The final amended SAF regulations were approved for publication in the District of Columbia Register (D.C. Register or DCR) on July 17, 2026 at 73 DCR 010191, effective October 1, 2026.
Plans submitted to DC Water before October 1, 2026 , for review and issuance of a Water and Sewer Availability Certificate, where DC Water has not completed its review, shall be subject to the new permit fees.
Plans submitted to DC Water for review and issuance of a Water and Sewer Availability Certificate, where DC Water has completed its review and issued a System Availability Fees and Construction Inspection Fees invoice that has not been paid by September 30, 2026 , shall be deemed abandoned if:
Valid payment1 of the System Availability Fees and Construction Inspection Fees have not been received by April 1, 2027 ; or
Department of Building (DOB) has deemed the permit application abandoned.
Upon the earlier of the two events, the Applicant must resubmit the plans to DC Water for review and remit all applicable fees to obtain a WSAC.
1 If check is returned due to insufficient funds, errors on checks, or missing information, the payment is deemed invalid. DC Water will charge a bad check fee for checks returned due to insufficient funds.
The Water and Sewer Availability Certificate shall be revoked upon the abandonment of the DOB permit application in accordance with 12A DCMR § 105.3.5.
The Water and Sewer Availability Certificate shall be revoked upon expiration of the DOB permit in accordance with 12A DCMR § 105.10
The SAF meter size is computed for the peak water demand, excluding fire demand in accordance with D.C. Construction Codes Supplement, as amended, Chapter 3 (Water Meters) of this title, and DC Water’s Meter Sizing Instructions and Worksheets.
District of Columbia Department of Buildings (DOB) Construction Permit Applicants and federal facilities shall be assessed a System Availability Fee (SAF) for new water and sewer connections and renovation or redevelopment projects for existing connections to the District’s potable water and sanitary sewer systems
The fee is only assessed if the meter size(s) is increased. For a renovation or redevelopment project on a property that has an existing connection, DC Water will determine the SAF based on the net meter size increase at the property.
Net SAF = SAF – SAF Credit
For a renovation or redevelopment project that already has/had a DC Water meter(s) and account(s), DC Water will determine the net SAF based on the difference between the properties’ new SAF determined by the new SAF meter size(s) and the SAF determined by the old meter size(s) being removed from the system. The SAF based on the old meter(s), are the credits that will be applied towards the new SAF. If the net SAF is zero or less than the SAF for the old meter size(s), then no SAF will be charged. If the net SAF is greater than zero, DC Water will provide SAF credits for the removed capacity and assess the net SAF.
Properties under renovation or redevelopment shall not receive a SAF Credit for the DC Water account(s) that have been inactive for more than twenty-four (24) months prior to DC Water’s issuance of the WSAC.
Yes, but the amount of credits that you may receive depends on the type of development and the number of affordable housing units or AHUs that you are developing:
Residential Development: If you are developing a residential structure with three or less units, DC Water will provide an AHU Credit of $5,790 for each AHU in a metered residential structure (e.g., single-family structure, townhouse, condominium, cooperative housing association unit, or apartment).
AHU Credit = # AHU Units x $5,790
Multifamily Development: If you are developing a multi-family structure of 4 or more units, DC Water will provide an AHU Credit or % Net AHU Credit based on the percentage of affordable housing units credit (% AHU credit) or percentage of additional AHU credit (% Net AHU Credit) in the metered multi-family residential structure (condominium, cooperative housing association, or apartment). The % AHU (or % Net AHU) equals the number of AHUs (or Net AHU) divided by total number of residential units (RU) times one hundred (100) times the SAF:
% AHU = (AHU ÷ RU) x 100 AHU Credit = % AHU x SAF
Yes, but the amount of the credits that you may receive depends on how many additional affordable housing units you are developing in addition to number of AHUs you are replacing:
If you are replacing and adding new AHUs as part of your redevelopment project, DC Water will provide a Net AHU Credit based on the percentage of additional affordable housing units (% Net AHU). The % Net AHU equals the number of additional AHUs (Net AHU) divided by the total number of residential units times one hundred (100):
% Net AHU = ((Net AHU) ÷ RU) x 100 Net AHU Credit = (% Net AHU) x SAF
The Net AHU will be determined based on the difference between the total number of affordable housing units constructed after completing the renovation/redevelopment project (aAHU) and the total number of affordable housing units existing prior to the renovation/redevelopment project (bAHU).:
Net AHU = (aAHU – bAHU)
If aAHU is less than bAHU (less than zero), no Net AHU Credit will be provided.
Yes. You need to submit one or more of the following documents with your plans and specifications:
Land Disposition Development Agreement;
Zoning Commission Order;
Planned Unit Development Covenant;
Certificate of Inclusionary Zoning;
Letter from the District financing agency that establishes the number of AHU in the property;
A Letter from Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) indicating the aggregate principal amount of the loan and number of AHU in the property; or
Other documents issued by the District government or body and approved by DC Water that prescribes or sets forth the number of AHU on a property.
For DOB construction permit applicants, DC Water will assess the SAF for payment at the end of the permit review when the inspection fees/deposits are paid. Payment of the SAF must be made before DC Water's issuance of the WSAC.
For federal facilities, DC Water will assess the SAF for payment at the end of the review of the plans and specification when the inspection fees/deposits are paid. Payment of the SAF must be made before DC Water's issuance of the WSAC.
No, the installment payment option is no longer available.
If the DOB Construction Permit is not issued or is revoked or the project is not constructed, upon written request from the property owner, DC Water shall issue the property owner a refund of the System Availability Fee.
No. The SAF is assessed to recover the proportionate share of the water and sewer system costs, not costs of the utilities constructed by the developer for the property. The SAF was determined based on the water infrastructure costs.
Yes, provided the DC Water account for that property(s) was not inactive more than 24 months prior to DC Water’s issuance of the Certificate of Approval. If the DC Water account was inactive for more than 24 months, no SAF Credit will be applied for the meter(s) taken out of service. If the SAF Credit is greater than the new SAF, then the Net SAF will be less than zero and no SAF will be charged.
Net SAF = SAF – SAF Credit
No. Redundant connections to the same structure will not be charged multiple SAF fees. However, if the water service connection supports separate units or functions within the structure, the SAF will be based on the total peak water demand for all water connections, not including fire demand. The SAF will only be computed based on the size of the meter determined by the peak water demand. If a water service connection is for a fire service, the SAF will not include that service connection in its calculations.
The SAF credit value is equal to that of the largest size of the metered service for the 24 month period prior to issuance of the Certificate of Approval.
No. The SAF will only be computed based on the peak water demand, exclusive of the fire service demand.
DC Water’s Engineering Review Fees recuperate the costs associated with DC Water reviews of plans submitted for permit approval. The SAF is a separate fee designed to support capital costs associated with new and upsized connections to the potable water and sanitary sewer system.
No. The SAF is not a tax, it is a fee designed to recover the proportionate share of system costs for new developments or redevelopments that require additional system capacity and are based upon meter size and average flow per meter size.
