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1. Why did I receive a continuous water use alert?

There are two reasons why you would receive an alert. The first is the water meter has recorded non-stop, water usage of at least 3 gallons per hour every hour over a 24 hour period. The second is that your water meter recorded at least 75 gallons per hour every hour over a monitored 8-hour period.

To review your hourly, daily, and monthly usage, register for WaterSmart and click the “Track” menu heading. 

2. If I receive a continuous use alert, does this mean I have a leak?

Not necessarily. Our system may rarely flag legitimate use as a leak and sometimes your continuous usage may have already stopped without your intervention (e.g., a gardener or another member of the household turns off a hose, or a leaky toilet flapper falls back into place, etc.). If you receive a continuous use alert, please check your water meter to see if the continuous usage is still occurring and check the most common sources (e.g., outdoor hoses, toilets, and irrigation systems) before hiring a professional to locate a leak. 

To review your hourly, daily, and monthly, usage, register for WaterSmart and click the “Track” menu heading. 

3. How do I know if I’m responsible for the leak or if Soquel Creek Water is responsible?

The property owner is responsible for all plumbing located immediately after the service line connection at the water meter. The water meter and its fittings are the responsibility of the District.  

If you see water in your meter box, please contact the District before calling a plumber or irrigation expert so that a Staff member may assess if the leak is the responsibility of the District.

4. How do I get email, text, or phone alerts about continuous use?

To get email alerts about continuous water use, make sure your contact information with us is up to date. Call us at (831)475-8500. To sign up for text or voice alerts, register for WaterSmart and update your settings. Note that you can also set customized alerts for water use or bill amounts over a designated threshold, as well as for unplanned water use.

5. Do I need to contact Soquel Creek Water if I receive a continuous use alert?

No. Leak detection and repair is the responsibility of the customer however we are available for questions.  However, if you need water service shut off at the meter to make repairs, please contact us at (831) 475-8500 for service.

6. Can Soquel Creek help me look for or repair a leak or source of my continuous usage??

No. Staff can assist customers with basic questions, like when your leak started and give some ideas of where to look but ultimately it is the responsibility of the customer to locate and repair the leak. If you receive an alert and/or suspect you have a leak but cannot locate or repair it, please contact a plumber or irrigation expert for assistance.

7. How can I tell if my continuous use has stopped?

There are two easy ways. 

1. Take a look at your water meter. Click here to learn how to read your meter and see if it is registering a leak. 

2. Register for WaterSmart and look at your water usage. (Note that a change may take up to a day to be reflected in your WaterSmart usage)

8. How do I apply for a leak adjustment?

Our leak adjustment form is located on our website and is also available as a form on the WaterSmart portal. You can fill out a form either way to reach our billing department.

9. My property has a leak, but I didn’t receive an alert. Why?

To avoid sending too many alerts and notifying customers about situations that might not be leaks, we send courtesy alerts to single family properties after 8 hours of nonstop water use that is 75  gallons or more an hour or after 24 hours days of nonstop water use that is over 3 gallons an hour. While some leaks may generate nonstop usage, others may be intermittent. For example, toilets, irrigation valves and water softeners can leak on an intermittent basis at varying flow rates, and never reach the 24 hours of constant use threshold. 

Another reason for not receiving a courtesy alert from the District is your contact information in our billing system is incorrect and needs to be updated. To check or update your contact information, please contact customer service during regular business hours at (831)475-8500. 

10. Can I get continuous use alerts for my multifamily residential property or business?

The automated continuous use alert feature is only   available to single family accounts[SF1] . Multifamily residential, business and institutional account holders can register for WaterSmart to view and track their usage and set custom high use alerts which may assist in detecting leaks.