St. George Water, Sewer and Power Connection and Impact Fees (2026)

The City of St. George provides drinking water, sewer, storm drainage and electricity (through St. George Energy Services), and the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) supplies wholesale water to the city. A new single-family home with a 3/4-inch meter on a lot that already has a water stub pays about $21,782 in water, sewer and drainage connection and impact fees, plus $5,179 for a 200-amp underground power service, or $26,961 in all. Most of it is one charge: the district’s $17,266 regional water impact fee, in effect since March 1, 2026, which St. George builders pay on the district’s residential form that the city’s Building Department posts. The city’s own amounts come from an impact fee sheet dated April 21, 2021. It is still the one the city posts, so confirm those figures before you pay.

St. George connection fees at a glance

The table below uses three documents. The water, sewer, drainage and power amounts come from the St. George City Impact Fees sheet (effective 4/21/21), which also lists the water connection fee and the power meter fee. Smaller charges, such as a city crew tap and inspections, come from the Adopted FY27 Master Fee Schedule. The district fee comes from the WCWCD Impact Fees page. The city sheet prices water and sewer by meter size. Its smallest size is labeled “0.8”, which we read as the 3/4-inch meter. Rows from the 2021 sheet are marked for review because the document is more than three fiscal years old.

Worked example: a new home in St. George

Assumptions: a detached home inside St. George on city water and sewer, a 3/4-inch meter, a lot in a finished subdivision where the water service is already stubbed to the lot, the district’s standard (not ultra-efficient) connection, and a 200-amp single-phase underground electric service.

St. George and WCWCD connection and impact fees for one new home (city sheet effective April 21, 2021; WCWCD fee effective March 1, 2026)

The city’s share of the water, sewer and drainage line is $1,996 + $223 + $137 + $1,379 + $781 = $4,516. The district adds $17,266. The “no stub” column swaps the $223 connection fee for the $1,207 “WTR not on lot” rate, a difference of $984.

Three choices change the total. If the home is built under the district’s voluntary Ultra Water Efficiency Standards, the WCWCD fee is $11,413 instead of $17,266, and the water, sewer and drainage subtotal falls to $15,929. A 400-amp service carries an $8,244 power impact fee, $3,435 more than 200 amps. An overhead service costs $970 for the power meter instead of $370. A 1-inch water meter raises the city amounts to $4,311 for water impact, $268 for connection and $3,274 for sewer. The WCWCD page gives no flat residential 1-inch fee. The district says it prices non-standard residential connections by formula and quotes fees by phone at 435-673-3617.

How St. George compares

Next to the other Utah and Nevada cities we cover, St. George’s total is driven almost entirely by the district fee. Lehi charges about $10,660 for water, secondary water, sewer and storm drain on a quarter-acre lot, $11,122 less than St. George’s $21,782. With power, Lehi comes to about $13,680 and St. George to $26,961. Saratoga Springs comes to about $20,820, $962 below St. George, but it adds about $8,120 for water rights at plat unless the developer deeds its own. Salt Lake City charges about $3,080 today, or about $12,130 under its proposed impact fees. Across the state line, Las Vegas totals about $16,815 for a 5/8-inch meter. Its SNWA regional connection charge is $7,998, less than half of the WCWCD fee. Without the district fee, St. George’s own city charges of $4,516 would be among the lowest of these.

What is not included in St. George fees

The fees pay for capacity in the water, sewer, drainage and power systems and for the meter connection. They do not pay for the pipe on your lot, the trench, the plumbing work or the building permit itself. National estimates (methodology), which include trenching:

• Water service line: $30–$150 per foot, typical $50. At 50 feet, about $2,500.
• Sewer lateral: $50–$250 per foot, typical $100. At 50 feet, about $5,000.
• Street cut or bore: $1,000–$10,000 per crossing, typical $4,000. This only applies if the lot has no stub and the main is across the street.
• Underground electric service from the transformer to your meter base: $6–$30 per foot, typical $15.

St. George also charges non-utility impact fees on a new home, listed on the same 2021 sheet: parks $4,525, transportation $2,188, fire/EMS $320 and police $95 per single-family home. These are not in the totals above. Neither is the building permit fee, which the FY27 schedule sets from a valuation table.

How and when St. George fees are paid

The WCWCD fee is due before the building permit is issued. The St. George Building Department posts the district’s residential impact fee form on its forms page. Have the city complete its section of the form, and pay at the district office at 533 E. Waterworks Dr. in St. George. The district does not accept cash, and a paid fee cannot be moved to another lot. The city’s FY 2027 budget says park and police impact fees are collected when the building permit is issued. The documents we read do not say when the water, sewer and power fees are due, so ask the Building Department.

The FY27 schedule prices a few items that only some builders pay. A tap made by a city crew costs $75 for a 3/4-inch or 1-inch service. A temporary construction power meter costs $100. Subdivision developers pay $65 per lot for water and wastewater inspection and $65 per lot for power inspection. The building permit list also has a $60 “Water Meter” item with no description, so we left it out of the example.

New homes also have a lower water allowance after they connect. Under the WCWCD surcharge in the FY27 schedule, residential connections made after January 1, 2023 pay $10.00 per 1,000 gallons over a monthly allowance. For a 3/4-inch potable-only meter, the allowance is 8,000 gallons in December through February and 20,000 gallons from May through September. Connections made before 2023 pay $1.00 per 1,000 gallons, and only above 36,000 gallons a month. This is a water bill charge, not a connection fee, but it applies to new-construction connections like the one in the example.

St. George fee changes to watch

• The city’s water, sewer, drainage and power impact fees are the amounts effective April 21, 2021. A July 15, 2024 public notice says the city intends to update the impact fee studies behind them, and the FY 2027 budget lists “Continue evaluation of impact fees to ensure new growth pays for itself” as a goal, so a new city schedule could replace them.
• The WCWCD fee of $17,266 comes from a board resolution dated December 1, 2025, effective March 1, 2026, and the district’s Impact Fees page lists it. Under that resolution, the fee in effect on the day you pay is the one that applies.
• The FY27 Master Fee Schedule was adopted July 16, 2026. Utility charges in it may change with the FY 2028 schedule next summer.

Common questions about St. George fees

More on St. George and nearby cities

Lehi tap and impact fees · Saratoga Springs impact fees · Salt Lake City tap fees · Las Vegas connection charges · tap fees by city · tap fee vs impact fee · cost to run power to a property · utility connection cost calculator

St. George fee sources

• St. George City Impact Fees (Effective 4/21/21), City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Impact Fees page (ordinances and impact fee analyses), City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Adopted FY27 Master Fee Schedule (July 16, 2026), City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Building Department forms (Washington County Water Conservancy District residential form), City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Notice of Impact Fee Study (July 15, 2024), St. George City Council (Utah Public Notice Website). Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• FY 2027 Adopted Budget, City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• City Code Title 9, Chapter 3, Article B, Impact Fees, City of St. George. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Impact Fees, Washington County Water Conservancy District. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
• Resolution adopting the Regional Water Impact Fee Facilities Plan and Analysis (December 2025), Washington County Water Conservancy District (Utah Public Notice Website). Checked Sep 25, 2026.