Murfreesboro Water Resources Tap & Connection Fees (2026)
Much of Murfreesboro gets water and sewer from the city’s Murfreesboro Water Resources Department (MWRD). Parts of the city and county get water from the Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County (CUD) instead. On a typical new subdivision lot served by MWRD, where the developer has already installed the water service stub, the city code charges $4,640 in one-time fees. That total is the $1,200 water connection fee, the $940 meter connection and the $2,500 sewer connection fee (City Code 33-2, 33-50). The caveat that matters most is location. If your lot drains into one of the city’s sewer special assessment districts, you pay more: $500 to $3,150 per house in the districts that charge per single-family unit, and a per-acre charge in a few others. If CUD supplies your water, the water side alone is $5,000.
Official Murfreesboro fees in one table
The MWRD amounts come from Chapter 33 of the Murfreesboro City Code. We read it on Municode (codified through Ordinance 26-O-08, February 2026) and checked it against the amending ordinances. The meter and tap charges were last raised by Ordinance 25-O-27, passed August 21, 2025. The CUD amounts come from CUD’s own fee pages. The “connection fee” rows are capacity charges priced per single-family unit, not per meter size. The complete-tap rows ($1,840 and $2,432) replace the $940 meter charge and apply only when no stub exists. Assessment districts, the sewer allocation fee and outside-city charges apply only in specific situations.
| Service | Category | Fee | Meter | Amount | Basis | Effective | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General — Account Setup | ||||||||
| General | Account Setup | Service initiation fee (new or transferred service) | — | $40 | flat fee | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer — Capacity | ||||||||
| Sewer | Capacity | Sewer capacity allocation: fee for additional allowance (Code 33-80(E)) | — | $2,550 | formula | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer — Connection | ||||||||
| Sewer | Connection | Sewer Connection or Tapping Fee, multifamily/condo/apartment/mobile home (Code 33-50(A)(1)) | — | $2,550 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Connection | Sewer Connection or Tapping Fee, single-family residence (Code 33-50(A)(1)) | — | $2,500 | per unit | 2012-03-01 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer — Other | ||||||||
| Sewer | Other | Buchanan and Elam Road Interchanges Sanitary Sewer Assessment District (Code 33-206) | — | $1,000 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Overall Creek Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment District (Code 33-203) | — | $1,000 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Pitts Lane Sanitary Sewer Assessment District (Code 33-212) | — | $2,350 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Rockvale Sanitary Sewer Assessment District (Code 33-210) | — | $1,550 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Salem Highway and Barfield Road Drainage Basin D Sanitary Sewer Assessment District (Code 33-211) | — | $925 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Salem Highway and Barfield Road Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment District (Code 33-205) | — | $3,150 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Sewer Clean Out Connection (Code 33-50(A)(1)) | — | $260 | flat fee | 2025-09-05 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Other | Shelton Square Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment District (Code 33-215) | — | $500 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer — Service Line | ||||||||
| Sewer | Service Line | Outside-city sewer house service charge (Code 33-50(C)) | — | $450 | flat fee | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Sewer | Service Line | Sewer house service charge where lateral exists to edge of right-of-way (Code 33-50) | — | $1,000 | flat fee | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Capacity | ||||||||
| Water | Capacity | System Development Charge (SDC) | 1" | $7,000 | by meter size | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Capacity | System Development Charge (SDC) CUD water service area | 5/8" | $4,000 | by meter size | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Connection | ||||||||
| Water | Connection | Water Connection Fee, multifamily/condo/apartment/mobile home (Code 33-2(A)(5)) | — | $1,200 | per unit | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Connection | Water Connection Fee, single-family residence (Code 33-2(A)(5)) MWRD water service area | — | $1,200 | per unit | 2012-03-01 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Connection | Additional irrigation meter connection fee (Code 33-2(G)) | 5/8" | $300 | by meter size | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Meter Set | ||||||||
| Water | Meter Set | Meter connection where developer installed the service stub (Code 33-2(A)(2)) MWRD, developer-installed stub | 5/8" | $940 | by meter size | 2025-09-05 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Meter Set | Meter Set Fee CUD water service area | 5/8" | $1,000 | by meter size | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Other | ||||||||
| Water | Other | Outside City water service charge (Code 33-2.1) | — | $250 | flat fee | — | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Service Line | ||||||||
| Water | Service Line | 1-inch water service line stub installed for a developer (Code 33-2(A)(1)) | 1" | $900 | flat fee | 2025-09-05 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water — Tap | ||||||||
| Water | Tap | Complete 1-inch water tap, no stub, inside roadway, incl. meter connection (Code 33-2(A)(3)) | 1" | $2,432 | by meter size | 2025-09-05 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Tap | Complete 1-inch water tap, no stub, outside roadway, incl. meter connection (Code 33-2(A)(3)) | 1" | $1,840 | by meter size | 2025-09-05 | Official source | 2026-09-25 |
| Water | Tap | Tap Fee (1-inch tap) | 1" | $250 | by meter size | — | Official source | 2026-09-30 |
One conflict to know about: the code sets the single-family sewer connection fee at $2,500, and so does the 2024 ordinance table (Ord. 24-O-17); Ord. 25-O-27 did not change it. The MWRD Rates and Fees page says $2,550. That is the figure the code uses for multifamily units. We use the code figure and flag the $50 gap. Ask MWRD which one your receipt will show.
