Sewer Service in Orlando: Providers, Rates and Connections

Sewer service in Orlando comes from either the City of Orlando Water Reclamation Division or Orange County Utilities, and the monthly bill shows which of the two serves an address (City of Orlando).

The Orlando Water Reclamation Division collects and treats approximately 45 million gallons per day of wastewater through a system of gravity and force mains, lift stations and water reclamation facilities (City of Orlando Water Reclamation Division). Its grease program covers the over 800 miles of public sanitary sewer lines in the Orlando system (City of Orlando). The city network is not limited to city limits: the division owns and maintains a sewer collection system in many areas of Orlando and parts of unincorporated Orange County (City of Orlando).

City of Orlando sewer charges are not a separate city bill. The Water Reclamation billing section sets the fee for residential and commercial properties on the city sewer system, and those fees show up on the OUC bill alongside water (City of Orlando). The water use on the OUC bill drives the usage fee, while the city sets the sewer rate and grants sewer credits.

Orange County Utilities is a separate wastewater system. More than 870,000 people in Orange County Utilities service areas generate a total of over 62 million gallons of wastewater each day, and the county samples that wastewater at its four regional water reclamation facilities (Orange County Utilities). The city sewer bill page tells Orange County customers to call 407.836.5515, which is the Orange County Utilities customer service line (City of Orlando; Orange County Utilities). Before asking for a sewer credit, the city tells customers to check the bill to confirm they are City of Orlando wastewater customers (City of Orlando).

The City of Orlando Water Reclamation Division office is at 5100 LB McLeod Road, Orlando, FL 32811, and its main phone is 407.246.2213 (City of Orlando).

A single-family home inside Orlando city limits pays a $28.03 monthly base fee plus $6.77 per 1,000 gallons of water used, up to 14,000 gallons, under city sewer rates effective October 1, 2026 (City of Orlando).

The Orlando formula is simple: the total monthly sewer charge equals the capacity charge plus the commodity charge times the monthly water consumption on the OUC bill. In the city's own example, 7,000 gallons costs $28.03 plus $47.39, for a total monthly fee of $75.42 (City of Orlando). Because usage is billed only up to 14,000 gallons for single-family homes, the most an in-city house pays in a month is the base fee plus 14 times $6.77.

Apartment owners in Orlando get the flat per-unit rate only after certifying the unit mix: the multi-family rates must be certified by the property owner and take effect when certification is complete, with no retroactive credits allowed (City of Orlando). For commercial, industrial and master metered accounts inside city limits, the base fee is calculated by dividing water usage by 7,000 gallons, rounding to the nearest 0.10, and multiplying by $28.03, with $28.03 as the minimum; outside city limits the multiplier and minimum are $35.04 (City of Orlando).

Three credits can lower an Orlando sewer charge. Water leaks may qualify residential and commercial customers for a credit that adjusts the sewer charge toward typical usage once the leak is reported with proof. Residential customers who renovate or resurface a pool can apply for a pool fill credit once a year, which resets the sewer charge to the average of the last 12 months. Residential customers can also apply for two vacancy credits per calendar year when the home shows electricity usage of 200 KW or less and minimal to no water consumption (City of Orlando). Credits are requested by form through the Orlando Water Reclamation Division (City of Orlando).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Orlando website.

Orlando City Council approved sewer increases for fiscal years 2027 through 2030 on June 8, 2026, raising the in-city single-family base fee from $25.60 in FY 2026 to $36.13 in FY 2030 (City of Orlando).

The Orlando fiscal year begins on October 1 and runs through September 30, so each step lands on an October bill. The city says the increases support rising operational, maintenance, capital improvement, regulatory and infrastructure renewal costs while maintaining reliable utility services (City of Orlando).

Outside Orlando city limits, the single-family capacity charge moves from $32.00 in FY 2026 to $45.16 in FY 2030 and the commodity charge from $7.73 to $10.91 (City of Orlando). Run through the city formula, the same 7,000-gallon in-city house that pays $75.42 in FY 2027 would pay $36.13 plus $61.04, or $97.17, at the approved FY 2030 rates.

Connecting an Orlando home to city sewer starts with a sewer availability check and costs a $50 residential sewer permit fee, a $2,537.50 residential sewer impact fee and $2,950 per lateral where the city must build one (City of Orlando).

