Leander Water & Wastewater Tap and Impact Fees (2026)

Inside Leander, the City of Leander provides both water and wastewater service, and nearly all of the connection cost is the city’s community impact fee (CIF), which it charges under Texas Local Government Code chapter 395. For a new single-family home with a 5/8-inch meter on a lot platted after August 17, 2023, the published charges come to $11,503: a $8,762 water impact fee, a $2,301 wastewater impact fee, a $340 water tap fee for the city to inspect the service line and set the meter, and a $100 wastewater inspection tap fee. A 3/4-inch meter raises that to $17,109.50, because the impact fee scales with meter size. The biggest caveat is the plat date. Leander keeps the impact fee in force when the subdivision plat was recorded, so a house in an older subdivision can owe far less than one on a newly platted lot. For how this compares nationally, see our guide to the cost to connect to city water.

Leander connection fees at a glance

The table below lists every Leander row in our database, each linked to the city code section or city handout it came from. Leander states its impact fee per living unit equivalent (LUE). The code defines one LUE as the water used and wastewater generated by an average single-family detached house, so a standard home with a 5/8-inch meter is 1 LUE. The city’s fee handout converts that to meter sizes: a 3/4-inch meter pays 1.5 times the per-LUE rate and a 1-inch meter 2.5 times. Each tap fee has two versions: a lower one when the developer has already installed the service line and the city only inspects it and sets the meter (the normal case in a new subdivision), and a higher one when city crews install the line. The Liberty Hill rows apply only in that service area.

Worked example: a new home in Leander

Assumptions: detached house inside city limits, lot platted after August 17, 2023, and service lines stubbed out by the developer, so the city only inspects and sets the meter. The impact fees are from Sec. 13.07.009 of the Leander Code of Ordinances (Ordinance 23-044-00, August 17, 2023). The tap fees are from Appendix A, Sec. A7.007. The 3/4-inch impact fees are from the city’s Tap & Impact Fees handout for properties platted after August 17, 2023.

Leander water and wastewater charges for one home by meter size. Impact fee = $8,762 water and $2,301 wastewater per LUE.

Adjustments:

• The city installs the service lines. On a lot without stub-outs, the water tap becomes $840 (5/8-inch) or $940 (3/4-inch) and the wastewater tap $750, instead of $340 or $415 plus $100. That adds $1,150 for a 5/8-inch meter, for a total of $12,653. A street cut costs another $1,000 for a two-lane road on the water side and $850 on the wastewater side under Sec. A7.007. Boring under a street is billed at cost.
• Liberty Hill wholesale wastewater service area. Parts of Leander send sewage to the City of Liberty Hill’s treatment plant. There, Sec. A7.009 adds a connection fee of $1,550 per LUE at building permit, or $1,200 if the developer paid the $350-per-LUE system reservation fee with the preliminary plat. Lots served by one of the lift stations in the 2015 Leander–Liberty Hill agreement pay another $1,400 per LUE. The city’s handout, but not the code, says a $350 system reservation fee credit toward the wastewater impact fee may apply for lots platted in that area. If that credit applies to a 5/8-inch home where the reservation fee was paid, the city charges come to about $11,503 + $1,200 − $350 = $12,353 before any lift-station charge. Confirm the credit with the city before counting on it.
• Older subdivisions. For lots platted after October 2, 2017 (Ordinance 17-068-00) and before the 2023 update, the city’s 2017 handout lists $4,309 (water) and $2,820 (wastewater) for a 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch meter. With the same $440 in tap fees, a 5/8-inch home would pay $7,569. For lots platted after May 3, 2012 and before that 2017 amendment, the 2012 handout lists $3,880 and $1,615 per housing unit, or $5,935 with tap fees. Confirm with the city which schedule applies to your plat.

What is not included in Leander fees

The city’s charges cover the impact fee, the meter set and the inspection. Work on your side of the connection is private:

• Water service line from the meter to the house. National estimate $30–$150 per foot installed, including trenching, typically about $50. A 60-foot run at $50 is $3,000. See water service line cost.
• Sewer lateral from the house to the city connection. National estimate $50–$250 per foot, including trenching, typically about $100. A 60-foot lateral is about $6,000. See sewer lateral cost.
• Backflow prevention devices, which the code says are installed and tested at the customer’s expense when the city requires them.
• Rock. Where a trench hits rock, excavation costs a multiple of normal soil (national estimate 2.5×–7×). See utility trenching cost.
• Building and plumbing permits and the roadway impact fee. Leander has charged a separate roadway impact fee since January 7, 2023, handled through the building permit. It is not a utility fee and is not in our totals. The national estimate for a plumbing permit is $100–$1,300.
• Electric service. Check which electric utility serves your address. We have not verified any electric line-extension charges for Leander, so none are included here.

National figures are estimates from our benchmark set, not Leander quotes. To combine Leander’s official fees with your own line lengths:

When you pay Leander connection fees

• Impact fees are assessed early and paid late. Under Sec. 13.07.042, the fee is assessed when the plat is recorded. For land developed without platting, it is assessed when the building permit application is filed, or the connection application if the land is outside city limits. Sec. 13.07.010 says the fee is paid when the building permit is issued. Outside city limits, it is paid with the application to connect.
• Older plats keep older rates. Sec. 13.07.041 keeps a prior ordinance’s fee for land whose plat was approved and recorded before the next amendment, as long as the plat has not expired.
• Tap fees are paid in advance. Sec. A7.007 requires them before the tap or connection. The flat 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch tap fees already include the automatic meter reader.
• The water deposit is $100 per LUE for a single-family home, paid per meter before connection and refunded when service ends (Sec. A7.001).

Upcoming changes in Leander

• Impact fee update. The current rates date from Ordinance 23-044-00 (August 17, 2023). We found no adopted increase as of September 2026.
• Handout vs. code. The city’s 2023 handout still shows an $850 street-cut charge for a water tap. The current code, Supp. 4 (updated August 28, 2026), says $1,000, plus $500 per extra lane. The handout itself says the code governs.

How Leander compares with Austin and Georgetown

Leander sits between its two neighbors. With a 5/8-inch meter on a lot platted after each city’s 2023 fee update, Austin Water’s published charges come to about $8,119. Leander’s are $11,503. At 3/4 inch the gap widens: Austin is about $11,997 and Leander $17,109.50, because both cities scale the impact fee by meter size. Georgetown charges $24,493.50 at its Phase 2 rates, but counts every standard single-family home as 1.0 service unit regardless of meter size.

Leander tap fee FAQ

Related: Texas utility connection costs by city · tap fee vs. impact fee · water tap fees · sewer tap fees · water meter installation cost · Austin fees · Georgetown fees · utility connection cost calculator

Official documents behind the Leander figures

• Code of Ordinances Chapter 13, Article 13.07, Water and Wastewater Impact Fees, City of Leander (Supp. 4, updated Aug 28, 2026; checked Sep 24, 2026)
• Code of Ordinances Appendix A, Article A7.000, Utility Rates and Charges (Secs. A7.001, A7.007, A7.009), City of Leander (checked Sep 24, 2026)
• Tap & Impact Fees, effective for properties platted after Aug. 17, 2023, City of Leander (checked Sep 24, 2026)
• Tap and Impact Fees, effective for properties platted after October 2, 2017, City of Leander (checked Sep 25, 2026)
• Tap and Impact Fees, effective for properties platted after May 3, 2012, City of Leander (checked Sep 24, 2026)
• Roadway Impact Fees, City of Leander (checked Sep 24, 2026)