# Cincinnati: Who Pays for the Water Service Line? | Who Pays the Repair?

> Cincinnati Water Works maintains the service branch free from the main to the valve or curb; the owner maintains it from there into the premises.

**Who pays:** shared

In Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati Water Works maintains the service branch from the main to the valve or curb, and the owner maintains the rest into the premises.

**Boundary:** The department repairs, maintains or replaces the service branch without charge from the main to and including the valve (where not beneath the street paving or curb) or to a point behind the curb; the property owner maintains the portion from those points into the premises served.

**Exceptions:** Failure to repair a leak in the time allotted on notice is sufficient cause for the department to discontinue service.

## Sources
- [Cincinnati Municipal Code Sec. 401-38, Replacement and Repair of Service Branches](https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/water/assets/File/Engineering/Rules-and-Regulations.pdf) — "Where a service branch is installed, the department shall repair and maintain it or replace it with a branch of the same size, without charge, from the main to and including: (a) The valve, where the valve is not beneath the street paving or the street curb. (b) To a point behind the curb" (accessed 2026-10-12)
- [Cincinnati Municipal Code Sec. 401-39, Maintenance of Service Branch by Property Owner](https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/sites/water/assets/File/Engineering/Rules-and-Regulations.pdf) — "That portion of a water branch from points described in (a), (b), and (c) of Section ... into the premises served, shall be maintained in proper condition by the owner. Failure to repair a leak or leaks in the time allotted on notice shall be sufficient cause to justify the department in discontinuing the service." (accessed 2026-10-12)
- [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/water/contact-us/frequently-asked-questions1/) — "The property owner is responsible for their service line and plumbing on private property." (accessed 2026-10-12)

_Last verified 2026-10-12. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/cincinnati-oh-water-service-line/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._