Southfield, MI Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Southfield City Code § 2.73, in Chapter 18 (Water), makes "excessive or unnecessary use or waste of water, whether caused by carelessness or by defective or leaky plumbing or fixtures" strictly prohibited. The section gives the water department a direct enforcement tool instead of a fine schedule: for disregard or repeated violation of the no-waste rule, "the water may be turned off by the department." There is no separate permit or reporting form named in the chapter; the duty runs from the prohibition itself, and a property owner whose fixtures leak and are left unrepaired is in violation the moment the waste becomes "excessive or unnecessary." Once service is shut off under § 2.73, restoring it is governed by § 2.74, Turning on after shutoff.

Only "authorized employees or agents of the department" may turn the water back on; the department may also cut the line "at the corporation cock at the main," and before reconnection the owner must "pay in advance the charge of the department therefor," which the director sets at time and material plus ten (10) percent. Anyone who turns the water back on themselves "shall be liable to the penalties hereinafter provided" under the chapter. The department also has a standing right of entry to find leaks before they escalate.

Section 2.86, Access to premises, lets "any official, inspector, foreman or other authorized employee" inspect "the entire water supply and plumbing system" at any premises served by city water "at all reasonable hours." Refusing entry, or hindering an inspection once admitted, is itself grounds for a shutoff after the department gives the owner or occupant twenty-four (24) hours' written notice. Separately, § 2.68 bars anyone from obstructing a curb stop, valve, or other main appurtenance with "building materials, rubbish, soil, snow or other hindrance," which keeps the shutoff valve itself accessible when a leak needs to be isolated.