Who is responsible for the water line to your Phoenix property, the city or you?

The Water Services page on general service issues draws the line in one sentence: "Issues on the city's side (from the street to the water meter) are the responsibility of the City and issues after the water meter are the responsibility of the homeowner." The same page adds that "household plumbing is an issue for the homeowner, tenant, or landlord."

Pressure works the same way. The page says water pressure greater than 80 psi "requires action by the home or business owner," and that Phoenix "requires that customers install a pressure regulator (pressure reducing valve) on the customer's side of the water meter" so pressure does not exceed 80 psi. Private pressure regulators are the owner's responsibility. The Design Standards Manual repeats the requirement: under the adopted plumbing code, a private pressure regulating valve "shall be required on the customer side of the service meter."

The manual defines a service connection by type of service, and the point of connection differs:

• Domestic and landscape water: the meter is the point of connection.
• Fire line: the point of connection is the fire line valve nearest the public main, and owner maintenance "begins at the control valve located within the public right-of-way or water easement."
• Sewer: the point of connection is at the public sewer main or manhole. The owner cleans and maintains the sewer line from the building to the city sewer main. For a single-family or duplex property the city repairs a broken service line in the public right of way. For any other property the owner or the owner's contractor repairs the street or alley section under a City permit (City Code 28-5).

So a commercial property with a domestic meter, a fire line and a sewer lateral has three different dividing lines on the same lot.

• Service line: the pipe between the main and the property. The manual says service lines from the main to the meter follow MAG Specification 631 and City supplements, and service lines for meters three inches and larger are ductile iron.
• Meter: city equipment that measures use. It is where the city's responsibility ends on the domestic side.
• Customer's side: everything downstream of the meter, including pipes, valves and the required pressure regulator.

Owners, landlords, tenants and managers of any Phoenix property on city water. Each demand (domestic, landscape, fire) needs its own service connection, per the manual, so a larger property will have several meters or connections to sort out. This page covers the city-water dividing lines, not private wells or properties served by another utility.

• A restaurant sees a wet spot between the sidewalk and the building. If the water is on the street side of the meter, the city maintains that pipe. If it is past the meter, the owner pays for the plumber.
• Pressure is over 80 psi and fixtures keep failing. Phoenix expects a regulator on the customer's side of the meter. A failing regulator is the owner's, not the city's.
• The same wet spot turns out to be a sewer line. The answer flips: sewer responsibility does not stop at the meter. The owner maintains the sewer line to the main. The city repairs the street section only for a house or duplex; a commercial owner pays for that section too.

1. 1Find the meter and note whether the leak is on the street side or the building side of it.
2. 2If the problem is on the street side, contact Water Services.
3. 3If it is on the building side, call a licensed plumber. A leak detection visit can trace an unseen leak between the meter and the building.
4. 4Check for a working pressure regulator on the customer's side of the meter and confirm pressure is 80 psi or less.
5. 5For fire lines and sewer lines, use the separate rules for each on the linked pages.

• "The city owns everything in the ground." Only the part from the main to the meter. After the meter it is yours.
• "A high water bill is the city's problem." Unseen leaks after the meter are the owner's, while the city's side is limited to the street-to-meter line.
• "One rule covers water, fire and sewer." Each has its own dividing line.