What is a utility will-serve letter and when do you need one?

Owners, buyers and developers of commercial projects, usually before closing on land and always before civil plans are drawn. Depending on the utility, the answer tells you whether the parcel is inside its service area, whether a main is at the property, and what stands between you and service. It is a due diligence document. A bad answer can change what you pay for the site, so ask for it while you still have leverage in the purchase.

You do not always need something called a "will-serve." Some utilities fold the question into their service application or plan review. Ask what your utility calls it, then ask for the answer in writing.

Ask your utility for its current request process. Ask which utilities and proposed uses the request covers, and have the parcel, site address, project use and contact information ready; confirm the current form’s fields rather than relying on an old copy.

Arizona Water Company's version, which it calls a Water Service Information Request, asks for the address, parcel numbers, requestor and owner contact details, and supporting documents such as the assessor map, deed, easements and a record of survey. It also asks for details of any property split. Its FAQ says to complete the fixture count section of the request form to determine the meter size for the property.

Timing depends on the utility. Arizona Water Company asks you to allow up to 45 business days before you follow up. Other utilities may move faster or slower, so ask when you submit and build the wait into your closing timeline.

Phoenix documents its process for properties outside city limits in Engineering Policy P-105, adopted in 2009. It is a useful model even if your parcel is elsewhere, because it shows what a utility actually checks.

The steps are:

1. 1Request. The applicant completes a will-serve request form with the property address, parcel number, jurisdiction, legal description and property use (single family, commercial or other). A recently subdivided parcel needs a copy of the recorded survey.
2. 2Review. Water Services staff review the request and assess service availability and capacity. They send a letter that either denies service or approves it "with stipulation requirements."
3. 3Application. If service is approved, the applicant files an application for water or sewer service. The items required include a copy of the building or plumbing permit from the local jurisdiction, a septic permit if no sewer is available, and the legal description and parcel number. Commercial properties in an impact fee area also submit their number of plumbing fixture units so the wastewater impact fee can be calculated.
4. 4Fees. All fees are paid before services are installed.

Inside Phoenix, the commercial meter worksheet points applicants to a Water and Sewer Service Information Request Form when they are using an existing meter, so the same idea applies under a different name.

### What does the utility check?

Phoenix's policy gives a plain list. It will provide water service if the property fronts an operating water distribution main, the main is in the correct pressure zone, the system has sufficient capacity, and all code and design standards are met. For sewer, the property must front an operating sewer main, with enough capacity for peak-hour flows.

Two details from that policy catch commercial buyers off guard:

• Big sewers are off limits. Phoenix says sewer mains 27 inches and larger are interceptor sewers not intended for tapping. Fronting one does not mean you can connect to it.
• Location controls extensions. For some unincorporated county parcels, Phoenix allows main extensions only after annexation. In some incorporated areas, extensions are not permitted at all.

A few minutes of prep saves a round of back and forth with the utility.

1. 1Get the parcel details right. You need the address, the parcel number and, for a recently split lot, the recorded survey. Phoenix asks for a copy of the recorded survey when a parcel has been recently subdivided, and Arizona Water Company asks about property splits.
2. 2Know your use. Utilities ask whether the project is commercial, residential or a subdivision, and for commercial projects in Phoenix impact fee areas, the number of plumbing fixture units. Have a rough fixture count from your designer.
3. 3Ask for stipulations in writing. If the answer is a conditional yes, the conditions are the project. Get them on paper and share them with your engineer.
4. 4Check the answer against reality. Compare the letter to your survey and utility plans. If it says a main fronts your property, confirm where, and confirm its size.
5. 5Keep it with the deal file. The answer feeds your budget, your closing decision and your permit package. If the utility later changes its terms, you have a dated record of what it told you and which stipulations applied.

A will-serve is an answer about availability, and everything after it is a separate step:

• Extensions. If there is no main at your frontage, you may be looking at an extension you pay for. See who pays to extend a water or sewer main. Phoenix's policy warns that a new service or change in use that raises demand may require improvements to the city's system at the owner's or developer's expense.
• Plans and permits. Phoenix code requires construction plans, established fees and city-approved permits before extension work starts.
• Conditions. The letter can approve service with stipulations, and those stipulations become your to-do list.
• The survey. Arizona Water Company's section maps are for general reference and do not replace a land survey.
• Safety and capacity later. Phoenix reserves the authority to deny or discontinue service if a connection could threaten safe, efficient and adequate service.

### What if you cannot tell which utility serves the parcel?

Maricopa County's planning office says to contact the Arizona Corporation Commission Utilities Division with the address or legal description to learn what water and sewer service exists. If no service exists in the area, it points to the Arizona Department of Water Resources for well questions and County Environmental Services for septic systems.

### How does it connect to the rest of the project?

The letter is step one. Next come the tap and meter, covered in how a water or sewer tap works for a new commercial building, and the fees that follow the meter size in what sets the meter size and capacity fee. For the site context, see what offsite plumbing is.

For the plumbing on your side of the service, HQ Plumbing & Air is licensed, insured and offers free estimates. Ask the utility about its own timeline and terms.

For the related service-planning question, see what happens when the nearest sewer main is not at your property.

For the related service-planning question, see who builds and owns an offsite gas line extension.

For the related service-planning question, see who approves and owns an underground fire line in the valley.

For the related service-planning question, see who owns the commercial water service line from the street to the meter.