How much does the City of Surprise charge to install a water meter?

The Citywide Fee Schedule, Resolution 2026-16, effective 5/19/2026, carries this heading in the Water Resource Management section: "Water Meter Installation - Fee amount is the listed market cost updated yearly on July 1st." The amounts below it, each "Per Meter," are ultrasonic meters:

The schedule does not say whether the figure includes labor, a tap, a meter box or a trench. It lists only the meter. The city's Permits and Applications page linked this same schedule on 2026-10-04, so it was the current posted version that day. The July 1 clause means the next posted version may differ.

• Market cost: the schedule's own phrase. It does not define it or say how the city sets it.
• Ultrasonic meter: the meter type the schedule prices. It does not say whether the city will accept another type.
• Separate meter for each account or use: Section 58-6(c) says "Each utility user shall have a separate meter for each account or use, as applicable."

Anyone setting a water meter on the Surprise system. The schedule does not say who pays or when, so ask the city. The meter belongs to the city: 58-5(a) says "Title to the meters installed shall remain in the city and said meters shall be serviced and repaired by the city." Repair costs fall on the city "except in the instance of tampering or otherwise damaging a meter," when the city may bill the customer.

A small restaurant in a new plaza. The space needs a domestic meter, and the plaza's landscaping needs its own irrigation meter. Two meters means two lines on the fee schedule, at the sizes the engineer picks.

A fourplex. A fourplex is not a duplex. The irrigation meter exemption in 58-6(d) names only single-family and duplex units, so the landscaping needs its own meter.

The edge case: the July 1 update. A builder budgets from a table dated 5/19/2026 and pays in the fall. The schedule says the amounts are updated yearly on July 1st, so confirm the figure for the day you pay.

1. 1Have the engineer size the service from the fixture count. The city can require a larger meter than a schedule shows if documentation shows it is not adequate (58-6(b)).
2. 2Decide how many meters you need: one per account or use, plus irrigation unless the property is a single-family home or duplex.
3. 3Pull the current Citywide Fee Schedule from the Permits and Applications page and check the date and the Water Resource Management section.
4. 4Call Water Resource Management at 623-222-6000 to confirm the amount that applies to your meter size and when it is due.
5. 5Plan the customer-side piping. Section 58-10 puts the customer in charge of facilities "from the customer side of the meter."

• Copying a fee from an old schedule. This one is tied to a yearly July 1 update.
• Assuming one meter covers everything. Anyone other than a single-family home or duplex needs a separate irrigation meter.
• Assuming the meter is the customer's property. Title stays with the city.
• Comparing it to another city's table without checking what is included. Chandler's code gives two different fees depending on who installs the service line and meter box.

The amounts are from the Surprise Citywide Fee Schedule, Resolution 2026-16, and the metering rules are Sections 58-5, 58-6 and 58-10 of the Municipal Code. This is an explanation, and the posted schedule and code govern.