Water Supply and Pipes: Rules in Phoenix-Area Cities

The developer or owner who needs service pays to design, permit and build the main, then deeds it to the city. Phoenix says so in City Code Chapter 28, and Mesa requires an 8-inch main across the whole frontage (8-10-4). Five cities, including Phoenix, let you recover part of the cost from neighbors who connect later.

No. Phoenix City Code 37-53 lets only authorized Water Services representatives move or remove a meter. If anyone else does, the city shuts off water to the property and won't restore it until the customer pays the cost of putting the meter back. Meters belong on the sidewalk side of the curbline.

No. Phoenix's plumbing code amendments bar nonmetallic potable water pipe, fittings and valves from exposed exterior locations such as roofs, ground surfaces and exterior walls. Exposed outdoor water piping must be an approved metal, listed in the code's material tables.

Phoenix sizes water meters from the table in its Water Meter Sizing Guideline (TRT 00142). Each meter size has a maximum flow and fixture unit count, from 20 gpm for a 3/4-inch meter to 1,600 gpm for an 8-inch compound meter. A design over the limit moves up a size, and new building taps start at 1 inch.

Phoenix's Water Services design manual says about 72 pressure zones run at roughly 50 to 100 psi static and provide at least 40 psi at the customer's meter. That minimum applies only if the property sits within its zone's elevation range; otherwise the developer or owner installs a private booster. Above 80 psi, the owner adds a regulator.

Phoenix City Code 37-53 requires a separate water meter for landscape watering of landscaped areas over 10,000 square feet and for water features using 1,000 gallons a day or more, on services set up after January 1, 1990. Water Services design rules also keep fire, domestic and landscape demands on separate connections.

The water meter is the dividing line. Phoenix maintains the line from the street main to the meter. Everything after the meter belongs to the property owner, including a required pressure regulator. Fire lines and sewer lines use different dividing lines, so a commercial property has more than one.

Scottsdale Revised Code Sec. 49-21 sets the charge by meter size. A 3/4 inch meter is $370, the service line $2,410, or $2,730 for both; a 2 inch meter with service line is $4,790. Meters 3 inches and larger are billed at cost recovery and need concrete vaults. Outside city limits the charge is 125 percent.

Under Scottsdale Revised Code Sec. 49-82, commercial, industrial and multi-family projects pay water and wastewater development fees when the first building permit is issued, or when the water meter is bought if the division requires it. No building permit, water or sewer connection, or certificate of occupancy issues until they are paid.

In Mesa the applicant extends the water main. Service needs an eight inch distribution main (or the size the Director sets) along the whole frontage of the parcel, the extension becomes city property, and the owner gives easements at no cost. The city sets meters and makes connections, and repairs everything from the main to the meter.

Where Chandler installs the service line and meter box, the inside-city fee is $1,819.00 for a 3/4 inch meter and $1,847.00 for a 1 inch meter, plus the city's costs for street repair. Where a developer installs the service line and box, the meter fee is $419.00 for 3/4 inch and $447.00 for 1 inch.

A Chandler customer can request a water meter accuracy test. Under City Code 50-18.1 the fee is $35.00 for a meter 2 inches or smaller and actual cost for 3 inches or larger. Tests follow AWWA requirements, and the fee is waived if the meter fails that standard.

Chandler sets non-residential water, wastewater and reclaimed water development fees by water meter size in Chapter 38, Appendix A, Table A. A 3/4 inch disc meter is $3,690 for water and $8,984 for wastewater. A 2 inch disc or turbine meter is $19,680 and $47,912. The fees are paid when the building permit is issued.

Under Chandler City Code 52-11, the property owner maintains and repairs the water service line from the building to the city water meter, and also maintains and tests private fire lines. The city's water FAQ says the city repairs the plumbing up to and including the meter. Failing to maintain either line after written notice is cause to discontinue service.

Tempe charges a water development fee that rises with meter size, from $1,648 for a 5/8 inch meter to $469,680 for a 10 inch turbine meter. The sewer development fee is $0 for every meter size in the schedule read today. Tap and meter fees are separate, and meters of 3 inches and up are cost-based with a deposit.

In Tempe the water consumer maintains the water lines and connections within the property, while the City repairs meters at its own expense unless the consumer willfully injured them. City crews may enter to inspect meters and privately owned service lines, and refusing entry can lead to shutoff after 24 hours' notice. Meter box lids must sit at grade.

Glendale installs the water meter before the rough plumbing inspection, after you pay the meter fee in advance. Utility impact fees follow meter size and must be paid before the building permit. On the city's June 2026 schedule, a 1 inch meter carries $11,898 in East Glendale and $0 in West Glendale.

The owner. In Glendale the city repairs mains, meters and services up to the meter, and the property owner is responsible for every leak, and the damage it causes, on the owner's side of the meter. The line from the meter to the building is the owner's to maintain.

Not on a building the plumbing code covers: PEX can't be exposed outside in Surprise there, and neither can CPVC or PVC. The City's 2024 plumbing amendments require metal pipe, fittings and valves for exposed outdoor water lines, and its mechanical amendment keeps plastic condensate drains out of exposed spots. The house code has no matching rule.

The Surprise Citywide Fee Schedule (Resolution 2026-16, effective 5/19/2026) lists water meter installation per meter by size, from $422.70 for a 3/4 inch ultrasonic meter to $19,050.00 for 8 inch. It says the fee is the listed market cost, updated yearly on July 1st. Except single-family homes and duplexes, each user needs a separate irrigation meter.

Under El Mirage City Code 50.066(B), the developer or property owner, subject to city approval, installs new water connections: the tap on the main, the service line, valves and the meter box or vault. The owner also pays the city's associated fees before the city installs the meter. Commercial use needs its own meter and connection.