Indian River County Utilities Guide

Four Digital Towns utilities guides go deeper than this hub: the county water and sewer guide, the drinking water quality report guide, the landfill and solid waste guide and the septic-to-sewer program guide, each covering Sebastian and the unincorporated county.

The table matches the questions Indian River County Utilities customers in Sebastian, Vero Beach and the unincorporated county ask most often with the posted fact and the guide that explains it in full.

Indian River County Utilities, formally the Department of Utility Services (IRCDUS), supplies water, wastewater and reuse service to a major portion of the county's population, including the City of Sebastian (2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report).

The rest of the county outside those systems uses private wells and septic tanks, the City of Vero Beach Utilities or the City of Fellsmere Utilities, according to the county's 2025 report (water quality report).

County customers have two walk-in offices. The Vero Beach office is on the first floor of Building A at the Indian River County Administration Complex, 1801 27th Street, with a drive-thru and office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the Sebastian office is in Sebastian Corners Plaza at 1921 US Highway 1, also open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Utilities Customer Service). Both answer at 772-770-5300, bills can be paid by phone at that number using option 2, and after-hours water or wastewater emergencies go to 772-231-7176.

The county's posted rate schedule, effective January 1, 2025, charges Sebastian and other single-family customers $11.13 per ERU for water service availability and $21.99 per ERU for sewer, plus volumetric charges (rate schedule cover, rate schedule).

For Sebastian and other county customers, late bills add a delinquency charge of $2.00 plus 1.5 percent a month, and new construction pays impact fees of $1,463 for water and $2,624 for sewer per ERU (rate schedule). A new single-family sewer connection is $3,835 and a water connection for a 5/8 inch to 2.0 inch meter is $3,625 (rate schedule).

The posted booklet is out of date in one respect. The utility's rate study site, written before the changes, says initial increases would take effect January 1, 2025 and a second increase October 1, 2025, yet the schedule linked on the county site carries only the January 1, 2025 date, so Sebastian and other county customers should confirm current rates with customer service at 772-770-5300 (IRCDUS rate study, Utilities Customer Service). The same site notes that IRCDUS did not raise water and sewer rates for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019, and that increases since 2021 have averaged 3.25 percent a year.

Indian River County Utilities publishes an Annual Drinking Water Quality Report each year, and the 2025 report, covering monitoring from January 1 to December 31, 2025, is posted with earlier annual editions (Water Quality Reports, 2025 report).

Questions about the report or the utility from Sebastian and other county customers go to the Water Plant Superintendent at 772-226-3416 (2025 report). The 2025 report also discloses a reporting violation: triennial lead and copper tap sampling results for Indian River County Utilities were due by October 10, 2025 and did not reach the state until October 29, a lapse found in a December 1, 2025 review; the utility says sampling will now finish at least 45 days before each period closes (report page 4).

The same report prints the St. Johns River Water Management District irrigation restrictions for Indian River County Utilities customers in Sebastian and elsewhere: odd-numbered addresses water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, even-numbered addresses on Thursdays and Sundays, nonresidential properties on Tuesdays and Fridays, and no watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (report page 3).

The Indian River County Landfill at 1325 74th Ave SW, Vero Beach, is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed on New Year's Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas (Solid Waste Disposal District).

Five Customer Convenience Centers take residential drop-offs from Roseland to Oslo, open 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. but all closed on Wednesdays and the same holidays, and each also closes one more weekday (landfill and convenience centers page).

The Roseland, Winter Beach, Gifford, Oslo and Fellsmere centers take household hazardous waste such as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, fluorescent bulbs, motor oil, paint and sharps, plus items the blue cart refuses: white foam, plastic bags and wrap, scrap metal, electronics, tires and small yard waste (convenience centers). Construction debris, branches over three inches across and land clearing debris must go to the landfill on 74th Ave SW. Landfill tipping fees at the Vero Beach site stayed the same for 27 years until new rates took effect October 1, 2023 after a 2023 rate study, and the page says they increase 3 percent annually thereafter.

Since October 1, 2025, residences in unincorporated Indian River County and the Town of Indian River Shores get weekly curbside collection, paid through the non-ad valorem assessment on the property tax bill (Solid Waste Disposal District FAQ).

That weekly service covers carted trash, recycling, yard waste and up to four bulk trash items for each residential unit in unincorporated Indian River County and Indian River Shores.

The change raised the non-ad valorem part of the tax bill by $181.70 for residential properties in unincorporated Indian River County that receive a full 12 months of service, in lieu of paying WM quarterly, and part-time residents can no longer stop and start service (SWDD FAQ). For residents of Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere, the county FAQ says the only change was a new recycling cart and possibly a new collection day effective October 1, 2025, while Orchid's recycling carts were exchanged in April 2025.

For homes on universal service in the unincorporated county and Indian River Shores, cart questions go to WM at 772-569-1776: the first size exchange is free, an extra recycling cart costs nothing, and an extra trash or yard waste cart from WM costs a one-time $100 plus $10 a month billed annually at $120, with no more than four trash and yard waste carts per home (SWDD FAQ). There is no pickup on New Year's Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas, and collection slides one day later for the rest of that week.

The Indian River County Septic-to-Sewer Program is converting homes near the Indian River Lagoon to central sewer, with North Sebastian Phase 3, Floravon Shores Phase 2, Hobart Landing and Wabasso Island listed as current projects (Septic-to-Sewer Program).

North Sebastian Phase 3 covers 168 homes on roads around the North Sebastian community and is in engineering and design after a community meeting on June 17, 2026; Floravon Shores Phase 2 brings 19 homes at 110th Street near the Indian River Lagoon into sewer and is taking construction bids after a March 31, 2026 meeting (program projects). Hobart Landing, about 53 homes, is 75 percent funded by a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant and is in field investigation and design, and the Wabasso Island project is still seeking an engineering firm or design-build team.

For homes near the Indian River Lagoon and elsewhere in the North, Central and South utility service regions where central sewer is already available, the IRC Sewer Connection Assistance Program offers FDEP grant-funded help of up to $15,000 per property for eligible residents; the county is introducing the program ahead of the application portal opening (Septic-to-Sewer Program).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Indian River County website, for the Sebastian, Vero Beach and Fellsmere utility facts, rates and dates on this page.