Septic to Sewer in Fort Pierce

Yes: FPUA's April 2023 Customer Connections bill insert describes a community-wide Septic-to-Sewer initiative to eliminate pollution in waterways, offered as its Sustainable Septic-to-Sewer Program (FPUA Customer Connections, April 2023).

The FPUA insert makes three points for homes near a sewer line that rely on septic: switching to sewer is less expensive than replacing an aging, failing septic system; FPUA maintains the sewer system, which removes the cost of repairs and maintenance on a private septic system; and grants from environmental agencies partly pay for the hookup (FPUA April 2023 insert, Switch and Save).

FPUA's FY 2026 Annual Budget reports that the Wastewater Collection department continued its program to provide Low Pressure Sewer Systems (LPSS) where conventional gravity sewer is cost prohibited, and that a Low Pressure Sewer Coordinator position was added in the original FY 2025 budget (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget). FPUA's Sustainability page directs readers to SustainableSewer.net for its septic to sewer programming, sewer lining and the relocation of the wastewater treatment plant (FPUA Sustainability page).

FPUA's April 2023 bill insert said a typical residential septic-to-sewer conversion in Fort Pierce costs around $10,000, and that grants allowed a connection for as low as $4,000, subject to available funds and other conditions (FPUA April 2023 insert).

The FPUA insert explains what its $10,000 figure covered: installation of the sewer infrastructure in the yard, connection to the sewer pipes in the roadway, and mandatory capital improvement charges that FPUA reinvests in public-side sewer infrastructure. It also offered Special Payment Arrangements to spread the $4,000 cost over time (FPUA April 2023 insert).

FPUA's FY 2026 budget also reports a continued financing program for the Contribution-in-Aid of construction for Low-Pressure Sewer Service, and its glossary defines Contribution-in-Aid as cash or property contributed to the utility for specific capital projects funded in whole or in part by outside agencies (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget, Wastewater Collection and glossary). The Fort Pierce water and wastewater rates guide covers FPUA's monthly sewer charges.

FPUA's FY 2026 budget says additional grants are being pursued so FPUA can continue to help customers connect to public sewer, and lists septic-to-sewer conversions among about $9 million in pending grant applications as of July 2025 (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget, budget message).

FPUA's audited report records where earlier Fort Pierce grant money came from: the FY 2024 ACFR says federal and state grants awarded through the Departments of Economic Opportunity and Environmental Protection increased production on the Septic-to-Sewer conversion program, and its schedule of awards lists Ft. Pierce Low Income Sewer Conversion under Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants (FPUA FY 2024 ACFR).

The FPUA budget adds that the availability of grants has bolstered the septic-to-sewer campaign, and that most of the new sewer customers from its expansion projects were partially subsidized through Septic-to-Sewer grant funding from the federal government and state departments of environmental protection (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget). The April 2023 FPUA insert tied its $4,000 rate to available funds and other conditions (FPUA April 2023 insert).

State law encourages grant-funded agencies such as FPUA to publicize the money. Florida Statutes section 381.00655(3) encourages local governmental agencies that receive department grants or loans to offset connection costs to identify and notify eligible septic owners and to maintain a publicly available website with information on the availability of the grant or loan funds, while such funds remain available (Florida Statutes section 381.00655). FPUA customer service at 772-466-1600, extension 3900, is the line the FPUA insert gives for signing up.

FPUA's FY 2026 budget reports twelve water and wastewater expansion projects completed in different sectors of its service area and six under construction, producing 97 new water customers and 61 new sewer customers (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget, budget message).

The FPUA budget says these expansion projects have been phased in over the past three years, with plans to continue for the foreseeable future, and describes its Customer Base Expansion projects as the installation of sanitary sewer force mains, sewer services and other appurtenances to bring municipal wastewater service to existing residents on septic. It expects expansion projects planned for septic to sewer conversions to increase revenue and the number of services billed (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget, capital projects).

FPUA's wastewater system serves the City of Fort Pierce and the immediate surrounding area, approximately 56 square miles, according to the FY 2024 ACFR (FPUA FY 2024 ACFR, wastewater system). The FPUA budget names the connection of well and septic customers to FPUA water and sewer where available as a growth path for its water and wastewater service area (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget).

Yes, under state law: Florida Statutes section 381.00655 gives a Fort Pierce owner of a properly functioning septic system 365 days to connect after written notice that public sewer is available (Florida Statutes section 381.00655).

For FPUA septic customers, the statute's wording is that the owner must connect to an available publicly owned or investor-owned sewerage system within 365 days after written notification by the owner of that sewerage system that the system is available for connection (Florida Statutes section 381.00655).

For a Fort Pierce septic owner, the statute also says the sewerage system shall, no less than 1 year before the date the system will become available, notify the owner of the anticipated availability and that the owner will be required to connect within 1 year of actual availability. The owner may prepay the amortized value of required connection charges in equal monthly installments over a period not to exceed 2 years from the initial notification (section 381.00655(1)(a)).

A septic system near Fort Pierce sewer that needs repair or modification to function in a sanitary manner must connect within 90 days after written notification from the department, and in hardship cases the department may approve one extension of not more than 90 days. Section 381.00655(2)(b) lets a public or investor-owned sewerage system, with the department's approval, waive mandatory connection if it determines connection is not required in the public interest due to public health considerations (section 381.00655).

FPUA counts Fort Pierce septic-to-sewer connections as individual low-pressure systems, 78 of them in its FY 2024 ACFR (FPUA FY 2024 ACFR, wastewater system).

The same FPUA report lists those 78 individual low-pressure systems added with its septic-to-sewer conversion alongside 126 major lift stations, 183 miles of gravity sewer lines and about 112 miles of force mains in the Fort Pierce wastewater collection system (FPUA FY 2024 ACFR).

The FPUA ACFR's capital asset statistics, as of September 30, show 78 Low Pressure Sewer Systems in 2024 and 44 in 2023, with no data for earlier years (FPUA FY 2024 ACFR, capital asset statistics). The FY 2026 FPUA budget says the Wastewater Collection department provides LPSS where conventional gravity sewer is cost prohibited and sets a goal to raise awareness of the conversion program from septic to low-pressure sewer systems, resulting in an increase in customers (FPUA FY 2026 Annual Budget, Wastewater Collection).

Upkeep shifts with the switch: the April 2023 FPUA insert says FPUA maintains the sewer system, so a converted Fort Pierce home no longer carries repair and maintenance costs for a private septic system (FPUA April 2023 insert).

FPUA's April 2023 insert directs Fort Pierce customers to FPUA Customer Service at 772-466-1600, extension 3900, to learn more and sign up, with Community@fpua.com and cs@fpua.com as its email contacts (FPUA April 2023 insert).

The FPUA insert lists its office at 206 South 6th Street, Fort Pierce, FL 34950, and notes that its conversion rates were subject to available funds and other conditions (FPUA April 2023 insert). FPUA's Sustainability page points to SustainableSewer.net for septic to sewer programming (FPUA Sustainability page).

Last verified: October 22, 2026, against FPUA's April 2023 Customer Connections insert, its FY 2024 ACFR and FY 2026 Annual Budget, the FPUA Sustainability page and Florida Statutes section 381.00655, for this Fort Pierce septic-to-sewer guide.