Verified as of September 16, 2026. We re-check these pages quarterly.
Who pays for what
The county spends $51,000 to $65,000 per property to bring a hookup out to a property. That is funded through state grants and the county's required local match, and it is not billed to you.
Once the line is at the property, the cost of connecting to it is the owner's.
The two kinds of connection
Gravity connection — $5,000 to $8,000. Wastewater runs downhill from your house into the main. Nothing powered, nothing to service. This is the cheaper case and it is the one most owners get.
Pressure connection with a grinder pump — $11,000 to more than $20,000. Where gravity will not do the job, wastewater goes to a small tank on the property, a grinder pump cuts up the solids and pushes them under pressure into the main. It costs roughly twice as much to install, and the county notes that maintenance costs are higher too, because of the grinder equipment.
You do not choose which of these you get. The elevation of your house relative to the main does.
The third cost everyone forgets
Once you are connected, the old septic tank has to be properly decommissioned. You need an abandonment permit from the Florida Department of Health, and the department inspects the property after the work is done. Cost varies with the property — tank size, depth, access for equipment and whether it is under a driveway all change the number.
A tank cannot simply be left in the ground full and forgotten. It is a permitted job with an inspection at the end, and a missing abandonment record turns up later at sale.
A worked example
A Wabasso house on a street reached by a county project, sitting slightly above the main.
- County's cost to bring the line: $51,000–$65,000 — not billed to the owner
- Owner's gravity connection: $6,500
- Tank abandonment: pump-out, crush or fill under permit, then the Florida Department of Health inspection
- Ongoing: a monthly sewer bill based on usage, and no maintenance contract
The same house, but sitting below the main so a grinder pump is required:
- Owner's pressure connection: $11,000 to $20,000+
- Same abandonment permit and inspection
- Ongoing: the sewer bill, plus higher upkeep for the pump
Against a $15,000–$25,000 ENR retrofit with $1,200–$2,000 a year behind it, the gravity case is clearly the better outcome and the grinder case is closer than people expect.
What to do before you spend anything
- Confirm whether your street is in an existing or planned service area — 772-770-5300, or the project list at IRCS2SProgram.com.
- Ask which connection type your property needs. Gravity or pressure changes the budget by more than double.
- Get the abandonment quoted at the same time as the connection, not after. It is the same trip for the same equipment.
- If sewer is not coming, stop here and read what an ENR upgrade costs instead.
If a line is coming but has not arrived
Keep the system you have working. Pump on schedule, and do not spend money on a major drain field repair that a connection will make redundant in two years — but do not let it fail either, because a failure inside the program area forces the full nitrogen-reducing upgrade immediately, whatever was planned for your street.
Verified as of September 16, 2026. We re-check these pages quarterly. All figures here are the county's estimates as given in September 2026. Confirm current costs and project status on 772-770-5300 or at IRCS2SProgram.com.