Water Services FAQs

Water is a precious resource in the desert in which we live. If you have questions about the distribution of water in your area, perhaps the answers below will be helpful. If you still have questions, call us at 480-782-3700.

 

For information on normal water pressures in your area or if you have concerns with fluctuating water pressures, contact the Water Quality Department at 480-782-3660.

A clogged water softener unit is normally the cause of low-pressure events. Open the bypass to your water softener; if this action restores your pressure you have identified the problem. If this action does not restore your pressure, contact Water Quality at 480-782-3660 for further assistance.

Most houses are equipped with screens on all faucets within the home. If you do not have water coming out of one faucet try taking off the screen cap and checking for calcium build up.

Hot water occurrences in homes are generally due to service lines being installed close to the surface or aboveground storage facilities exposed to extreme heat in the summer.

It is difficult to immediately notify all customers affected during an emergency main break shut down operation. Isolating the line in this situation is the main priority in order to prevent both the loss of a valuable resource as well as damage to surrounding areas. Once the area has been isolated, crews are directed to notify effected customers of the situation. Dispatchers are also notified at that time to respond to customers that are unable to view emergency crews. You can contact the water dispatcher at 480-782-3700 for further information. Contractors are required by their contracts to notify customers affected by a shut down at least 24 hours in advance. Unfortunately, sometimes they forget.

City of Chandler personnel are required to knock on doors or ring doorbells prior to starting any work on the customer's meter or service. When there is no answer they assume no one is at home and continue with the necessary repairs.

While you are not required to sign for repair work performed, your input and comments are always welcomed. You can ask any city employee for a customer survey card to express your assessment of our performance.

All instances of water shut downs are different. Generally, when replacing a meter, the water should not be off for more than an hour. Main break emergencies are assessed individually and are based on difficulty of repair. You can contact the water dispatcher at 480-782-3700 for update timelines.

It does not cost anything to the homeowner to replace these items. The cost is incorporated into our normal operating and maintenance budget.

The City of Chandler will send an employee to turn off and restore a customer's service for repairs or emergencies at no charge during normal operating hours. However, a charge of $27 is assessed for any calls after regular operating hours in order to compensate for the cost of manning our emergency standby position.

All plumbing fixtures after the city's meter are the responsibility of the homeowner. Plumbing fixtures up to and including the meter are repaired and maintained by the City of Chandler.

The City of Chandler will restore areas back to their original condition if it was responsible for the damage.

Paint markings are used to identify utilities for an excavation project. It identifies where and what utilities are located below to prevent damage to those utilities. Paint markings wear off naturally with time.

The senior Chandler employee on site is responsible for the direction of personnel and equipment. If a foreman is required or requested on-site, available personnel can contact the appropriate person by radio or telephone.

Reclaimed water is water that is collected from homes and businesses, which undergoes a highly advanced treatment process. This advanced treatment process allows the City to use this water for irrigation of parks, golf courses, schools, and other large turf areas.

Unlike a traditional wastewater treatment plant, each reclamation facility in Chandler is a state of the art treatment facility with processes specifically designed to remove solids through screening and filtration. Additionally, the water is disinfected by using chlorine or by passing the water through ultra violet lights before distribution to the system. Monitoring and testing is performed daily on the finished product to ensure the water delivered is fully compliant with all state, county, and city permit requirements.

Reclaimed water is treated to a level acceptable for human contact, but not intended for human consumption. Accidental ingestion poses no significant concerns for humans or animals. According to state health and water quality officials, no health-related problems have been traced to any of the reclaimed water projects operating for the last 20 years in Arizona or California.

There are two essential reasons that the City of Chandler uses reclaimed water. The first and most important reason is because there are no waterways of the United States for the water reclamation facilities to discharge the treated water into. Several millions of taxpayer's dollars would have to be spent to acquire the rights of way for and installation of the pipeline necessary to make this possible. The second reason is that reclaimed water is an environmentally sound way of reusing our water resources while at the same time saving our water supplies for future use.

The City of Chandler is presently requiring all new developments in south Chandler with irrigation areas larger than 5 acres, water features, or lakes to utilize reclaimed water exclusively when available. Currently, there are housing developments, businesses, and golf courses taking advantage of reclaimed water for common area irrigation.

The City of Chandler is constructing reclaimed water distribution lines and requires developers to install frontage lines as part of their plan approval. The City plans to install additional reclaimed water lines to deliver reclaimed water to most of south Chandler.

  • If you would like more information on the City of Chandler's reclaimed water program, please contact one of the following departments:

    • For treatment process questions, call the Water Reclamation Facility at 480-782-3720.

    • For usage areas, reclaimed water application or agreement information, call the Water Distribution Office at 480-782-3701.