Surprise, AZ Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

The repair duty lives in Chapter 58, Article VII, Division 8 (Administrative) of the water conservation article, and it works alongside the broader ban on wasted water in Division 5. Sec. 58-661 already makes it "prohibited for anyone to permit the excess use, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or malfunction in the water users' plumbing or distribution facilities for any period of time after such escape of water should have reasonably been discovered and corrected." Sec. 58-803 then sets the clock: the owner, manager, or person responsible for day-to-day operation of the premises has 72 hours from first learning of the leak to "initiate steps to repair," and must "diligently and promptly pursue such repair work to completion" unless the city grants a variance. Where the waste comes from a faulty system integral to the facility's operation, the code allows 7 calendar days from a city warning notice to correct it, or up to 30 days if the circumstances and the city approve, and the property owner must submit proof of the repair once finished.

Sec. 58-802 backstops the timeline: water lost to a "supply system failure or malfunction" is not counted as unnecessary waste at all if it is fixed within 72 hours of notice of the failure, which is why the 72-hour clock in Sec. 58-803 matters so much. Sec. 58-658 lists the typical triggers the city treats as unnecessary waste once past that window: damaged or missing spray heads, bubbler heads, and drip irrigation lines; damaged backflow or meter control devices; and failure to maintain berms, laterals, pipes, or automatic irrigation timers.