Water and Wastewater Impact Fees

Starting October 1, 2025, a 2.5% service fee will apply to credit and debit card payments for certain water development and permitting services. Visit our Water Bill & Payment FAQ page for more information.

This does not affect water bill payments at this time. If changes are planned in the future, customers will be notified well in advance.

On June 10, 2025, the City Council adopted changes to the impact fee rates, which take effect on Oct. 1, 2025 and Oct. 1, 2026. The table below outlines the upcoming impact fees cost changes. 

For more information, please contact Mary Gugliuzza at (817) 392-8253. 

• CIPAC recommendation letter to the Mayor and City Council(PDF, 421KB)
• Exhibit A: Land Use Assumptions - Water(PDF, 44MB)
• Exhibit B: Land Use Assumptions - Wastewater(PDF, 24MB)
• Exhibit C: Water Service Area map(PDF, 23MB)
• Exhibit D: Capital Improvement Plan - Water(PDF, 10MB)
• Exhibit E: Wastewater Service Area map(PDF, 20MB)
• Exhibit F: Capital Improvement Plan - Wastewater(PDF, 10MB)

Procedure for Calculating and Applying Impact Fee Conservation/Reuse Credits

Reference: Texas Local Government Code §395.0231 (Senate Bill 14, 2025, Second Special Session)

Effective Date: January 1, 2026

Purpose

This procedure establishes a uniform process for calculating and applying credits against collected water and/or wastewater impact fees for developments that incorporate eligible water conservation or reuse measures beyond those required by City code, design standards, or the City’s Water Conservation Plan. The purpose of the credit is to encourage innovative and voluntary conservation practices and support Fort Worth Water’s long-term demand reduction goals.

Applicability

Credits under this procedure apply to new developments and concern collected water and/or wastewater impact fees under Chapter 35, Article III, Division 2 of the Fort Worth City Code. This procedure applies to both Retail and Wholesale Customer developments.

1. Retail: A development that receives potable water service directly from the City through a metered connection. Retail Customers may be located either within or outside the City Limits and are billed according to the City’s applicable retail rate structure.
2. Wholesale: A development that receives water and/or wastewater service from one of Fort Worth’s wholesale customer utilities, where that utility is contractually required to collect Fort Worth’s water and/or wastewater impact fees as a pass-through charge to the development.

Definitions

1. Eligible Conservation and Reuse Measures: A facility, system, or product that results in water reuse, conservation or savings beyond those Base Requirements currently established by the City, as defined in §395.0231(b).

   a. Conservation and reuse measures must be permanent improvements and not temporary or portable systems.

2. Base Requirements: The minimum conservation and efficiency standards required by City Code, the City’s Water Conservation Plan, the Plumbing Code, and the City’s regional conservation partnership with the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD).

   a. City Code: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/ftworth/latest/ftworth_tx/0-0-0-1

   b. Water Conservation Plan: https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/files/assets/public/v/4/water/documents/save-water/fort-worth-2024-water-conservation-plan.pdf

   c. Plumbing Code: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/ftworth/latest/ftworth_tx/0-0-0-25795

   d. Regional Conservation Partnership with TRWD: https://www.trwd.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-TRWD-Conservation-and-Drought-Contingency-and-Emergency-Water-Management-Plan-Final.pdf

3. Projected Performance: The anticipated level of water demand or wastewater generation reduction or reuse efficiency expected to result from the implementation of eligible conservation and reuse measures. Projected performance must be supported by engineering calculations, design assumptions, and operational data demonstrating how the proposed measures will reduce potable water usage and/or wastewater generation compared to base requirements.
4. Credit: The refund granted after the Monitoring Period to a development that implements eligible conservation and reuse measures in accordance with this procedure. Credits are calculated as a percentage of the collected water and/or wastewater impact fee.
5. Developer: The individual, entity, or organization responsible for planning, designing, financing, and constructing a development subject to City water and/or wastewater impact fees.
6. Land Use Categories

   a. Single Family Residential Land Uses: Developments consisting of detached single-family dwellings or residential units designed for occupancy by one household on an individual lot or parcel.

