Do you need a separate permit for a water or sewer tap in Phoenix?

Section 105.1 of the 2024 Phoenix Building Construction Code lists what needs its own permit. Item 2 covers "work within the public right of way including off-site sewer or water extensions; sewer or water taps and all connections to public sewer and water; paving, curb cuts, driveways and sidewalks, and landscaping." Item 1 separately requires permits for automatic fire extinguishing systems, fire alarm systems and other equipment regulated by the Phoenix Fire Code.

Phoenix City Code adds the sewer half in Chapter 28, Article IV:

• 28-28: "A person making application for a sewer tap must present a valid plumbing permit issued by the Planning and Development Director to the Water Services Department as a prerequisite for the approval of the requested sewer tap." Where the Department builds the tap, the application carries a $95 fee.
• 28-29: the Director approves the design, quantity, location, method of connection and size of every sewer tap. Taps run at right angles from the main to the property line, and a sewer tap may not be laid in a water line trench or within six feet of one.
• 28-32: taps eight inches or smaller are installed by the Department. The developer excavates to the city main and uncovers it, gives at least 48 hours' notice, then backfills and restores the surface.

• Right of way (ROW): the public strip for streets, alleys and utilities. Work there is regulated even if the pipe serves only your building.
• Tap: the physical connection of your service line to the city main.
• Building connection: in Chapter 28, the pipe from the tap to the property line or easement line.
• PDD and WSD: the Planning and Development Department issues the permits. The Water Services Department approves the tap and does the connection.

Anyone whose new service, replacement service or repair crosses the property line to the public main: a restaurant adding a sewer service, a tenant improvement that upsizes the water line, a lot getting its first connection. Repairing a leak inside the building, on its own, does not.

The Planning and Development fee schedule lists Right-of-Way Improvements by length: sewer at $183 per 100 linear feet or fraction, water at $220 per 100 linear feet, trenching at $33 per 100 linear feet and paving at $48 per 100 square yards. The minimum permit fee is $390 for other than residential single lot construction, and a $195 as-built review charge is added to water, sewer, paving and concrete permits. A 240-foot sewer run counts as three units, so $549 before the as-built charge.

• Restaurant adding a second bathroom group. The plumbing permit covers the piping. If the existing lateral is too small and gets replaced out to the main, the street work triggers the right-of-way permit.
• New building on a vacant lot. The tap application waits on a valid plumbing permit. Where the Department builds the tap, the excavation and restoration are still yours.
• Same lot, but the lateral would cross a neighbor's parcel. The answer flips. Permits for taps are not granted, and may be revoked, when the lateral passes through property owned by someone else.

1. 1Pull the plumbing permit first, in SHAPE PHX for commercial work.
2. 2Apply for the sewer tap at Water Services with the plumbing permit number and the $95 fee where the Department builds the tap.
3. 3Apply for the right-of-way permit through Planning and Development and price it from the per-100-foot lines above.
4. 4Call 48 hours ahead so the Department can schedule the tap, and have the trench open and safe.
5. 5Restore the street or alley surface to the original condition or to the approved plans.

• "The plumbing permit covers the tap." Item 2 of Section 105.1 says separate permits.
• "The city taps the main for me for the plumbing fee." The Department installs taps of eight inches or less, but the developer still pays for the excavation and the restoration.
• "A lateral can run through the next lot." Section 28-29 says the permit will not be granted, and may be revoked.

Digging up a street or alley to connect to the sewer without a permit is a misdemeanor under Phoenix City Code 28-4, and so is failing to return the street to its original condition.