Worked example for a single-family home in Murfreesboro
Assumptions: a detached house inside city limits, a 5/8-inch or 1-inch meter (the $940 charge is the same for both), and no extra sewer allocation. The code gives the formula:
MWRD fees = $1,200 water connection + meter or tap charge + $2,500 sewer connection + any assessment district charge
One-time official charges for one single-family home in Murfreesboro, by situation. Sources: City Code 33-2, 33-50, Article VII districts; CUD Meter Rates. Private line construction not included.
| Situation | Water | Sewer | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| MWRD, subdivision lot with developer-installed stub | $1,200 + $940 | $2,500 | $4,640 |
| MWRD, no stub, tap outside the roadway | $1,200 + $1,840 | $2,500 | $5,540 |
| MWRD, no stub, tap inside the roadway | $1,200 + $2,432 | $2,500 | $6,132 |
| MWRD stub lot in the Rockvale sewer district | $2,140 | $2,500 + $1,000 + $1,550 | $7,190 |
| MWRD stub lot in the Salem Highway and Barfield Road district | $2,140 | $2,500 + $3,150 | $7,790 |
| CUD water (5/8-inch), MWRD sewer | $4,000 + $1,000 | $2,500 | $7,500 |
The arithmetic for the first row is $1,200 + $940 + $2,500 = $4,640. If MWRD applies the $2,550 sewer figure from its web page, add $50 to every MWRD sewer case. The district rows use the per-single-family-unit charges in Code Article VII. Rockvale adds both the $1,000 Overall Creek charge and its own $1,550. Salem Highway and Barfield Road charges $3,150 for connections approved on or after December 1, 2022. The CUD row assumes the lot is on MWRD sewer. Some CUD-area homes use septic or a STEP system instead, and those fees are not shown here.
Murfreesboro vs. Nashville
Next door in Davidson County, Metro Water Services charges $4,535 for a home assessed one capacity unit: a $500 tap, a $360 sewer connection and $3,675 in capacity charges. At two units, Metro’s total is $8,210 (see our Nashville tap fee page). That puts a standard Murfreesboro stub lot, at $4,640, within $105 of Nashville’s one-unit case. The structure differs: Nashville’s tap is cheap and its capacity charge is priced per flow unit, while Murfreesboro charges flat per-house connection fees plus a $940 meter connection. The bigger swing in Murfreesboro is geographic: a per-unit sewer district adds $500 to $3,150, and CUD water adds $2,860 over MWRD’s water charges.
What is not included in Murfreesboro fees
The code fees pay for the utility’s connection and capacity. Work on your side of the property line is separate:
- 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 to the house: $50 to $250 per foot, about $100 typical, installed including the trench (national estimate).
- Street cut or bore if the main is across the road: $1,000 to $10,000 per crossing, about $4,000 typical (national estimate).
- Plumbing and building permits from the city: about $300 typical for the plumbing permit (national estimate).
- City development impact fees. Murfreesboro charges roadway, park, public safety and school impact fees under Code Chapter 16. They are not utility fees, and we have not added them here.
A 60-foot water line at $50 a foot and a 60-foot lateral at $100 a foot add about $9,000 on top of the city fees. These figures come from our national benchmark set. See water service line cost and sewer lateral cost for detail, and model your own lot here:
Estimate utility connection costs
Estimates are planning figures, not quotes. Confirm fees and trench rules with your utility.
We did not research electric line-extension charges for Murfreesboro. Ask your electric provider for an estimate, and see cost to run power to property.
When you pay Murfreesboro connection fees
- Buying a tap. MWRD sells water and sewer taps at its office. One to five taps can be processed on the spot. Larger batches take from the same day up to five business days, depending on the count, according to the New Service page.
