ABCWUA Utility Expansion Charges: Albuquerque Water and Sewer Fees (2026)

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA, usually called the Water Authority) provides both water and sewer in Albuquerque and the parts of Bernalillo County it serves, so a new home deals with one utility for both. For a single-family home with the standard 5/8 x 3/4-inch meter, the official charges from July 1, 2026 total $9,356: a $5,377 water Utility Expansion Charge (UEC), a $3,569 sewer UEC, the $310 meter set, and two $50 Connection Permit fees. The caveat that matters most is location: a lot outside the Water Authority’s Established Service Area, where a service expansion is needed, also owes a $4,579 Water Resource Charge, which lifts the total to $13,935. The UEC is also in the middle of a 10-year phase-in and rises again on July 1, 2027.

Official Albuquerque fees in one table

The table below lists every Water Authority row we verified. The two Utility Expansion Charges are the capacity charges, the equivalent of what other cities call impact or capital recovery fees; they are priced by water meter size, and the sewer charge is keyed to the water meter too. The meter set is the Water Authority’s charge to install the meter only; your contractor builds the service line itself. The Water Resource Charge rows are real published fees, but Ordinance O-26-1 charges them only to new water customers outside the Established Service Area, in areas that need new or enhanced infrastructure through a service expansion, so they are listed separately from the typical total. The July 2027 rows are amounts already scheduled in the ordinance, not the current price.

Worked example: a new home in Albuquerque

Assumptions: a detached home on a lot the Water Authority already serves, new water and sewer service connections installed by a licensed contractor under a Connection Permit, and fees paid in full after July 1, 2026. The unknowns are meter size and whether the lot sits in a service-expansion area.

Estimated official connection charges, Albuquerque (ABCWUA), effective July 1, 2026

The Water Authority’s own UEC schedule as of July 1, 2026 prints a “total” of $9,256 for the smallest meter, which is the two UECs plus the meter: $5,377 + $3,569 + $310. Our $9,356 adds the $100 in Connection Permit fees. If your lot is in a subdivision where the developer installed the services under a work order, you may not pay those permit fees yourself, and $9,256 is the better figure.

Moving up to a 1-inch meter costs $6,026 more ($15,382 − $9,356), almost all of it in the two UECs.

Paying over time. The Water Authority lets you finance both UECs: a minimum 5% down, with the balance repaid as a fixed monthly charge carrying 7% a year and paid off within 120 months (Ordinance O-26-1, section 1-1-6(A)(5)). For the smallest meter, the schedule shows $757 due up front ($269 water down payment + $178 sewer down payment + the $310 meter, which cannot be financed) and $98.68 a month ($59.31 + $39.37). Over the full 120 months that is $98.68 × 120 = $11,841.60, plus the $757, or about $12,599, roughly $3,340 more than paying $9,256 in cash.

What Albuquerque’s fees don’t cover

The Water Authority’s charges stop at the public main and the meter. Everything on the private side is a contractor cost, and in Albuquerque that includes installing the service connections themselves, under a Connection Permit whose fees are paid by the designer, contractor or owner. Contractors must also replace any asphalt, concrete, curb, sidewalk or landscaping they disturb. National estimates for the private work (methodology):

• Water service line from the main or meter to the house: $30–$150 per foot, typical $50, trenching included. At 50 feet, about $2,500.
• Sewer lateral to the public sewer: $50–$250 per foot, typical $100, trenching included. At 50 feet, about $5,000.
• Plumbing permit: $100–$1,300, typical $300.

We did not record City of Albuquerque or Bernalillo County building permit fees or a PNM electric line extension charge. See cost to run power to a property for national figures.

How and when Albuquerque fees are paid

• Start with the intake form. The Water Authority’s New Construction page requires an intake form for any new water or sewer service. Utility Development reviews it and tells you the steps needed to get service.
• Availability statement. For new development, an availability statement is required before a Connection Permit is issued. Outside the Adopted Service Area, you also need a Service Connection Agreement.
• Connection Permit. Since May 31, 2022, the Connection Permit has replaced the old tapping permit for water and sewer service connections that do not need a formal work order. The fee is $50 per small water service and $50 per sewer service, paid before the permit is released. It cannot be used to extend public water or sewer lines.
• UEC and meter. The UEC is paid at meter sale or application for service. The account is set up with New Construction only after the project is closed out and accepted.
• Deferral. The ordinance lets qualifying nonprofit community development projects defer UEC until sale, secured by a second mortgage. The Water Resource Charge cannot be deferred.

Upcoming changes in Albuquerque

Ordinance O-26-1, effective July 1, 2026, sets a 10-year phase-in for the UEC that started July 1, 2024. Each July the smallest-meter charges step up:

ABCWUA Utility Expansion Charges, 5/8 x 3/4″ meter (Ordinance O-26-1 and ABCWUA UEC schedules)

• Paying before July 1, 2027 saves $1,061 on the two UECs ($10,007 − $8,946).
• The Water Resource Charge is also phasing in: $4,579 now for the smallest meter, $4,995 from July 1, 2027.
• The ordinance also lets the UEC be adjusted each year by an Engineering News-Record cost index or by the board, so check the current schedule before you budget.

How Albuquerque compares

Albuquerque’s standard-meter total of $9,356 sits between Tucson and the low end of Phoenix, and one agency collects both capacity charges. Tucson comes to about $6,423 for a 5/8-inch meter on a street that does not need repaving, with the sewer fee paid to Pima County. Phoenix ranges from $9,491 for an infill home in the Balance of City area to $31,346 in the Northwest growth area, both with a 3/4-inch meter.

Albuquerque tap fee FAQ

Related guides for Albuquerque

Tucson tap fees · Phoenix impact fees and tap costs · tap fee vs impact fee · sewer connection cost · water meter installation cost · utility connection cost calculator

Sources for Albuquerque figures

• Utility Expansion Charges (UEC) as of July 1, 2026, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water Resource Charge (WRC) as of July 1, 2026, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Ordinance O-26-1, Water and Sewer Rate Ordinance (effective July 1, 2026), Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Utility Expansion Charges (UEC) as of July 1, 2025, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Connection Permits, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Customer Service – New Construction, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Checked Sep 24, 2026.