St. Petersburg, FL Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Adjustment requires
- Written request + repair documentation
- Excess usage rate
- Priced at Tampa Bay Water wholesale cost
- Adjustment window
- 2 months before repair
- Max adjustments/year
- 3 (incl. at most 2 leak/event)
- Sewer relief
- Separate adjustment under § 27-6(b)
- Excluded uses
- Irrigation, pool filling (voluntary)
Summary
St. Petersburg water customers who report and repair an involuntary leak can get relief on the resulting bill: City Code § 27-6(a) lets a customer apply for an adjustment on usage above their three-month average, but only with a written request and documentation proving the leak occurred and has been fixed.
Water rate adjustment for repaired involuntary leak. Customers who experience an involuntary use of water due to a leak may apply for an adjustment. Voluntary uses of water such as lawn watering and pool filling, including through use of automatic sprinkler systems or swimming pool auto-fill devices, will not provide the basis for a water charge adjustment. Water charges for use in excess of the customer's three-month average prior to the occurrence of the leak, as determined from a review of account records, may be calculated at the cost of water from Tampa Bay Water. In order to obtain a water charge adjustment, the customer must provide a written request seeking the adjustment and submit documentation that a leak has occurred and has been repaired. Water charge adjustments shall be limited to a two-month period prior to repair of the leak.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 54).
Full Breakdown
Rather than requiring leaks to be reported to the City as they occur, St. Petersburg's water ordinance builds leak reporting into its billing-adjustment process at § 27-6(a). ' A parallel sewer-volume adjustment is available under § 27-6(b) for leaked water that never reached the sewer system, subject to the same written-request-and-documentation standard. Section 27-6(g) limits customers to no more than three water/sewer adjustments per calendar year, of which at most two may be leak- or abnormal-event-related. Because the adjustment depends entirely on the customer coming forward with proof of the leak and its repair, the practical effect is that a customer must report the leak, through the written request and supporting documentation, before any billing relief is possible; the City does not independently forgive leak-driven usage without that report.
Violations & Fines
There's no separate penalty for an unreported leak: a customer who doesn't submit the written request and repair documentation required by § 27-6(a) simply remains billed at the normal rate for all usage, including the leak volume. Customers instead face standard delinquency consequences under § 27-5 for any resulting balance: a $5.00-or-1½%-of-balance monthly late charge and possible service termination for accounts unpaid 21+ days past the billing date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I report a water leak to get a bill credit in St. Petersburg?
Does a leaky sprinkler system qualify for a water bill adjustment?
How far back does a St. Petersburg leak adjustment cover?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Petersburg
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Leak Reporting Duty in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pinellas County handle leak reporting duty.