Frequently Asked Questions

The first thing to do is identify if the leak is on your property or in the street. If the leak is on your property you should call a plumber immediately. If the leak is in the road, visit our Report a Water Leak page.

Once a leak has been reported it is assigned a number. It will take 24 hours before you will see the leak noted on our Active Water Leaks Map. Leaks are fixed in order of priority. Water main leaks are fixed first because of the amount of water loss that happens when a main breaks. Then service lines are fixed and then meter leaks. Service lines and meter leaks have a 48 hour waiting period to allow other Utilities to spot their lines per State Law. Please be patient and know that we will get to the leak as soon as we are able.

The most common type of water leak in the City comes from the service line. These leaks occur because of the material the line is made of which is polyethylene. These polyethylene lines were used extensively in Rio Rancho by builders and developers because of the high price of copper. Unfortunately, these lines do not survive well with the normal pressure changes throughout its lifetime. These lines are being replaced through our ongoing project known as Water Service Line Replacement Project. This project has several phases in order to replace aging service lines with new copper ones.

The most common type of leak in your home is from the toilet or faucets. You can learn how to identify these leaks and how to fix them by visiting our Detect and Fix Leaks page.

More leaks occur in the summer because there is a greater demand on the water system for irrigation. As pressure varies from usage, the line develops cracks which then makes it leak.