Tempe, AZ Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Core duty
- Fix leaks once reasonably discoverable, § 33-123
- 1st notice
- Verbal, 14 days to fix, § 33-130
- 2nd notice
- Written, water audit required, § 33-131
- 3rd violation
- 25% bill surcharge, § 33-127
- 4th violation
- 50% bill surcharge, § 33-128
- Repeat violation
- Service shutoff, 2.5x reconnect fee, § 33-129
- Appeal path
- Hearing before Public Works Director, § 33-132
Summary
Tempe's General Code makes it illegal to let a water leak run once you should reasonably have discovered it. Section 33-123 prohibits permitting the excess use, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or malfunctioning plumbing for any period after the escape should reasonably have been found and fixed, and the City enforces it through the same notice-and-surcharge ladder used for irrigation waste.
It is hereby prohibited for anyone to permit the excess use, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or malfunction in the water user's plumbing or distribution facilities for any period of time after such escape of water should have reasonably been discovered and corrected.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Section 33-123, in Article VI of Chapter 33 (Water Wasting), places an ongoing duty on every water user: once a break, leak or plumbing malfunction should reasonably have been discovered, letting the excess use, loss or escape of water continue is itself the violation, regardless of how the leak started. The City folds leak enforcement into the same escalating process it uses for irrigation waste. Section 33-130 requires the first notice of a Section 33-123 violation to be verbal, delivered in person or by phone, along with mailed educational materials, and it must warn the user that failing to correct the leak within fourteen days will bring a written second notice.
Section 33-131 governs that written notice and every notice after it: it must state when the earlier violation occurred, require a water-conservation audit and compliance schedule, and disclose the possible penalties along with the customer's right to a hearing. As with irrigation offenses, a third leak violation within twelve months adds a surcharge of 25 percent of the meter's average six-month bill (Section 33-127), a fourth adds 50 percent (Section 33-128), and any violation after that brings a one-month-average surcharge plus discontinuance of service, with reconnection billed at two and one-half times the standard activation rate (Section 33-129). 00 per violation per day.
Violations & Fines
A first leak complaint draws only a verbal warning and a 14-day window to fix it. Ignore it and the penalties escalate exactly like irrigation waste: a written notice and mandatory water audit on the second violation, a 25 percent bill surcharge on the third, 50 percent on the fourth, and service discontinuance plus a two-and-one-half-times reconnection fee after that, all capped at $2,500 per violation per day under Section 33-133.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I responsible for a hidden pipe leak at my Tempe property?
How long do I have to fix a leak before Tempe penalizes me?
What penalty applies if I keep ignoring a reported leak?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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