Erie Water and Sewer Tap Fees and Raw Water Fees (2026)

In the Town of Erie, the town itself provides water, wastewater and storm drainage service, and a new single-family home pays four utility charges before it can connect. For a home with the standard 3/4-inch tap on a lot of 7,000 sq ft or less, the 2026 total is $80,212: a $17,290 potable water tap fee, a $52,200 fee in lieu of water dedication, an $8,860 wastewater tap fee and a $1,862 storm drainage impact fee. The first three come from the town’s 2026 fee schedule, adopted by Resolution 26-104, and the storm fee from the town’s fee schedules page. The biggest caveat is water supply. The $52,200 is not a connection charge: it is the fee in lieu of water dedication, which pays for the water rights needed to serve the home, and it has been $52,200 since May 26, 2026 (it was $31,400 in 2025). A developer can dedicate water rights the town accepts instead of paying it, which leaves $28,012 in utility charges. Since May 2026 the town has also limited how many new water allocations it hands out.

Erie tap and connection charges at a glance

The table lists every Erie row we verified. Water and wastewater tap fees are priced by water tap size. The fee in lieu of water dedication, which Erie also calls the raw water fee or potable water rights fee, is a separate charge from the water tap fee. The schedule prints an amount only for the 3/4-inch residential tap. Larger taps and non-residential uses are priced from a water-demand analysis. Rows marked as not typical cover small homes, the fire sprinkler surcharge, the non-potable irrigation tap and the town’s impact fees for parks, police, public buildings, roads and trees, which are not utility charges.

What each charge pays for

The town’s rates and charges page separates the three water charges. Water tap fees buy a share of the treatment plants, transmission lines, pump stations and storage tanks, and the fee schedules page adds that they cover the physical tap and the meter. Water dedication fees pay for water rights, both supplies Erie already owns and new supplies still to be acquired; the town names NISP, Boulder Creek Supply and Windy Gap Firming among its sources. The wastewater tap fee does the same job for sewer.

Town of Erie water and wastewater tap fees by tap size, 2026 (Resolution 26-104)

A small home is a dwelling under 1,000 sq ft on a lot of 2,000 sq ft or less. The schedule allows $1,729 to be added to its $12,967.50 water tap fee for each additional 1,000 sq ft of lot. Erie’s water dedication guide sets the water rights requirement in single-family equivalents (SFE). A standard single-family lot of 7,000 sq ft or less needs 1.0 SFE: 0.5 SFE for indoor use and the rest for outdoor watering. A larger lot needs 1.0 SFE or more, based on its irrigable area, so its fee in lieu can be higher than $52,200. The guide does not print that larger amount.

Worked example: a new home in Erie

Assumptions: a detached home inside town limits, a 3/4-inch water tap, a lot of 7,000 sq ft or less, a building permit applied for on or after May 26, 2026, and a developer who has not dedicated water rights for the lot.

Town of Erie connection charges for one single-family home, 3/4-inch tap, 2026

The arithmetic for the first column is $17,290 + $52,200 + $8,860 + $1,862 = $80,212. The water rights fee is 65% of it. The middle column assumes the subdivision already dedicated water rights for the lot; ask the builder or the town which applies. The $170 fireflow surcharge applies only when a home with a 3/4-inch tap also needs an automatic fire sprinkler system. A 1-inch tap adds $11,530 to the water tap fee and $5,907 to the wastewater fee. A lot outside town limits needs Town Council approval for service, and the fees above are doubled.

How Erie compares with Denver, Aurora and Castle Rock

Erie’s cash total is higher than Denver, Aurora and Castle Rock, and water rights explain the gap. On the Denver page, Denver Water’s system development charge for an 8,000 sq ft lot is $11,460 from July 1, 2026, and the city sewer permit is $6,480, for $17,940. Aurora Water’s own example of a 3-bath home on an 8,000 sq ft lot comes to $44,456. Castle Rock Water charges $46,336.84 for a 3,500–3,999 sq ft home in the Plum Creek Basin. Erie’s $80,212 is $62,272 more than the Denver example $35,756 more than Aurora and $33,875.16 more than Castle Rock. Erie’s water rights fee alone ($52,200) is larger than Aurora’s or Castle Rock’s whole bill. Without it, Erie’s $28,012 sits between Denver and the other two suburbs.

What Erie’s fees don’t cover

The tap fees pay for the connection and for system and water supply capacity. They do not pay for the pipes on your lot. A contractor builds the water service line to the house and the sewer service line to the main, and trenching, any street cut, and the building and plumbing permits are extra. Erie’s building and plumbing permit fees depend on project valuation, so we don’t list a fixed amount. These planning figures are national estimates, not Erie prices (how we built them), and the per-foot figures already include trenching:

• Water service line: $30–$150 per foot, typical $50.
• Sewer service line: $50–$250 per foot, typical $100.
• Street cut or bore: $1,000–$10,000 per crossing, typical $4,000, when the main is across the street.
• Plumbing permit: $100–$1,300, typical $300.

We have not collected electric or gas charges for Erie. Electric line extension costs depend on the utility serving the lot and are quoted per project. Enter your tap size and line lengths in the calculator:

How and when Erie fees are paid

The fee schedule says the fee in lieu of water dedication may be paid when you apply for a building permit, which secures a water allocation from the town’s supply, and it must be paid in full before the permit is issued. Ordinance 039-2024 says water tap fees and the fee in lieu are paid at the time of the water service application, as set in the fee schedule. The water dedication guide says Erie will not provide water taps or service until the water dedication requirement is met, either by transferring water rights the town accepts or by paying the fee in lieu. Once the house is occupied, the town bills a monthly storm drainage fee of $13.72 per single-family equivalent in 2026, plus water and sewer charges.

Erie fee changes to watch

• Water allocations are limited. Erie’s Water Allocation Policy, adopted May 26, 2026, says delays in the Chimney Hollow and NISP projects leave about 749 acre-feet for new development and capital projects until Chimney Hollow water arrives, expected in 2032. For the rest of 2026 the town listed 100 acre-feet, 65% of it for residential use. Projects without a town allocation can bring their own water rights for the town to review.
• The water rights fee rose from $31,400 per 3/4-inch tap in 2025 under Ordinance 039-2024 to $52,200 per single-family equivalent. The town says Council passed that change with the May 2026 Water Allocation Policy, and Resolution 26-104 adopts the schedule effective May 26, 2026, although the schedule itself is headed “Effective January 13, 2026”. The water and wastewater tap fees are the same as in 2025. The town says Council approved tap fees for 2025, 2026 and 2027 in December 2024, but we did not find the 2027 amounts in a town document. Check for a 2027 schedule before you pull a permit next year.
• The town plans to review utility rates and fees every two years instead of every five.

Erie tap fee FAQ

Related guides for Erie

Colorado utility connection costs · Denver Water tap fees · Aurora Water tap fees · Castle Rock Water system development fees · Fort Collins plant investment fees · tap fee vs impact fee · utility connection cost calculator

Official documents behind the Erie figures

• Resolution No. 26-104, Adopting the Town’s Fee Schedule (fee schedule effective January 13, 2026), Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Fee Schedules (development fees and residential impact fees), Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Ordinance No. 039-2024, updating water tap fees, fees in lieu of water dedication and wastewater tap fees, Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water Dedication Guide, Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Rates and Charges, Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water Allocation Policy, Town of Erie. Checked Sep 24, 2026.