Tempe sewer tap fees: what City Code 27-173 and 27-174 charge for a new connection

27-173, city-made taps. Before any sewer tap is made, the "sewer participation charge" computed under Sections 25-81 through 25-100 of the code must be paid to the city. The city then makes individual taps for the fees the City Council sets in Appendix A.

27-174, your own tap. Anyone who wants to make their own sewer tap must notify the Public Works Director at least 24 hours before making it and pay an inspection fee set in Appendix A. "No sewer tap shall be made unless a City inspector is present at the tap site."

27-175, what you own afterward. Once the line is in, the owner keeps it up to and including the tap and saddle. See who owns and repairs the sewer line.

Appendix A, adopted by Resolution R2015.123 on November 19, 2015, lists these under 27-173 and 27-174:

The schedule adds that taps outside the city are charged at one and a half times these fees. These are the city's official fees, not HQ prices.

• Tap: the connection of a building sewer to the city main.
• Machine tap only: the schedule lists it apart from the alley and street taps, which include pavement replacement. Our reading is that it covers the cut into the main alone, without the digging and paving.
• Arterial: a major street. The schedule sets no flat fee there, so the charge is the actual cost.
• Sewer participation charge: a separate charge that 27-173(a) says must be paid first, under Sections 25-81 through 25-100. This page does not summarize those sections, so ask Public Works for the current amount.

Anyone connecting a new or replacement service to a Tempe city main: owners, developers, general contractors and plumbers. It does not price the plumbing inside the building.

A restaurant pad in a local street. The city makes the tap at the local street rate, pavement replacement included. The owner still owes the participation charge before the tap is made.

A plumber who taps the alley main. The contractor gives 24 hours' notice, pays the own-tap inspection fee, and waits for the inspector. If the inspector is not at the tap site, the tap cannot be made.

The edge case: the arterial. A property on a major street gets no flat fee. The charge is actual cost, so the budget has to wait for Public Works.

1. 1Find the size and location of the tap: alley, local street, collector or arterial.
2. 2Ask Public Works for the current sewer participation charge before you price the job.
3. 3If a contractor will make the tap, give Public Works 24 hours' notice and book the inspector.
4. 4Confirm the fee schedule is current. Appendix A here dates from 2015, and Municode may show later amendments.
5. 5Keep the receipts. They matter when the owner later asks who owns the line.

• "The $1,100 is the whole cost of connecting." It is the city's tap fee. It does not include the participation charge or your plumbing.
• "I can tap it myself and skip the inspector." 27-174 says no tap is made without a city inspector on site.
• "Every city posts one fee." Chandler's section sets a permit requirement and no fee, and Glendale's requires a permit and street restoration.
• "An arterial costs the same as a local street." The schedule lists actual cost for an arterial.