What Should a General Contractor Know About Water, Sewer and Permits?

Why do water and sewer surprises show up after the number is set?

Because the people who decide them often answer after pricing. The utility confirms capacity and the connection point, and the fire code official sets the fire water requirement, each on its own schedule. When the number comes first, a lift station or an off-site main turns into a change order.

In the AGC and NCCER 2026 Workforce Survey, run in July and August 2026, 28 percent of respondents said owner directives to halt or redesign had delayed projects, and 26 percent cited governmental delays such as a lack of approvals or inspectors.

Who provides water and sewer to the site, and do they have room?

Find the provider first, then ask about capacity. In Texas, the Public Utility Commission's water and wastewater CCN viewer shows which retail utility serves an address. An address outside any CCN may be served by a city-owned utility or another political subdivision, or have no retail service.

A provider is not the same as capacity. Houston's wastewater capacity reservation letter, for example, determines whether adequate water and wastewater service is available, identifies the connection point and says whether impact fees are due. Unpaid, it is valid for six months.

Before you price, ask the provider:

• Does gravity sewer reach the site, or is a lift station and force main needed?
• Is an off-site main extension required, and who builds it?
• Who makes the taps and sets the meters: the city, or an approved utility contractor?

Taps and meters follow the building. Corpus Christi's water tap and meter sizing worksheet sizes the meter from an inventory of the building's plumbing fixtures, and lets the applicant choose a tap by the city or by an approved utility contractor.

A lift station takes land, not just pipe. TCEQ's rule on lift station site requirements (30 TAC §217.59) says a lift station must be located in a right-of-way or a permanent easement. If the site plan does not show that space, the number does not carry it either.

When does fire water become a preconstruction question?

On any site where the water main is small, far away or missing. The fire code official sets the required fire flow under the adopted fire code, and that can mean a larger line, more hydrants or a storage tank.

The Kaufman County Fire Marshal's site and civil plans guideline says the fire code official uses Appendix B of the 2024 International Fire Code to set fire flow. Where no adequate and reliable water supply exists near the site, the official may use NFPA 1142 or ISO fire flow calculations instead.

NFPA 1142 gives a method for the minimum water supply for firefighting where there is no water, or not enough. In practice that can mean on-site storage such as a tank.

Outside city limits, check the county. Under Local Government Code Chapter 233, a county with more than 250,000 people, or next to one, may adopt a fire code for commercial buildings, public buildings and multifamily buildings of four or more units in unincorporated areas.

Which permit clocks run on a commercial site?

Several, and they do not wait for each other. A Texas commercial site can carry all of these at once:

• A plat or site plan. A city must approve, approve with conditions or disapprove a plat within 30 days after it is filed (Local Government Code §212.009).
• A TxDOT driveway permit. Under TxDOT's Access Management Manual, the property owner or an authorized representative applies on Form 1058 through the local district office. No driveway work starts in the right of way until the permit is fully executed and TxDOT has 24 hours' notice.
• Utility service. Capacity letters, main extensions, taps and meters, on the provider's own process.
• Fire review. Water supply and access, by the fire code official.
• Construction stormwater. Coverage under TCEQ's construction general permit, TXR150000.

Start the longest clock first. The clock that starts last tends to become the critical path. Ask for utility capacity and TxDOT access in parallel with the site plan, not after it.

Who carries stormwater compliance on a Texas construction site?

If you direct the work on site, you are likely a primary operator. TCEQ's 2023 construction general permit gives that role to anyone with day-to-day control of the activities the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWP3) needs, such as directing workers, or with on-site operational control over the plans and specifications.

A secondary operator, often the property owner, only hires operators such as a general contractor or approves plan changes. TCEQ's construction stormwater page calls 5 acres or more of disturbance large and 1 to under 5 acres small. On both, the SWP3 comes before construction starts, unless a small site qualifies as having low potential for erosion.

Where does a civil and water engineer help a general contractor?

Before pricing and after award. Before the number is set, an engineer can read the provider, capacity, fire water and permit sequence from public records and agency contacts. After award, the same engineer designs the site civil, water and wastewater work, prepares the permits and answers RFIs while crews are working.

That is how a civil and water engineer works with contractors and design-builders on pursuits. When an owner needs the answer in writing before closing on land, a site feasibility and due diligence review goes deeper.

Is your next job ready to price?

Answer each question yes or no. Any no is a priced risk, or a question for your engineer before you set the number.

1. Do you know which utility serves the site for water and for sewer?
2. Has that utility confirmed capacity and a connection point in writing?
3. Does gravity sewer reach the site without a lift station or an off-site extension?
4. Do you know the required fire flow, and whether the nearest main can deliver it?
5. Do you know who makes the taps and sets the meters?
6. Do you know whether the site needs a TxDOT driveway permit?
7. Do you know who will be the primary operator under the construction stormwater permit?

Questions to bring to your engineer or project team:

• Which agency clock starts last on this job, and how do we start it sooner?
• What will the fire code official require if the main cannot deliver the fire flow?
• What off-site work sits outside our scope today?

Limits. This is general education based on Texas rules and examples from specific cities and counties. Each agency applies its own adopted codes and local amendments, so confirm every requirement for your site. It is not engineering advice for a specific project.

Frequently asked questions

Can a general contractor apply for a TxDOT driveway permit?

Yes, when the owner authorizes it. TxDOT's manual says applications are made by the property owner or their authorized representative, through the local district office.

Is a will-serve letter the same as a capacity commitment?

Not always. In Austin, a service availability letter, also called a will-serve letter, identifies the water and wastewater provider for a tract. Capacity for new development is handled in a separate process, the service extension request, where one applies. Read what the letter in front of you actually commits.

I'm a preconstruction manager at a Texas design-build firm pricing a pad site in an unincorporated county with no hydrant nearby. What should I ask the fire marshal before we price it?

Ask which fire code the county has adopted and how it sets fire flow. If there is no adequate water supply near the site, ask whether it will use NFPA 1142, as Kaufman County's guideline allows, and whether that means a tank, where it goes and how big it is.

I run a site work company in North Texas, and the owner wants us to manage the whole 7-acre site. Are we the stormwater primary operator?

If you direct the day-to-day work the SWP3 depends on, you meet the 2023 permit's primary operator definition. If all 7 acres are disturbed, it is a large construction activity, so the SWP3 and an electronic notice of intent come before construction, plus the primary operator site notice.

Related resources

• Construction General Permit TXR150000: What Texas Developers Need to Know Before Moving Dirt
• How to Conduct a Fire Flow Analysis for a Texas Development or Subdivision
• TxDOT Utility Installation Review: How Water and Sewer Lines Get Permitted in State Right of Way
• What a Utility Feasibility Study Actually Tells You, and When to Get One

Pricing a Pursuit With Water, Sewer or Fire Water Scope?

Send us your next pursuit before you price it. We will screen the utilities, fire water and permit path from public records, free (a desktop read, not sealed engineering), and if you win, we are written in as your civil and water engineer at our standard fees.

We specialize in:

• Site civil engineering and land development
• Water and sewer utility design
• Lift station and force main design
• Fire flow analysis and fire water supply
• TxDOT driveway and utility permit packages
• Construction administration

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas. Contact: (214) 833-6748 or mod-eng.com