Water and Wastewater Impact Fees

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 10 a.m.

City Council Chambers at City Hall,

100 Fort Worth Trail, Fort Worth, TX 76102

The City of Fort Worth is updating its water and wastewater impact fees. The purpose of the public hearing is to consider amendments to the Land Use Assumptions and Capital Improvements Plan and imposition of the Impact Fees.

Any member of the public has the right to appear at the hearing and provide input in support of or against the updates. A copy of the documents (Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, and F) for the water and wastewater Land Use Assumptions Report and Capital Improvements Plan are available on this page or can be viewed at Fort Worth City Hall, 5th Floor, 100 Fort Worth Trail.

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

Below is a list of newspapers and dates this advertisement published.

The Water and Wastewater Capital Improvements Plan Advisory Committee (CIPAC) has been working with city staff and the consulting firm of Freese and Nichols, Inc. since May 2024 on the Water and Wastewater Impact Fee Study Update 2025, an update to the Land Use Assumptions and Capital Improvements Plans for water and wastewater facilities, which are used to calculate the maximum allowable Impact Fees.

On Feb. 27, the Water and Wastewater Capital Improvements Advisory Committee voted to:

• submit the 2025 update to the City Council for its consideration,
• continue imposing an impact fee, with the new maximum allowable impact fee combined for water and wastewater being $12,950 per service unit based on calculations before credits. (Credits apply only when the collection rate set is above 50 percent.)
• recommend a collection rate of 42.5 percent of the maximum allowable impact fee effective Oct. 1, 2025, and 
•  recommend a collection rate of 45 percent of the maximum allowable impact fee effective Oct. 1, 2026.

Based on these recommendations, the combined water and wastewater impact fee would increase to $5,504 on Oct. 1, 2025 and to $5,828 on Oct. 1, 2026.

The Land Use Assumptions Report and Capital Improvements Plans produced through the impact fee study are available at the links below.

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)

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.