The Orlando process runs in order. After the availability request, the city issues a Sewer Connection Availability Response; a licensed plumber then completes a Plumbing Permit Application, and the city reviews the submitted application within five business days. The city emails an invoice, then emails the permit within two business days of payment. Before work begins, a licensed plumber must submit a lateral condition assessment. Projects valued over $5,000 need a Notice of Commencement filed with the Orange County Comptroller, and the City of Orlando Permitting Division does the final inspection (City of Orlando). Questions go to [email protected] (City of Orlando).

The city is also moving one Orlando neighborhood off septic with grant money. A Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant is funding the transition of 104 properties in the Rosemont North neighborhood from septic systems to sanitary sewer, with funding from the EPA 319(h) Nonpoint Source Management Program and a listed budget of $785,000. The stated goal is to reduce nutrient loads in the Wekiva basin and improve the health of impaired Lake Orlando. Connection is optional, but an owner who connects later pays the full conversion, which the city says can cost $12,000 or more; the same page puts routine septic pumping at approximately $250 to $400 each time, every 3 to 5 years (City of Orlando).

One date on the Rosemont page is out of step with the calendar: the page, last updated on March 12, 2026, still shows an anticipated completion date of 3rd Quarter 2026, a quarter that ended before October 15, 2026, so Rosemont North owners should confirm the current status with the project team listed there, at 407.246.2769 (City of Orlando).

Orange County runs its own conversion program near Wekiwa Springs. Orange County Utilities started the Wekiwa Springs Septic to Sewer Program in summer 2021 to convert almost 2,000 homes to county central sewer, citing septic tanks as the source of 29% of nitrogen in the springs. Phase 4, covering 396 properties in Rolling Oaks, Carlton Woods and Carlton Oaks, has had construction underway as of spring 2026, and Phase 5A received notice to proceed in July 2026 (Orange County Utilities).

Orlando city sewage goes to the Iron Bridge, Conserv I and Conserv II water reclamation plants, which together receive approximately 36 million gallons of wastewater per day (City of Orlando).

The same city page gives two flow figures without reconciling them: the Water Reclamation Division collects and treats approximately 45 million gallons per day of wastewater, while the three plants receive a total of approximately 36 million gallons per day (City of Orlando). Either way, the treated, or reclaimed, water from Orlando is put to beneficial uses such as irrigation (City of Orlando).

Iron Bridge takes flow from beyond Orlando. It is designed to serve about 400,000 people in the cities of Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland and Casselberry and unincorporated portions of Orange and Seminole Counties, and its total permitted capacity is 40 mgd. The first Iron Bridge phase began operating in 1982. Its effluent is split between the Little Econlockhatchee River and the city artificial wetlands, which flow by gravity to a portion of the St. Johns River (City of Orlando, Iron Bridge).

Water Conserv II serves a majority of the southwest section of Orlando. The plant has a design capacity of 25 mgd for about 250,000 people and uses a zero discharge method: highly treated effluent is pumped nearly 20 miles to Southwest Orange and East Lake Counties for irrigation of citrus groves and aquifer recharge through Rapid Infiltration Basins (City of Orlando, Water Conserv II). Groups can request a tour of the Education Center and Water Reclamation Facility at Conserv II through the Orlando Water Reclamation Division (City of Orlando).

A stopped sewer or sanitary overflow on the City of Orlando system should be reported immediately to Water Reclamation dispatch at 407.246.2213 (City of Orlando).

Heavy rain can strain the Orlando sewer. The Water Reclamation Division warns that heavy rain can overwhelm the sanitary sewer system, with excess water entering through sewer lids not closed properly, missing clean out caps and small cracks. Before a storm, the city asks residents to check that clean out caps are in place and tightened, report open sewer lids to dispatch at 407.246.2213, keep flushable wipes, menstrual products and kitchen grease out of drains, and write down the phone number posted on any nearby private lift station so an alarm can be reported. During and after a storm, the guidance is to avoid running washing machines and dishwashers, take quick showers instead of baths and flush sparingly (City of Orlando).

Businesses and apartment owners in Orlando carry extra duties. Facilities that own or operate a private sanitary sewer system, or have a private lift station on site, must apply for the Private Sewer System Management Program, and the city issues Oil and Grease Management Program certificates under a program aimed at reducing the fats, oil and grease that enter the Orlando sewer collection system. The division also keeps records of all sanitary sewer overflows in the city, which can be requested (City of Orlando). Orange County Utilities customers contact the county instead, through its customer service line at 407-836-5515 (Orange County Utilities).