- Use it within two years. If you pay for a tap and do not ask MWRD to make it within two years, and the fee rises in the meantime, you pay the difference first (Code 33-2(B) and 33-50).
- Districts are paid before connection. Special assessment district charges are due before sewer service is connected, on top of the standard connection fee.
- Sewer allocation for projects. Developers request sewer capacity with the will-serve letter. A 10% deposit on the connection fees vests it for 30 months and is credited toward the fees (Code 33-81).
- Starting service. MWRD adds a $40 non-refundable service initiation fee to new accounts. The fee can go on the first bill. Monthly minimums from July 1, 2026 are $12.00 for water and $12.25 for sewer on a 5/8-inch meter (2026-27 rate schedule).
What could change in Murfreesboro
MWRD’s Rates and Fees page states that its latest cost-of-service study suggested connection fees of $1,700 (water) and $3,300 (sewer), against the $1,200 and $2,550 it lists as current. The fees “remained unchanged” for now. An increase to those levels would add about $1,250 to $1,300 per house, depending on which sewer base you start from. The meter charges already moved in 2025: Ordinance 25-O-27 raised the stub-lot meter connection from $540 to $940, the complete tap from $1,215 to $1,840 (outside the roadway), and the sewer cleanout connection from $170 to $260. On the CUD side, a September 2026 revised table shows a $1,000 meter set fee, while an older CUD page still lists $750.
Murfreesboro tap fee FAQ
How much are water and sewer tap fees in Murfreesboro, TN?
For a typical new home on an MWRD subdivision lot, the city code charges $4,640: a $1,200 water connection fee, a $940 meter connection and a $2,500 sewer connection fee. Without a developer-installed stub, the water tap alone is $1,840 or $2,432, which brings the total to $5,540 or $6,132.
Who provides water in Murfreesboro, MWRD or CUD?
Both serve the city. MWRD covers much of Murfreesboro, and the Consolidated Utility District serves other parts of the city and county. Check the MWRD service-area map or call either utility, because CUD’s 5/8-inch water charges ($4,000 system development charge plus $1,000 meter set) are higher than MWRD’s.
What is a sewer special assessment district?
It is an area where the city built sewer additions and recovers the cost from the properties that connect to them. The per-single-family-unit charges in the code run from $500 (Shelton Square) to $3,150 (Salem Highway and Barfield Road); a few districts, such as Medical Center Parkway, charge per acre instead. They are paid before connection, in addition to the $2,500 sewer connection fee.
What is the Murfreesboro sewer allocation fee?
It is a one-time $2,550 charge per 260 gallons per day, but only when City Council grants a project extra sewer capacity above its land-use allowance. A typical single-family home does not pay it.
Do I pay connection fees again if I rebuild my house?
No. The code lets a residential customer whose building is demolished reconnect for the same type of residential service without a new connection fee. You still pay for any new meter connection, tap or service line work.
Is there help paying sewer tap fees?
Yes, for some existing homes. The city’s CDBG-funded Sanitary Sewer Tap Program can pay MWRD sewer connection and cleanout fees for low- and very-low-income owner-occupants of single-family homes inside city limits, while funds last.
Related guides for Murfreesboro
Southwest of Murfreesboro, Spring Hill’s water tap and system development fees also cover that city’s sewer moratorium. North of the state line, Louisville Water and MSD sewer connection fees split water and sewer between two agencies.
Compare Murfreesboro with Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh and Charleston, or see the full tap fees by city table. Related guides: tap fee vs. impact fee, water tap fee, sewer tap fee, utility costs for new construction and the utility connection cost calculator.
Official documents behind the Murfreesboro figures
- City Code Sec. 33-2, Charges for taps made by City, City of Murfreesboro (via Municode). Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- City Code Sec. 33-50, Sanitary sewer connection or tapping fees and house service fees, City of Murfreesboro. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- City Code Art. V, Sewer Capacity Allocation (Sec. 33-80, 33-81) and Art. VII, Sanitary Sewer Special Assessment Districts, City of Murfreesboro. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- Ordinance 25-O-27 (meter connection and sewer cleanout fee revisions) and Ordinance 24-O-17, City of Murfreesboro. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- MWRD Rates and Fees, 2026-27 Rate Schedule and New Service, Murfreesboro Water Resources Department. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- CUD Meter Rates (September 2026 revised table) and CUD Development Fee Structure, Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
- National cost estimates: Utility Cost Guide benchmark methodology.