folds leaks into the City's water-waste definition: "the escape of water through breaks or leaks or due to an equipment malfunction within a customer's plumbing or private distribution system for any substantial period of time within which such break, leak, or equipment malfunction should have been discovered and corrected." The obligation the ordinance actually imposes is a repair duty, not a phone call to the City. Section 14-21.030 makes the rule absolute: "A customer shall not allow potable or recycled water waste," which covers a slab leak, a cracked irrigation main, or a dripping backflow assembly left unrepaired once a customer knew or should have known about it.

Santa Rosa Water enforces that duty on an escalating schedule under Section 14-21.050. The first time it happens in a 12-month period, the customer gets only a written warning. The second time, the customer owes $100, unless within 72 hours of the penalty notice the customer starts actively working to find and fix the leak and gives staff evidence of that progress, in which case the fine can be removed from the water bill entirely. A third violation in the same 12 months costs $200, and a fourth or later one costs $500. Because a leak that runs past 72 hours counts as its own new violation, delaying a repair after a warning is what actually drives up the penalty, not the leak itself. Santa Rosa Water can also disconnect service for a leak violation under Section 14-21.050(B), and any customer can appeal a final decision to the Director of Santa Rosa Water, then to the Board of Public Utilities, within 15 calendar days.