El Mirage City Code 50.066: who installs water taps and service lines?

Subsection (B) is the rule: "The developer/property, subject to city approval, shall be responsible for installing new water connections, including tapping water mains, installing water service lines, valves and meter boxes or meter vaults." The same subsection adds that "It is the developer's/property owner's responsibility to pay all other associated city fees prior to the city installing a water meter."

Two other rules in Chapter 50 fit around it. All water the city sells is metered by meters "owned and maintained by the city," so the city sets the meter even though the owner builds everything up to it. And any water service for commercial use may not be included in a residential service account: it must have a separate meter and connection.

Fees for water meter installations are "established by resolution of the Council," so the amounts are not in the code itself.

• Water connection: the tap on the main, the service line to the property, the valves and the meter box or vault, as the code lists them.
• Meter box or meter vault: the enclosure that holds the city-owned meter. The owner's side builds it, and the city installs the meter in it.
• Subject to city approval: the city reviews the connection before it is built. Work in a public street also needs a city right-of-way permit through Engineering.
• Resolution of the Council: the vote that sets the fee amounts, which is why the numbers can change each budget year.

Developers and property owners connecting a new building, a new commercial suite or a larger service to the El Mirage water system, and the licensed contractors they hire. It does not cover fixing a leak on an existing service line, which is a repair permit question, and it does not cover fire lines, which run under separate fire-service rules.

A new retail building on a vacant lot. The owner's contractor taps the main, runs the service line and sets the vault after the city approves the plans. The owner pays the city's fees, then the city sets the meter. The linked FY26-27 document is marked "Proposed Comprehensive Fee Schedule" even though it lists a July 1, 2026 effective date. Obtain the adopted meter charge from the city rather than budgeting from that document alone.

A shop added to a house on the same lot. The commercial space cannot share the home's residential account. It needs its own meter and connection, which means a second tap or a separate line and a second meter fee.

The edge case: a tap that reaches under the street. Approval under 50.066 covers the connection. A trench in the public street also needs a right-of-way permit from Engineering and a licensed contractor, and the street has to be restored afterward.

1. 1Confirm the property is served by an El Mirage main and find where it runs. Call Arizona 811 before any digging.
2. 2Decide the meter size with your engineer or plumbing designer, because the fee follows the size.
3. 3Ask the city's Permit Center how to submit connection plans and which Engineering approvals and right-of-way permits apply to the job.
4. 4Hire a licensed contractor to make the tap, run the service line and set the valves and vault.
5. 5Pay the associated city fees before asking the city to set the meter.
6. 6Schedule the inspections the permit requires, then ask the city to install the meter.

• "The city taps the main for me." In El Mirage the code puts the tap on the developer or owner, with city approval.
• "A commercial suite can share the house account." Commercial water service needs its own meter and connection.
• "The meter fee is in the code." The amounts are set by council resolution and change with the fee schedule. Check the current schedule.
• "Once the vault is built the water is on." The city installs the meter, and only after the fees are paid.

The rule is El Mirage City Code 50.066(B) on American Legal, with the meter and commercial service rules elsewhere in Chapter 50. The city's answer for your project, not this summary, decides a real dispute.