Sugar Land, TX Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Sec. 5-246 sets Sugar Land's monthly retail water rates, and subsection (a)(6) is the "Adjustments and payment plans" clause that answers the question every customer with a burst pipe or slab leak eventually asks: can the water bill be fixed after the leak is fixed? The city manager is authorized to adopt policies adjusting a residential customer's water and surface water charges when a leak was beyond the customer's control and pushed the bill significantly higher than the same billing cycle a year earlier. The customer carries the burden of proof: the section requires documentation of both the leak and its repair before an adjustment is granted, typically a plumber's invoice or repair receipt showing the date and nature of the fix.

The relief is not unlimited; adjustments are capped at one per rolling twelve-month period per customer, so a household that floods a second time within a year is not automatically entitled to a second reduced bill under this provision. For customers who don't qualify for an adjustment, the city may instead offer a payment plan for the higher-than-normal charges, spreading the cost rather than waiving it. 81 per 1,000 gallons and a service charge tied to meter size.