# Water Service Line in Seattle, WA: Who Pays? | Who Pays the Repair?

> In Seattle the water meter divides customer-side (owner) from City-side (SPU). Cited to SPU Director’s Rule CS-325.

**Who pays:** shared

Seattle: the meter is the divide, SPU frames leaks as "on either the customer’s side or the City side of the water meter," and the customer owns the customer-side pipes.

**Boundary:** Split at the meter. Seattle Public Utilities frames the water meter as the divide between the customer’s side and the City’s side; the customer owns the customer-side pipes.

**Property owner:** Seattle Public Utilities (Director’s Rule CS-325) treats a leak "on either the customer’s side or the City side of the water meter," with the customer responsible for customer-owned pipes.

**City / agency:** Seattle Public Utilities is responsible for the City side of the water meter.

## Sources
- [Director’s Rule CS-325: leak adjustments (retail customers)](https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SPU/AboutUs/Policies-Directors-Rules/accounts/CS-325_Leak-Adjustments-Retail-Customers.pdf) — "This Director’s Rule establishes the requirements and process for Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) customers to request adjustments to water and sewer charges when a leak occurs in the water system on either the customer’s side or the City side of the water meter." (accessed 2026-09-10)
- [Seattle Public Utilities](https://www.seattle.gov/utilities) (accessed 2026-09-10)

_Last verified 2026-09-10. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/seattle-wa-water-service-line/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._