Mayor Solomon & Jcmua Announce First Update To Water And Sewer Connection Fees For Developers In Over 25 Years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Nathaniel Styer | Communications Director
[email protected]
MAYOR SOLOMON & JCMUA ANNOUNCE FIRST UPDATE TO WATER AND SEWER CONNECTION FEES FOR DEVELOPERS IN OVER 25 YEARS
Developer connection fees have not increased since 2001 — even as the cost of living has climbed for working families in Jersey City
JERSEY CITY, NJ (May 28, 2026) — Mayor James Solomon and the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA) today announced that the JCMUA is moving to update the City's water and sewer connection fees for the first time since 2001, ending more than two decades in which developers paid the same rate to tap into Jersey City's water and sewer system while working families absorbed ever rising infrastructure costs.
For 25 years, the price of building the city’s infrastructure, from steel to cement, has increased, and Jersey City residents have paid for those increases through higher home utility bills. Over the same period, the fees developers pay to connect new buildings to the City's water and sewer system have not moved a single dollar. The updated fee schedule, supported by an independent study by NW Financial Group, would set the maximum water connection fee at $4,516 per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) and the maximum sewer connection fee at $3,691 per EDU. Updated fees will be phased in with 50% of the increase happening on June 1, 2026 with full implementation to follow on January 1, 2026
Currently, a large residential project with 100 units pays $185,020 in connection fees; under the new fee structure the same project will pay $760,000. Similarly, a large commercial project currently pays $27,940 and will be reassessed to $67,556 going forward.
"For a quarter-century, working Jersey City families have been asked to shoulder the cost of a growing city while developers paid 2001 prices to plug into our water and sewer system. That isn't fair, and it ends now,"
said Mayor James Solomon. "If you're building in Jersey City, you should pay your fair share toward the infrastructure that makes your building possible — just like how our residents pay their utility bills. This is about basic fairness, and it's about making sure the people who live here are not subsidizing the people who profit here."
Under the current structure, connection fees do not cover the actual cost of delivering water and sewer service to new development, leaving existing ratepayers to make up the difference through their monthly bills. The updated fees will ensure that new connections contribute a proportionate share of the debt service and capital already invested into the system and currently being carried by the ratepayers.
"The current connection fees are insufficient to meet the obligation for new development projects in Jersey City,"
said John J. Metro, Executive Director of the JCMUA. "This update brings our fees in line with the cost of delivering water and sewer service to a growing city and ensures that the cost of existing infrastructure is borne by those who benefit from it most directly."
Going forward, the JCMUA will recalculate connection fees at the close of each budget year, with a public hearing held before any future adjustment. This change institutionalizes transparency and ensures fees never again fall a quarter-century behind reality.
The Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority is holding a hearing today, May 28, 2026, to set new water and sewer connection fees.
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Nathaniel Styer
Communications Director | City of Jersey City
[email protected]