Tempe water tap and development fees by meter size for commercial service

Three parts of Appendix A matter for a new service.

Tap and meter fees (33-56). These pay for tapping the main and installing the connection, meter and meter box. Tempe's table:

Water development fee (33-93). One fee for all user classes, residential, commercial and industrial, by meter size. The schedule reads: 5/8 inch $1,648; 3/4 inch $2,472; 1 inch $4,120; 1.5 inch $8,240; 2 inch $13,184; 2 inch turbine $23,072; 3 inch compound $32,960; 3 inch turbine $41,200; 4 inch compound $65,920; 4 inch turbine $82,400; 6 inch compound $131,840; 6 inch turbine $164,800; 8 inch turbine $313,120; 10 inch turbine $469,680. T means turbine and C means compound.

Sewer development fee (27-213). The table lists a capacity ratio for each meter size, then shows $0 for water, $0 for wastewater and $0 proposed fee at every size, from 5/8 inch to 10 inch. It was last updated by Resolution R2025.44 on April 10, 2025.

• Tap: the physical connection to the city main.
• Development fee: a one-time charge for the system capacity your service takes. It is not a permit fee.
• Turbine and compound meters: two meter designs. The fee schedule prices them separately above 2 inches.
• Deposit required: for 3 inch and larger taps the city collects a deposit against actual cost instead of a fixed price.

It covers anyone getting a new or larger water connection in Tempe, residential or commercial. It does not cover a service that keeps its existing meter, which is why swapping a like-for-like meter or fixtures inside the building does not trigger these fees. Whether a tenant improvement that upsizes a meter triggers a new development fee is not spelled out in the fee table.

A small office fit-out. A 1 inch service carries a $4,120 water development fee and $864 in tap and meter fees. The sewer development fee is $0.

A restaurant with a big kitchen. Moving to a 2 inch service raises the water development fee to $13,184. If the design calls for a turbine meter, the schedule prices it at $23,072.

The edge case: the same job in Chandler. A 2 inch service in Chandler pays $19,680 for water, $47,912 for wastewater and $8,752 for reclaimed water, so Chandler's three fees total $76,344 to Tempe's $13,184 plus $0. Chandler's water fee alone is $6,496 higher than Tempe's, and the sewer and reclaimed fees add the rest. Chandler's table waives the reclaimed and wastewater fees only for water-only landscape connections.

1. 1Decide the meter size with your designer. It sets the water development fee and the backflow assembly size.
2. 2Ask Tempe Water Utilities to confirm the current tap, meter and development fees for your size before you budget. The designer or contractor submits the water service with the building permit through Tempe Building Safety, and 480-350-8341 is the permit number the city's Backflow FAQ lists.
3. 3Include the backflow assembly on the plans. The assembly must be at least the same cross-sectional area as the service.
4. 4For 3 inch and larger taps, expect a cost-based charge with a deposit.
5. 5Pay the fees under the permit process for the building.

• "Sewer capacity costs extra everywhere." Tempe's sewer development fee reads $0 at every meter size.
• "The tap fee is the whole fee." The development fee is separate and much larger.
• "Fees are fixed." Appendix A is amended by council resolution; the water development table was last amended in 2020 and the tap table in 2025.
• "A bigger meter is free insurance." The fee and the backflow assembly both scale with it.