Central Alabama Water Tap & Jefferson County Sewer Impact Fees (2026)

In Birmingham, water comes from Central Alabama Water, the utility formerly called the Birmingham Water Works Board, and sewer service comes from Jefferson County’s Environmental Services Department (ESD), not the city. A new single-family home on a 3/4-inch or 1-inch water tap with 10 plumbing fixtures (our example count, not a county figure) pays about $5,868.88 in official one-time charges: Central Alabama Water’s $1,768 tap ($1,000 system development fee plus $768 connection fee, Central Alabama Water Rates & Fees), a $89.18 county sewer connection permit, and a sewer impact fee of $401.17 per fixture, $4,011.70 for 10 fixtures (Jefferson County Sewer Use Charge Ordinance, rates effective Oct 1, 2025). The caveat that matters most is the fixture count: the county charges for every toilet, sink, tub, shower, dishwasher, washing machine and disposal, so a larger house pays more; at 10 fixtures the sewer impact fee is more than twice the water tap. For how this compares nationally, see our guide to the cost to connect to city water.

Birmingham connection fees at a glance

Water rows come from Central Alabama Water’s Rates & Fees page and tap application sheet; sewer rows come from Jefferson County’s Sewer Use Charge Ordinance (rates effective October 1, 2025). The sewer impact fee is shown per fixture unit, so the calculator asks how many fixtures the house has. “Other published fees” apply only to some lots.

Worked example for a single-family home in Birmingham

Assumptions: a new house on a lot that already has a sewer stub, a 3/4-inch or 1-inch water tap (Central Alabama Water prices both at $1,768; it names 5/8 inch as the typical residential meter), a plumber who pulls the county connection permit before installing the line, and no existing fixtures to credit. Fixture counts below are our examples, not county figures; the ordinance sets no residential minimum, though for flow comparisons it treats a domestic household as 12 plumbing fixtures.

One-time official charges for one new single-family home in Birmingham, by fixture count. Sources: Central Alabama Water Rates & Fees, Jefferson County Sewer Use Charge Ordinance (Oct 1, 2025 rates). Private line construction not included.

The 10-fixture house counts two toilets, two lavatories, one tub, one shower, a kitchen sink, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a disposal. The 8-fixture house has two toilets, two lavatories, two tub/shower combos, a kitchen sink and a washing machine; the 13-fixture house has three toilets, three lavatories, two tubs, one shower, a kitchen sink, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a disposal. The 10-fixture arithmetic is $1,000 + $768 + $89.18 + (10 × $401.17) = $5,868.88. Each extra fixture adds $401.17; a floor drain or condensate drain adds a quarter of that, $100.29. The last row adds the county’s $267.47 charge to tap an existing sewer main, which the county performs with its own saddle and materials, to the $89.18 permit.

Two situations cut the total. If the lot already had water service, Central Alabama Water lists a “kill old service and make new 1-inch tap” price of $768, with no system development fee on that line (Tap Application Process, 2-inch and smaller). Fixtures in a demolished building on the parcel can also be credited against the impact fee (see the FAQ).

Birmingham vs. Huntsville, Atlanta and Chattanooga

Birmingham’s 10-fixture total of $5,868.88 is the highest of the four. Huntsville’s water and sewer charges come to $4,281 for a 5/8-inch meter: a $1,635 tap, a $1,646 water system development charge and a $1,000 sewer access fee (see our Huntsville tap fee page). That is $1,587.88 less than Birmingham, and the sewer side accounts for more than the whole gap: Birmingham’s $1,768 water tap is $1,513 cheaper than Huntsville’s $3,281 in water charges, but Huntsville’s flat $1,000 sewer fee compares with $4,100.88 in Jefferson County permit and impact fees for 10 fixtures. Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management charges about $2,295 for a 3/4-inch meter and has no water or sewer impact fee (Atlanta tap fees). Chattanooga’s official items total $155, with no tap, capacity or impact fee (Chattanooga tap fees).

Costs outside the Birmingham fee schedule

Your licensed plumber builds the water service line (including work in the right of way) and the sewer service line to the county system, at your cost. Typical costs the fees don’t cover:

• Water service line from the meter to the house: $30 to $150 per foot, about $50 typical, installed including the trench (national estimate).
• Sewer lateral: $50 to $250 per foot, about $100 typical, installed including the trench (national estimate).
• Street cut or bore if a line must cross the road: $1,000 to $10,000 per crossing, about $4,000 typical (national estimate).
• Backflow preventer if a lawn sprinkler system is fed from the domestic tap: Central Alabama Water requires a double check valve on residential services. We have no verified local price.
• Plumbing permit: about $300 typical (national estimate).

A 60-foot water line at $50 a foot ($3,000) and a 60-foot sewer lateral at $100 a foot ($6,000) would add about $9,000, more than the official charges for the 10-fixture house. These estimates come from our national benchmark set. See water service line cost and sewer lateral cost, or model your own lot, including your fixture count, here:

When you pay Birmingham connection fees

• Water tap in person. Central Alabama Water takes applications and payment for 2-inch and smaller taps only in person at its System Development Department, 3600 1st Ave. N., Birmingham. You pay the full tap fee by check when you sign the tap authorization; acreage lots also need a recorded deed and survey. Your plumber then schedules the installation with the meter shop.
• County impact permit before the building permit. Jefferson County ESD’s FY2026 checklist, written for commercial projects, says a municipal building permit should not be issued before the county sewer impact permit, which serves as the notice to proceed; confirm the order for a house with ESD. The impact fee is figured on the fixture worksheet the owner or agent submits; ESD does not do the count for you (Impact Division FY2026 Commercial Project Checklist).
• Connection permit before the line goes in. The $89.18 permit includes the required inspections; a third or later inspection caused by faulty material or poor workmanship costs $178.33 each. Connecting first and permitting later raises the permit to $980.62.
• Unpaid fixtures double. The ordinance says payment for a fixture not made before installation doubles if it isn’t paid within 30 days of notice.

Birmingham fee changes to watch

Jefferson County’s current sewer fees come from the rate schedule it posts as the Sewer Use Charge Ordinance for Rate Change October 1, 2025, and the FY2026 Impact Division checklist carries the same effective date. Central Alabama Water does not print an effective date for its connection and system development fees. Its monthly water rates took effect January 1, 2026, and its tap application sheet was revised May 7, 2026, with the same $1,768 price as the Rates & Fees page.

Common questions about Birmingham fees

More on Birmingham and nearby cities

Compare Birmingham with Nashville and Knoxville, or see the full tap fees by city table. Related guides: tap fee vs. impact fee, water tap fee, sewer tap fee and the utility connection cost calculator.

Sources for Birmingham figures

• Rates & Fees (System Development and Connection Fees; residential rates effective Jan 1, 2026), Central Alabama Water. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• 2″ & Smaller Tap Application Process (revised May 7, 2026), Central Alabama Water. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Home page (“Established by Alabama Act No. 2025-297”), Central Alabama Water. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• System Development, Central Alabama Water. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Sewer Use Charge Ordinance for Rate Change October 1, 2025, Jefferson County, Alabama. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Impact Division FY2026 Commercial Project Checklist, with Worksheet for Impact Fees (effective Oct 1, 2025), Jefferson County Environmental Services. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Sewer Impacts & Connections, Jefferson County Environmental Services. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• National cost estimates: Utility Cost Guide benchmark methodology.