Sarasota County Water & Sewer Capacity Fees (2026)

In unincorporated Sarasota County, water and sewer usually come from Sarasota County Public Utilities, and its connection charges are set countywide rather than by zone. For a new single-family home with the standard 5/8-inch meter, the charges in Resolution 2026-211 (adopted August 25, 2026) are $4,250 (water facilities capacity fee) + $4,480 (wastewater facilities capacity fee) + $215.17 (meter installation) + $40 (building permit review fee) = $8,985.17. The main caveat is the lot: if it connects to water and sewer lines the county itself built or bought, the county adds line extension fees of $1,000 and $1,500 per equivalent dwelling unit, which brings the total to $11,485.17. For how this compares nationally, see our guide to the cost to connect to city water.

Sarasota County connection fees at a glance

All current figures come from Resolution 2026-211, which replaced Resolution 2025-249. The capacity fees are in Exhibit B, the meter and line-extension charges in Exhibit A, and the $40 review fee in Exhibit C. Capacity fees and line extension fees are charged per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU). On the county’s EDU form, a detached, individually metered house counts as 1.00 EDU. A house of 750 square feet or less counts as 0.50. The table marks which rows a typical new house pays. Rows that apply only to certain lots are listed separately. The $15 account fee and the refundable deposit are listed too, but they are not part of the connection totals.

Worked example: a new home in Sarasota County

Assumptions: one detached house of 751 to 5,000 square feet of living space (1.00 EDU), its own 5/8-inch meter, gravity sewer, a lot in a subdivision whose water and sewer lines were built by the developer, and a building permit issued under Resolution 2026-211.

Sarasota County Public Utilities one-time charges for one house (source: Resolution 2026-211).

Developer-built lines: $4,250 + $4,480 + $215.17 + $40 = $8,985.17. County-built lines: $8,985.17 + $1,000 + $1,500 = $11,485.17. The resolution applies the line extension fees to new customers who connect to “existing water distribution lines purchased or constructed by the Utility.” It doesn’t list which streets those are, so ask the Utilities Connection office (941-861-6767) before you budget.

Three other things change the math:

• Small house. The EDU form counts a single-family home of 750 square feet or less as 0.50 EDU. Applying that factor to both capacity fees gives 0.5 × ($4,250 + $4,480) = $4,365. With the meter and review fee, the total is $4,620.17. This is our arithmetic; the county’s own quote is the one that counts.
• Larger meter. A 1-inch meter costs $300.69 to install instead of $215.17, so the total rises by $85.52 to $9,070.69. Homes over 5,000 square feet go through an extra sizing step on the EDU form, and that step can change the EDU count.
• Curry Creek area. Lots there pay an extra wastewater capacity component of $187.65 per EDU. The resolution also provides a credit against the wastewater capacity fee.

When you open the account, Resolution 2026-211 also lists a refundable deposit of $75 for water and $75 for wastewater and a $15 account application fee. The deposit can be waived for an owner of the property who passes the identity check and has a satisfactory payment history. These are account charges rather than connection fees, so they are left out of the totals above.

What is not included in Sarasota County fees

The county’s fees cover system capacity and the meter. It does not charge a fixed tap fee. If county crews have to tap the main and run the service to the property line, Resolution 2026-211 bills that work at actual cost for both water and wastewater. Everything on the private side of the meter or cleanout is paid by the owner:

• Water service line from meter to house: $30 to $150 per foot, about $50 typical (national estimate).
• Sewer lateral: $50 to $250 per foot, about $100 typical (national estimate).
• Trenching: $4 to $15 per foot in normal soil (national estimate).
• Plumbing permit: $100 to $1,300, about $300 typical (national estimate).

At 40 feet from the street, that works out to roughly 40 × $50 = $2,000 for water and 40 × $100 = $4,000 for sewer (national benchmarks, not county figures). On a low-pressure sewer system, the county supplies and installs the single-family pressure (grinder) unit at actual cost. The owner then runs the on-site line and brings the unit a properly rated electrical supply. See grinder pump connection costs. You can enter your own figures in the calculator:

When you pay Sarasota County connection fees

• Capacity fees for new construction are paid before the building permit is issued. The resolution calls any quote before that an estimate. The fee that applies is the one in the resolution in force when the permit is filed.
• Every building permit request needs the county’s notarized EDU Conversion Table form. The Utility Connection Intake Unit (UtilitiesConnections@scgov.net, 941-861-6767) provides capacity fee estimates.
• The county’s Utility Connections page says the utility offers financing for the capacity fees. Capacity or line extension fees that go unpaid can be billed monthly for up to 120 months, plus a $250 penalty for a first offense.
• To request a meter, email metersets@scgov.net.

Septic-to-sewer: Phillippi Creek program

The county’s Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program has been installing central sewer since 2001. It is expected to eliminate about 14,000 septic tanks. Properties inside the project boundaries are charged a non-ad valorem assessment on the property tax bill once the work is done. Resolution 2026-211 also sets a monthly wastewater surcharge of $19 per EDU for 240 billing periods, to recover the rest of the owner’s share of the sewer cost that the assessment doesn’t cover. The Utility Deferred Payment Assistance Program ((941) 500-2476) helps with payment. If you have a septic tank in a project area, ask the Utilities Connection office what you still owe before you compare with the new-construction totals above.

How Sarasota County compares in Florida

At $8,985.17, the typical county total is higher than Fort Myers ($7,017.40 on city water and sewer) and Cape Coral ($7,571 on a served lot). It is lower than Port St. Lucie ($12,427 on a gravity-sewer lot) and unincorporated Hillsborough County’s South/Central area ($10,530.75). The Hillsborough Northwest area comes to $7,503.25. Those figures come from our Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Port St. Lucie and Hillsborough County pages, each for its own standard case. Sarasota’s rate is one countywide number, while Hillsborough’s depends on service area.

Sarasota County fee changes to watch

• October 1, 2026: the county’s rates page says monthly rates change under Resolution 2026-211. Connection charges we checked (capacity fees, meter installation, line extensions) are the same as in the November 2025 resolution.
• Every October 1: the resolution indexes monthly usage rates to the Florida Public Service Commission price index, and wastewater usage rates rise another 5% a year through the fiscal year starting October 1, 2028. The indexing clause names usage charges, not the Exhibit B capacity fees.
• Before your permit: capacity fee quotes can change if the Board adopts a new resolution before the permit is issued.

Sarasota County connection fee questions

More on Sarasota County and nearby cities

Florida utility connection costs · Hillsborough County fees · Fort Myers fees · Tap fee vs. impact fee · Why tap fees are going up · Utility connection cost calculator

Sources for Sarasota County figures

• Resolution 2026-211, water, wastewater, reclaimed water and other utility rates, fees and charges (adopted August 25, 2026), Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Resolution 2025-249, the prior rates, fees and charges resolution (adopted November 18, 2025), Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Utility Connections, Sarasota County Public Utilities. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• EDU Conversion Table External Use Form, Sarasota County Public Utilities. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water and Wastewater Rates, Sarasota County. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program, Sarasota County. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• National cost estimates: Utility Cost Guide benchmark methodology.