Rancho Water’s automated metering infrastructure provides access to timely and accurate information about customers’ water consumption. Using this information, the District is able to detect non-stop, 24/7 water use and to notify customers that they may have a plumbing or irrigation leak. As part of Rancho Water’s Customer Leak Notification Program, the District sends leak alerts to residential customers by email, text message, phone call, and/or letter, depending on the contact information we have on file in our billing system.
To ensure that you are notified when Rancho Water detects a potential water leak on your property, please update your account contact information through our online My Account platform to ensure the District has the correct contact information on file. If you haven’t yet registered to use My Account, sign up today to review and track water usage and manage alerts. Signing up is simple and only requires having a copy of your water bill to verify your account number. If you don’t have a copy of your water bill, or you don’t know your account number, please contact our Customer Service Department at (951) 296-6930 for assistance.
If you received a leak alert, your property’s water meter has recorded non-stop, 24/7 water usage of at least 7.5 gallons per hour every hour over a three-day period, or at least 37 gallons per hour every hour over a monitored 1-day period. Leak alerts are provided as a courtesy to help inform you that constant usage is occurring. Please note that it is your responsibility to locate and repair leaks or other causes of high water use on your property. Rancho Water cannot locate and/or repair leaks that are located on a customer’s property. If you need assistance finding a leak, please contact a certified plumber or on-site leak detection service.
Alerts will be sent from Rancho Water by multiple phone numbers that are different than our main contact phone number. These numbers are used by Rancho Water in order to send mobile phone text messages. These numbers are safe and the information you received was sent on behalf of the District. If you would like to opt-out of receiving certain methods of notification, please contact customer service at (951) 296-6930
If you received an alert, it means that your property is equipped with an automated water meter. This newer technology transmits hourly water use data to our billing system by wireless network. This reliable and frequent water usage information allows the District to analyze unusual water use trends such as non-stop continuous usage. The hourly meter readings are reported in cubic feet (one cubic foot is equal to approximately 7.5 gallons).
If the data shows hourly water usage of at least 7.5 gallons every hour for a 3-day reporting period or at least 37 gallons every hour for a 1-day reporting period, the District will automatically notify the water account holder by either email, text message, phone call, or letter, depending on the leak volume and the contact information that’s available on file. We will send you up to five alerts throughout the duration of the continuous usage. Our first alert will be sent either at 24 hours of continuous usage (for continuous usage at or greater than 37 gallons/hour) or 72 hours (for continuous usage between 7.5-36.9 gallons/hour). If at any point the continuous usage stops, you will stop receiving alerts relating to the initial notification. However, if your meter begins to record continuous usage again, you will begin to receive a new set of alerts. There is no guarantee that the District will be able to identify every leak event on your property. It is up to the customer to monitor and track water usage for potential leaks. The easiest way to do this is through our online My Account portal.
Not necessarily. In rare cases, such as filling a pool, you may receive a leak alert. Continuous usage may indicate your property has a plumbing or irrigation system leak or that a tap or hose bib was left running. Visit our Leak Resources page to learn on how to locate and repair common leaks.
To review hourly usage, visit My Account and click on MyWaterTracker. This easy-to-use, digital platform enables customers to visually see and track their water use on a hour-by-hour basis. Additionally, the platform features a comparison of your current water use to your individual household water budget.
Our customer service representatives cannot assist customers with finding leaks. You do not need to contact us if you receive an alert unless you would like to be opted out of receiving certain methods of notification, such as text message or any such notices in the future. 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. Customers are responsible for repairing leaks on their property. Routine water-fixture and irrigation maintenance repairs can help prevent water waste from leaks.
Even smaller low-flow leaks can generate a large amount of water loss. For a general estimate on how much water is being wasted, log into MyWaterTracker, or take the leak volume noted in the alert, and multiply the continuous usage rate by 24 hours to calculate how much water is being wasted through constant usage in a single day. Then multiply this daily amount by the number of days of continuous usage that has been occurring on your property. Our leak alert will note when continuous usage was first detected and the duration of the leak. You can also log into MyWaterTracker and locate when continuous usage first started to better understand when it originated. By providing a date and time when continuous usage began, some customers will be able to quickly locate and repair the leak. For example, if a customer worked on their irrigation system and three days later received a continuous usage alert saying that the continuous usage began on the same day that the maintenance took place, it can be presumed that the maintenance may have contributed to the constant usage.
Many customers who have ongoing leaks will exceed their monthly water allocation and fall into higher priced tiers. To review tiered-budget frequently asked questions, CLICK HERE.
If you received a leak alert and noticed that your bill is higher than usual, it may be due to the continuous usage that is causing such increases. Log into My Account to view your last bill to see which tier you fell into. If you have been falling into tier 3 (inefficient tier) or tier 4 (wasteful tier) you have been exceeding your monthly allocation and are paying a higher rate.
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 24 hours of nonstop water use that is 37 gallons or more an hour or after three days of nonstop water use that is 7.5-36.9 gallons an hour. While some leaks may generate nonstop usage, others may be intermittent. Examples of such leaks may be a toilet as flappers or fill valves age or leaks that only occur when the irrigation system is on and never reach the three days of constant use threshold. Another reason for not receiving a courtesy alert from Rancho Water is your contact information in our billing system is incorrect and needs to be updated. To check or update your contact information, please log into your online account, hover your mouse over the MY ACCOUNT option located at the top of the page, and click on EDIT CONTACT. You will be able to review the contact information the District has on file and update as needed.
Many property owners are unaware that they own the pipes (service lines) that bring water into their homes. If service pipelines leak or break, it is the account holder’s responsibility to contact a plumber and pay for the needed repairs. While the majority of leaks reported are due to leaks that occur on the resident’s property, in some cases the leak is the responsibility of the District. Rancho Water is responsible for the pipe between the meter and the public supply line (main) and for the meter. If the customer tampers with a meter, it becomes the responsibility of the customer to pay for any needed repairs or replacements.
If you believe that a leak is occurring between the meter and the public supply line and is the responsibility of the District, please call 951-296-6930. Please note that Rancho Water will not locate and/or repair any leaks that are located on the customer’s property.