   b. Irrigation-Only Land Uses: A land use classification where the associated metered service connection is dedicated solely to landscape irrigation and is not used for any domestic, commercial, industrial, or other non-irrigation purposes. Irrigation-Only Land Uses may occur in conjunction with any development type but are treated as a distinct category for the purposes of this procedure.

   c. Other Land Uses: All non-single family development types, including but not limited to commercial, industrial, commercial, institutional, multi-family, and mixed-use developments.

7. System-Level Metering: Metering infrastructure capable of accurately measuring water demand at a resolution sufficient to evaluate system performance, verify conservation benefits, and support credit calculations under this procedure. System-Level Metering may be achieved through one or more of the following:

   a. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI): Remote, automated metering technology that provides high-resolution, time-stamped usage data suitable for evaluating water demand patterns and verifying conservation performance, where such technology is available and reliable.

   b. District Metering Areas (DMAs): A defined portion of the water distribution system that is hydraulically isolated and equipped with a master flow meter to measure all water entering or leaving the area. Used when AMI is not available or does not provide sufficient data for the intended analysis.

8. Monitoring Period: The continuous 5-year timeframe during which actual water usage data is collected and evaluated to verify that the eligible conservation and reuse measures projected performance has been achieved. The monitoring period begins in Year 0, which starts at the time of the first building permit approval for the development. Year 5 serves as the validation year, during which the City will evaluate the development’s actual performance against the required criteria. During the monitoring period:

   a. The City will maintain and monitor the system-level metering infrastructure, including AMI or DMA components, as applicable.

   b. The developer must cooperate in providing any supplemental data necessary for the City to assess compliance with the program requirements.

   c. At the end of Year 5, if the development meets all required performance conditions as documented through a validation assessment, the developer shall be eligible for credit as outlined in this procedure.

9. Average Day Demand: The average volume of water used per day over a 1-year period.
10. Maximum Day Demand: The highest total volume of water used during any day within a given year.
11. Peak Hour Demand: The highest average rate of water use recorded during any 1-hour period of a given year.
12. Average Day Usage Factor: A measure of average daily water use per person within a single-family residential development, expressed in gallons per capita day (gpcd). It is calculated by dividing the average day demand by the estimated residential population served.
13. Maximum Day to Average Day Peaking Factor: The ratio of the maximum day demand to the average day demand.
14. Peak Hour to Maximum Day Peaking Factor: The ratio of the peak hour demand to the maximum day demand.
15. Pre-Conservation Meter Size: The water meter size determined through the City’s Water Study process prior to consideration of any proposed eligible conservation or reuse measures. This meter size represents the base requirements used to assess a non-single family development’s projected water demand and wastewater generation. The determination of the pre-conservation meter size projected water demands shall be made in accordance with the City’s Water Installation Policy & Design Criteria Manual and the applicable plumbing code as adopted and amended by the City.

General Provisions

1. Credits will be applied as a percentage of the collected water and/or wastewater impact fee.
2. Eligible conservation and reuse measures must be other than and exceed the base requirements, such as those identified in Table 4-3 of the City’s Water Conservation Plan, and all City codes.

   a. Water Conservation Plan: https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/files/assets/public/v/4/water/documents/save-water/fort-worth-2024-water-conservation-plan.pdf

3. Credits may be granted only for measures that are voluntary, not required by City ordinance, are permanent in operation, and demonstrate a quantifiable reduction in potable water demand and/or wastewater generation.
4. Credits are non-transferable and apply only to the development for which they were requested.
5. Credit may be applied to collected water and wastewater impact fees if the eligible conservation and reuse measures reduce both potable water demand and wastewater generation.
6. Credit may be applied to collected water impact fees only if the eligible conservation and reuse measures reduce outdoor, irrigation, or non-wastewater usage .
7. It is the developer’s responsibility to prepare and submit a detailed study demonstrating projected water usage and eligible conservation and reuse measures projected performance.

