Buckeye Water and Wastewater Impact Fees (2026)

The City of Buckeye Water Resources Department provides water and sewer to most new homes in the city, though not all of it: parts of Buckeye get water from Arizona Water Company or EPCOR, and some get sewer from EPCOR. For a city-served single-family home, the water and wastewater development (impact) fees in effect since May 5, 2025 add up to $17,060 in the Central service area ($9,536 water plus $7,524 wastewater). A home in Sundance, which is on Central water but has its own sewer area, pays $14,935, and one in Tartesso West pays $11,395. One caveat outweighs the rest: if your subdivision plat was approved before May 5, 2025, the earlier fee schedule can still apply for 24 months after the first building permit.

Buckeye tap and connection charges at a glance

The table below lists every Buckeye row we recorded. The five development fee rows come from the city’s 2025 development fee report, which the City Council adopted by resolution on February 18, 2025. They are charged per dwelling unit, and the amount depends on the service area, not on the meter size. The four Utility Billing rows (new account fee, deposits and a “Global Area Connection Fee”) come from the Schedule of Fees attached to Resolution No. 32-26, which the City Council adopted on May 5, 2026. The schedule took effect June 4, 2026.

How Buckeye service areas change the fee

The 2025 update merged the water service areas. Central now covers the city’s system south of Interstate 10 and north of the Gila River, including the old Central Buckeye, Sundance and Westpark areas. Tartesso West is a separate system. Wastewater still has three areas, drawn along drainage basins: Central (which absorbed the old Watson Road CFD area), Sundance and Tartesso West. The 2025 development fee report sets these amounts for a low- or medium-density home (fewer than 8 units per acre):

City of Buckeye water and wastewater development fees per single-family unit, effective May 5, 2025

The report shows how each figure was built. In the Central area, water capacity costs $17.53 per gallon of peak-day demand, and the city assumes a house uses 544 gallons on a peak day, so 544 × $17.53 = $9,536. The Central wastewater fee works the same way: 173 gallons of average daily flow at $43.49 per gallon comes to $7,524. Tartesso West water is cheaper at $5.71 per gallon because the fee there only repays the developer who built the existing system, and the report says the city will stop collecting it once that repayment is done.

What a new Buckeye house pays: worked example

Assumptions: one detached home at under 8 units per acre, on a plat approved after May 5, 2025, with city water and sewer. Three locations:

Estimated official city charges, single-family home

The residential water and sewer deposits ($85 and $60 on the same schedule) are account deposits, not connection costs, so we left them out. So is the $3,000 “Global Area Connection Fee,” because the schedule does not say which properties pay it. We found no separate published charge for installing a new residential meter.

How Buckeye compares with Phoenix

Buckeye’s growth-area pricing looks like Phoenix‘s, but the totals differ a lot. Phoenix charges $7,467 in water and wastewater impact fees for an infill home in its “Balance of City” area and $29,322 in its Northwest growth area (meter of 1 inch or smaller, effective June 23, 2025). A Central Buckeye home at $17,060 falls between the two. Phoenix also charges a separate $2,009 water resource acquisition fee in Off-Project areas. Buckeye’s 2025 report has no fee by that name. Separately, a city rate-case fact sheet says nearly every Buckeye home is a member of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, which is funded through property taxes.

Water and wastewater impact fees, single-family home

Phoenix water figures include its treatment, resource acquisition and transmission fees; wastewater includes treatment and collection.

What is not included in Buckeye fees

Buckeye’s rate-case materials say new development builds its own water and sewer infrastructure and then dedicates it to the city, so the mains in a subdivision are paid for by the developer, not through these fees. Everything on your lot is private work. The city also charges non-utility development fees (fire, police, parks, library and streets), which we did not record here. National estimates for the private work (methodology):

• Water service line from the meter to the house: $30–$150 per foot, typical $50, trenching included. A 40-foot run is about $2,000.
• Sewer lateral: $50–$250 per foot, typical $100, trenching included. A 60-foot run is about $6,000.
• Plumbing permit: $100–$1,300, typical $300.

Paying Buckeye fees: timing and process

The development fees are part of the building permit process. The city’s FAQ bases the grandfathering rule on the date the first building permit is issued. The meter comes afterward. According to the city’s water meter installation guide, you first get the permit from Development Services, then wait about ten business days while Utility Billing sets up the account and creates a service order. Meter Services then installs the meter within seven business days. The meter box must be installed to city standards, sized for the meter, clear of debris and not in a driveway, and the lot number and address must be posted.

If your lot is served by Arizona Water or EPCOR, the city’s water or wastewater fees above do not apply to that service. The 2025 report leaves those areas out of the city’s service areas, so ask the company that serves your lot what it charges.

What could change in Buckeye

• The development fees took effect May 5, 2025. Arizona law requires the land use assumptions and infrastructure plan to be updated at least every five years, and the city FAQ says revised water and wastewater demand tables are in progress. The 2025 report sets fees for meters larger than 1.5 inches from engineering-standard demand, so check the current version if your project needs one.
• New monthly water and sewer rates were adopted May 5, 2026 (Resolution No. 32-26) and took effect June 4, 2026, with scheduled increases each January 1 from 2027 through 2029.
• The report says the city will stop collecting Tartesso West water and wastewater fees once the developer is fully reimbursed. It does not give a date.

Buckeye tap fee FAQ

Where to go next from Buckeye

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

Buckeye fee sources

• Land Use Assumptions, Infrastructure Improvements Plan, and Development Fee Report (February 18, 2025), City of Buckeye / TischlerBise. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Resolution No. 04-25 adopting development fees (effective May 5, 2025), City of Buckeye. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Impact Fees Frequently Asked Questions (June 17, 2025), City of Buckeye. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Resolution No. 32-26 and Exhibit A, Schedule of Fees (May 5, 2026 council meeting packet, pp. 1120–1126), City of Buckeye. Adoption confirmed in the May 5, 2026 council minutes. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Notice of Continuance and Proposed Utility Rates, Rate Components, Fees, or Service Charges, City of Buckeye. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• 2025 Water Rate Adjustment, City of Buckeye Water Resources. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Development fact sheet and CAGRD, CFDs and HOAs fact sheet, City of Buckeye rate-case materials. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Water Meter Installation Process guide, City of Buckeye Water Resources. Checked Sep 24, 2026.