Thornton, CO Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)

Section 74-58(b)(2) requires that 'plumbing, pipes, water meter connections, and irrigation systems shall be maintained and operated free of water leaks,' and specifies that 'upon the issuance of a notice of violation pursuant to Section 74-60(b), a water leak shall be shut off or repaired by the customer as soon as is practicable but in no event more than 10 days from the date of the notice.' The same subsection states that 'any water leak that continues beyond this 10-day period is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.'

The city cannot cite a customer cold: Section 74-60(d)(1) requires a written warning first, giving the customer 'a reasonable time, as solely determined by the deputy city manager,' to fix the leak before a formal notice of violation follows under subsection (b). That notice can be served personally, posted on the property, or mailed, and it must tell the owner or customer they have 10 days to pay any penalty or request a hearing before the infrastructure department under subsection (c), where a city-appointed hearing officer decides the case by a preponderance of the evidence.

If the leak still isn't fixed 10 days after the notice, Section 74-60(g) lets the deputy city manager 'take lawful and appropriate action to correct or cause to be corrected the violation without further notice,' charging the cost against the property as a lien, assessed under Section 38-453(b). This correction authority applies in addition to, or instead of, the monetary penalties in subsection (d).