   a. Study must be signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer currently licensed in the State of Texas.

   b. Study must be unique to the development and include specific location exhibit(s). A minimum of 50 single-family units and up to 500 single-family residential credits may be submitted in a single study. A maximum of ten Other Land Uses commercial credits may also be included in a single study.

   c. It is the developer’s responsibility to request, coordinate with City staff, and fund system-level metering infrastructure to monitor and verify metered water usage within a specific development and confirm that eligible conservation and reuse measures’ projected performance have been achieved.

8. The maximum total credit shall not exceed 5 percent of the collected water and/or wastewater impact fee for single-family residential and irrigation-only land uses. The maximum total credit shall not exceed 2 percent of the collected water and/or wastewater impact fee for other land uses.
9. The credit is based on the collected water and/or wastewater impact fee. It will be calculated as a percentage of the collected water and/or wastewater impact fees for the development.

Impact Fee Conservation and Reuse Credits

1. Single Family Residential Land Uses:

   a. A 5 percent credit is eligible to be approved for single family developments that implement eligible conservation and reuse measures that meet all of the following criteria. Projected performance of eligible conservation and reuse measures must be demonstrated in a detailed study and confirmed with at least 5-years of system-level metering water usage data.

   i.  Demonstrate an average day water usage factor of less than or equal to 68 gpcd¹.

   ii. Demonstrate the maximum day to average day peaking factor never exceeds 2.25² in the validation year, excluding fire events.

   iii. Demonstrate the peak hour to maximum day peaking factor never exceeds 2.00² in the validation year, excluding fire events.

2. Other Land Uses:

   a. A 2 percent credit is eligible to be approved for non-single-family developments that implement eligible conservation and reuse measures that meet all of the following criteria. Criteria must be demonstrated in a detailed study and confirmed with at least 5-years of system-level metering water usage data.

   i.  Demonstrate the need for a water meter smaller than the pre-conservation water meter size.

   ii.  Elect to install the smaller water meter size.

   iii. Demonstrate the average day, maximum day, and peak hour demands do not exceed the projected demands determined in accordance with the City’s Water Installation Policy & Design Criteria Manual and the applicable plumbing code as adopted and amended by the City.

3. Irrigation-Only Land Uses:

   a. A 5 percent credit is eligible to be approved for irrigation-only developments that implement eligible conservation and reuse measures that meet all of the following criteria. Projected performance of eligible conservation and reuse measures must be demonstrated in a detailed study and confirmed with at least 5-years of system-level metering water usage data.

   i.  Demonstrate a record of zero irrigation ordinance violations for the development, excluding violations accompanied by an approved variance.

   ii.  Demonstrate the eligible conservation and reuse measures remain installed and functional.

Footnotes:

¹2034 goal for the residential average day water usage factor from the City’s most recent Water Conservation Plan.

²Water demand criteria from the City’s Installation Policy and Design Criteria for Water, Wastewater, and Reclaimed Water Infrastructure.

Credit Application Procedure

1. Submittal: The developer prepares and submits a detailed conservation study with the credit calculation request, identifying all proposed conservation and reuse measures. The credit application form must include detailed calculations proving the conservation or reuse measures’ reduction in water demand or wastewater generation. The study must be signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer currently licensed in the State of Texas.
2. Review: City staff will review the application for eligibility, confirming eligible conservation and reuse measures that exceed baseline requirements.
3. Monitoring Period: The developer installs system-level metering and the City monitors water usage for 5-year period.
4. Approval: The developer that paid the water and/or wastewater impact fee and submitted the detailed credit study must formally request a validation assessment at the end of the monitoring period. Upon formal request, City staff will review the system-level metering data to assess compliance and approve eligible credits.
5. Credit: If the approved conservation and reuse measures exceed the baseline requirements and are validated through the monitoring period, City staff will issue a written approval confirming eligibility for credit for collected water and/or wastewater impact fees by the end of the monitoring period. If the development successfully meets all validation requirements, the City will issue the water and/or wastewater impact fee credit to the same entity that paid the water and/or wastewater impact fee.

