Savannah Water & Sewer Tap-In Fees (2026)

The City of Savannah provides water and sewer inside city limits and in parts of Chatham County outside them. For a new single-family home inside the city with a 3/4-inch meter, the 2026 charges add up to $2,155: $525 for the AMI water meter, a $600 water tap-in fee, a $400 sewer tap-in fee, a $600 reclaimed water project connection fee and a $30 account establishment fee (Revenue Ordinance of 2026, Article U). Where the City installs the water service lateral, the ordinance lists $450 more for a short-side lateral ($2,605 total) or $750 for a long-side lateral ($2,905). Location is the biggest variable. Some service areas add a water and sewer “additional connection fee”. In the Southwest Quadrant that fee is $4,026 per unit. An owner-occupied home on existing city lines is exempt from the water tap-in and reclaimed water fees. For how this compares nationally, see our guide to the cost to connect to city water.

Savannah connection fees at a glance

All of Savannah’s connection charges are set in Article U of the annual Revenue Ordinance. The 2026 version was adopted December 11, 2025, amended January 22, 2026, and applies from January 1, 2026. The charges fall into three groups. Meter and lateral fees depend on meter size. The small-meter table lists the AMI meter price next to a “short side lateral” and a “long side lateral” price. The ordinance does not define those two terms. Tap-in and reclaimed water fees are charged per residential unit or equivalent residential unit (ERU). Additional connection fees apply only in the service areas listed in the ordinance. The table below includes the Southwest Quadrant and Godley West rows. Rows for the service laterals, for property outside city limits and for the refundable deposit are listed but left out of the typical total.

Worked example: a new home in Savannah

Assumptions: one detached house inside city limits, one residential unit, a 3/4-inch meter and no irrigation meter. The ordinance and the application form list the meter and the two lateral prices in separate columns, but neither says when the lateral charge applies. The City’s connection requirements say the water lateral from the main to the meter site is installed by the plumber or contractor, with City crews making the tap, and plumbers must install the meters where six or more are set. In a new subdivision the developer normally builds the service stubs. So we leave the lateral out of the typical total and show it in case B, where the City installs the service. Ask Water & Sewer Planning and Engineering (912-651-6573) which charges apply to your lot before you budget.

City of Savannah one-time charges for one house, 3/4-inch meter (source: Revenue Ordinance of 2026, Article U, Sections 4, 5 and 9).

The arithmetic: case A is $525 + $600 + $400 + $600 + $30 = $2,155. Case B adds the $450 short-side lateral; a $750 long-side lateral instead makes it $2,905. The ordinance does not define the two terms. Case C is the exemption the ordinance writes into the water tap-in, reclaimed water and additional connection fee sections: a residential meter for an owner-occupied home inside the city, served by existing water and sewer lines that need no extension, in an area without an unexpired Water and Sewer Agreement. The sewer tap-in fee has no such exemption. If the City installs a lateral for that home, add the lateral charge to case C as well. Case D adds the Southwest Quadrant water fee ($1,300) and sewer fee ($2,726). Additional connection fees count units differently. One unit is 300 gallons a day or 3,000 square feet of floor space, whichever gives more units, “or any fraction thereof”. Ask the city how that applies to a house over 3,000 square feet.

A 1-inch meter costs $575 instead of $525, so case A becomes $2,205. The lateral prices are the same for both sizes. For City-served property outside city limits, the water tap-in fee is $900 and the sewer tap-in fee is $500. The meter, lateral and reclaimed water fees are the same outside the city, so case A outside city limits comes to $2,555. Inside a development covered by a current Water and Sewer Agreement, that agreement sets any additional connection fee.

What is not included in Savannah fees

The city fees stop at the meter and at the public sewer. A licensed plumber builds and connects the lines on your property:

• Water service line from the meter to the house: $30 to $150 per foot, about $50 typical (national estimate, trenching included). A 60-foot run at $50 is about $3,000.
• Sewer lateral from the house to the city sewer: $50 to $250 per foot, about $100 typical (national estimate, trenching included). Sixty feet at $100 is about $6,000. The City requires a separate lateral for every dwelling.
• Plumbing and building permits: $100 to $1,300 for the plumbing permit, about $300 typical (national estimate). Savannah’s building permit fees are in Article P of the same ordinance and are not included above.
• Development impact fees. The Revenue Ordinance refers to Chapter 15 of the City Code for these. They are not water or sewer charges, and we have not added them.

The ranges come from our national benchmark set, not from Savannah sources. See our guides to water service line cost, sewer lateral cost and tap fees vs. impact fees. Add the private work to the Savannah fees with the calculator:

Paying Savannah fees: timing and process

A licensed master plumber files the application for water/sewer service and installation of a water meter, and the owner signs it too. The meter installation fee and any water or sewer connection fees must accompany the application. The city will not process it without them, or without a building permit and right-of-way permit where those are required. The ordinance says the water tap-in fee is paid to Water Resources Planning & Engineering at 20 Interchange Drive before a service line is connected. The sewer tap-in fee is paid there before a sewer connection permit is issued.

The City’s water and sewer service connection requirements say City Water Operations makes all taps on City water mains, and contractors may not tap or dry-connect to a main. Once the sewer fees are paid and the building permit is issued, the plumber can rough in and tie into the sewer lateral. Billing starts once the meter is issued. The $100 deposit for a 5/8-inch meter ($115 for 1-inch) can be waived for owner-occupied homes, for customers who own property with an active City account, or when the $30 account establishment fee is charged.

Upcoming changes in Savannah

Savannah adopts a new Revenue Ordinance each year. The 2024 and 2026 ordinances were adopted on December 7, 2023 and December 11, 2025. Check the next one before paying fees in 2027. The core tap-in fees have been stable: the 2020 and 2024 ordinances also listed $600 for water and $400 for sewer inside the city. Some area fees have moved a lot. The Southwest Quadrant sewer additional connection fee was $900 in the 2024 ordinance and is $2,726 in 2026.

How Savannah compares

Using the figures on our other Southeast pages: Atlanta’s official charges for a 3/4-inch meter installed by the city come to about $2,295, from a meter schedule dated 2015. Charleston Water System charges $12,060 in 2026, most of it impact fees. In Jacksonville, JEA’s charges are $8,279 on a lot with services in place, or $17,969 when JEA taps both mains. Savannah’s $2,155 ($2,605 with a City-installed short-side lateral) is in the same range as Atlanta’s. It can rise well above that in service areas with additional connection fees.

Common questions about Savannah fees

More on Savannah and nearby cities

Compare Savannah with Atlanta tap fees, Charleston tap fees and Jacksonville tap fees, or browse the national tap fees by city table. Background reading: water meter installation cost, sewer tap fee and utility costs for new construction. For the full budget, use the utility connection cost calculator.

Savannah fee sources

• Revenue Ordinance of 2026, Article U – Utility Service Fees (Sections 4, 5, 9 and 13; adopted Dec 11, 2025, amended Jan 22, 2026), City of Savannah. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Revenue Ordinance archive (2022–2026 ordinances; the 2024 ordinance was used for the history above), City of Savannah Revenue Department. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Revenue Ordinance of 2020 (adopted Dec 5, 2019), Article U, City of Savannah. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Application for Water/Sewer Service and Installation of Water Meter, City of Savannah. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water and Sanitary Sewer Service Connection Requirements, Water & Sewer Planning and Engineering, City of Savannah. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• Water and Sewer Resources, City of Savannah. Checked Sep 24, 2026.
• National cost estimates: Utility Cost Guide benchmark methodology.