Sewer Rates & Connection Fees

Sewer Rates & Connection Fees

By paying your sewer service charges, you are paying for maintenance and improvement of your public sewer system and for the proper treatment of wastewater before it is released to the ocean. Anything you put down the household drain must make its way through a series of pipes and pumps to the treatment plant and then out to the ocean outfall. Take proper care to ensure that what you put down your drain won’t result in additional maintenance costs, sanitary sewer spills, or even significant reconstruction costs for damages. Please contact our office regarding connection permits and charges. You can estimate your charges by using our Connection Fee Calculator. Please note actual charges may be higher or lower than indicated in the estimate calculator depending on the details of your project. Visit our Commercial Permits page for more information on wastewater permits for businesses in Santa Cruz County.

Sewer Service Charges

Sewer service charges are your utility bills. These charges cover the cost of operating and maintainig the sewer system. Moving forward, these charges will be set by resolution, meaning they will be approved throguh an official process. You can view the current resolutions below for more detail on how these charges are determined and updated.

• Sewer Service Charge Report 2024
• Resolution 24-03 - Adopting Sewer Service Changes 2024-25
• Resolution No. 24-05 - Confirming Sewer Service Charge Report 2024-25
• Ordinance 154 - Enacting and Amending District Code Related to Rate Setting, Sewer Charges, and Billing and Collection

Sewer Connection Fees

Sewer connection fees are one-time costs that cover things like permits, annexation fees, and district buy-in fees. Whether or not these fees apply to your project depends on its specific details. Often these fees are tied to building permits, but in some cases, may be required for standalone sewer permits.

• ADU Connection Fees
• Connection Charges