Is this a new fee?

• No. Fort Worth has been collecting these fees since 1990. Senate Bill 336, passed by the Texas Legislature in 1987, authorized cities to use impact fees as a source of funding. The Senate Bill specifies what expenditures are qualified to receive impact fee funding and sets forth a formula for calculating the maximum allowable rate.
• In 1990, the Fort Worth City Council adopted Ordinance No. 10601, authorizing the assessment of impact fees in the Fort Worth Water Department’s service area and establishing guidelines to ensure the fees are assessed, collected and disbursed fairly and within the law.

Why did the city council decide to collect impact fees?

• Before these fees were authorized, the all costs associated with expanding Fort Worth Water facilities were borne by all of the utility’s customers. Now, through the use of impact fees, the developers who create the additional demand are paying a portion of the cost of meeting that demand. This helps reduce rate increases that all customers must pay and ensures that those who place additional demand on the water and wastewater systems help pay the costs required.

Do only Fort Worth customers pay impact fees?

• No. Impact fees are charged to all new service within Fort Worth’s Utility Service Area. This includes all residences and businesses located within Fort Worth’s city limits as well as surrounding communities and utility districts served by Fort Worth Water.
• Irrigation meters must pay the water impact fee, but the wastewater impact fee does not apply. There are no impact fees on fire lines.
• Many communities who purchase water from Fort Worth also have adopted ordinances allowing them to impose their own impact fees on new development within their jurisdictions. Each city or authority sets its own rates. The impact fees set by these communities are in addition to the impact fee they are contractually required to collect on behalf of Fort Worth. Contact local building officials for information on impact fees in areas outside Fort Worth’s Water's retail service area. 

How are water and wastewater impact fees determined?

• Water and wastewater impact fee updates are conducted as required by City Ordinance 10601 and Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code.
• These updates include revising forecasts of how population and land use throughout the service area are expected to change. The revised Land Use Assumptions take into account the latest projections made by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Next, Capital Improvements Plans are drafted that identify the improvements that will be needed to meet projected demand. This includes Fort Worth’s own projects as well as its share of growth-related capital improvements for the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Authority. Fort Worth has contractual obligations to these entities for water supply acquisition and wastewater treatment services, respectively. Also, interest costs on growth-related debt financing are factored into the overall CIP costs. These costs are allowable by state law.
• Finally, the maximum impact fees are calculated by dividing the cost of capital improvements that will be required by future growth by the number of service unites, or meters, projected in the revised Land Use Assumptions.
• The entire process is overseen by the Capital Improvements Plan Advisory Committee, appointed by the Fort Worth City Council. The committees’ involvement is intended to ensure that the updates are conducted legally and fairly reflect existing and projected conditions.
• State law requires that a public meeting be held before the city council adopts any change in the impact fees. The city council has the authority to adopt any fee rate that does not exceed the maximum allowable rate determined by the Impact Fee Update. The Fort Worth City Council adopted a rate lower than the maximum allowable rate.

Do impact fees apply to existing development?

• Only if an additional demand is being placed on the public water or wastewater system. For example, if a larger meter is installed in an existing home for a swimming pool or irrigation system, an impact fee is assessed based on the difference between the sizes of the old meter and new meter.
• If a business or individual chooses to switch service from a private water well or a septic tank to the city’s water and/or wastewater system, then the customer is charged the impact fee.

What is the difference between an impact fee and a tap fee?

• A tap fee is a service fee that is charged for installing the service line from the public water or sewer main to the private plumbing. 
• An impact fee is charged to new development to offset new or increased demands that require additional capacity improvements on the  existing water and wastewater systems. Impact fees are used only to fund expansion of the water and wastewater systems.