Frequently Asked Questions on Leaks

The Leak Alert Program sends notifications by email, mobile phone text, phone call, or mailed letter, depending on the contact information we have in our billing system. Automated meters enable the SFPUC to provide customers timely information about water use. We use hourly water data to provide courtesy leak alerts. We notify the water account holder, property owner, and property occupants of constant water use.   

Our leak alerts are issued as a courtesy. You do not need to contact us if you receive one unless you want to opt out of receiving future notifications. If you have not been able to find your leak, you can request a Water-Wise Evaluation for help.

Our leak alert is a courtesy to inform you that the water meter at your property has recorded continuous water usage of at least 7.5 gallons per hour. In residential properties there are usually periods, often when occupants are sleeping, when water fixtures and irrigation systems are not running. At these times, no water use should be occurring. It is unusual for the meter in a small property, such as single family, multi-family (2-5 units), and irrigation accounts, to register usage continuously for 48 hours. If it does, this may mean you have a leak. It could also mean a tap, hose bib, or valve was accidentally left on. 

At some commercial and industrial properties, nonstop water usage may reflect normal operations. However, our system flags when the meter for commercial, municipal, and multi-family (6+ units) accounts shows continuous use for 72 hours. It also flags spikes in nighttime water use that’s higher than recent nightly average use. This may mean there’s problematic water use you should review.

Here’s some of the things we look for in addition to unusual continuous water use on your property:

• For multi-family properties with four or five dwelling units:
  • Water use that is higher than average for the past 90 days by 50 percent or more (1.5 times)
• For multi-family properties with six or more dwelling units, as well as commercial, industrial, and municipal properties:
  • Properties with periodic overnight use that shows more than 1 hour of no use between the hours of 1-4 AM when averaged over the last 90 days.
  • Water use between 1-4 AM that is higher than the property's average use from 1-4 AM over the past 90 days by 2 times or more (minimum 100% increase)
  • Properties with regular overnight use that show less than 1 hour of no use between the hours of 1-4 AM when averaged over the last 90 days
  • Water use between 1-4 AM that is higher than the property's average use from 1-4 AM over the past 90 days by 4 times or more (minimum 300% increase)

The SFPUC may provide a credit on high water bills after leaks are fixed. This is to encourage customers to make repairs to plumbing fixtures. The leak allowance program is open to all single-family residential, multifamily residential, and non-residential accounts. Apply for a leak allowance credit by contacting the High Consumption Unit at (415) 551-4780.

For a general estimate, multiply the continuous usage rate noted on your leak alert by 24 hours. This will show you how much water is being wasted in a single day. Then multiply this daily amount by the number of days nonstop usage has been occurring at your property. Our leak alert will note when constant usage started, or you can check hourly use on My Account. The reporting tools available on My Account can help you see hourly, daily, monthly, and seasonal patterns in your water use. You can spot unusual increases in water usage that could be attributed to a leak. 

The SFPUC provides leak alerts as a courtesy program for over 170,000 meters serving 165,000-plus customers of all types and sizes. We set the alert thresholds to best balance this range and reflect what typically signifies a leak.  We want to avoid over-notifying customers for water use that may not reflect a leak. There are also some situations quickly resolved by the customer that don’t need an alert from the SFPUC.

For single-family, small multi-family (2-5 dwelling units) residential and irrigation customers, our system flags 48 hours of constant water use over 1 cubic foot (7.5 gallons) an hour. This threshold provides time for us to verify there are no anomalies with the meter data. It also minimizes sending unnecessary alerts.

For some properties, less than 48 hours of constant use could be due to things other than leaks, such as short-term increases in occupants. Due to the time it takes to receive data, screen, and process it, and transfer information between systems, it takes an additional day for the alert to be generated.

If you believe your property experienced multiple days of constant water use and you didn’t receive a leak alert from the SFPUC, check that your contact information on file with us is up to date.  You can do this online through My Account, by email to customerservice@sfwater.org, or by phone at (415) 551-3000.

Some properties may experience intermittent leaks in toilets, irrigation systems, and other plumbing fixtures that last a few hours or only a day or two. These would not trigger a courtesy alert from the SFPUC.  Toilets often run intermittently as flappers and fill valves age. We advise residents to check and replace internal parts before occasional leaks become constant. Likewise, irrigation leaks may occur only when the system is on and never reach the review period of constant use threshold. We recommend visually checking irrigation systems periodically to check for problems. 

If you are a business or organization and received a leak alert from us, we encourage you to contact the property landscape contractor. They can assist in reviewing the irrigation system for leaks. They will inspect irrigation valves, identifying missing or broken sprinkler heads, and flagging muddy or wet areas in the landscape along the irrigation lines that may be cracked or ruptured.

You may also schedule a free outdoor Water-Wise Evaluation by the SFPUC. This evaluation will help you identify leaks and ways to save water. After, we will provide a follow up report highlighting ways to improve your irrigation system efficiency. Registering to our online My Account system can help in monitoring the site's water use over time.