WASA Approval for Building and Development in Trinidad & Tobago

What WASA's role is

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is concerned with two things when you build: how the building will get its water, and what happens to its wastewater. Depending on the project, that can mean reviewing the plumbing design, approving a connection to the public sewer, reviewing water and wastewater arrangements for a larger development, or connecting a new water service.

WASA notes that its applications may require other development approvals first — WASA approval is one part of the wider permitting process, not a replacement for it.

How it fits with planning permission and DevelopTT

Since 2023, WASA approvals have been handled through DevelopTT (opens in a new tab), the government's online development permitting system. According to the Ministry of Planning's February 2024 announcement:

• An application must first receive planning permission online before it moves on to WASA.
• The WASA module then accepts building development applications, plumbing applications and sewer connection applications.
• WASA and Municipal Corporation submissions are processed separately, but within the same DevelopTT application.
• Once an application is filed through DevelopTT, you don't need to apply to WASA separately offline for the same approval.

In other words, for projects that go through DevelopTT, WASA's review sits after planning permission and alongside the building permit stage. Our Town and Country Planning guide explains the stages before it.

Plumbing and sewer connection approval

Where a property is in an area served by a public sewer, WASA's published process is:

1. Plumbing approvalA Licensed Sanitary Constructor (a licensed plumber) applies for approval to install the plumbing system.
2. DrawingsPlumbing isometric drawings are submitted with the sewer connection application.
3. ReviewWASA reviews the plumbing design against the National Plumbing Code of Trinidad and Tobago.
4. Inspection and connectionWASA inspects the installed work and makes the sewer connection.
5. Completion certificateAfter approval by WASA's Plumbing Inspectorate, WASA issues a completion certificate.

WASA publishes its current processing and connection fees, and an indicative review time, on its wastewater services page (opens in a new tab). Check there for current figures — they are set by WASA and can change.

If there is no public sewer

Many homes in Trinidad & Tobago are not connected to a public sewer. Even then, wastewater is part of the approval picture: the DevelopTT planning permission checklist requires the site plan to show septic tanks and percolation areas, and details of the existing and proposed water supply and sewage disposal system.

What is acceptable on a particular site depends on the site and the development, so on-site wastewater arrangements should be designed for your property and confirmed with the reviewing authorities rather than copied from another plan.

Larger developments

Subdivisions, multi-unit housing and commercial projects go through WASA's building development application, which looks at how the development as a whole will be supplied with water and how its wastewater will be managed. The requirements for these are more involved than for a single home and vary with the size and type of development — confirm them with WASA for your project.

A new water service connection is a separate application

Connecting a property to WASA's water supply is its own application, made to WASA. Its water services page (opens in a new tab) says a property must have access to a water main, and that the owner or an authorised representative may apply.

The 2025 application form lists supporting documents including:

• A Certificate of Payment from the District Revenue Office or City/Borough Corporation
• Two forms of picture identification
• A copy of the registered deed
• A sketch with directions to the property
• A cadastral map approved by Lands and Surveys, for vacant land
• An original completion certificate, in the case of a private development
• A statutory declaration

The form also asks whether the property has Town and Country Planning approval, and the applicant accepts responsibility for any statutory approvals the building or construction requires. Use the current form from WASA's application forms page (opens in a new tab), and check the current application fee there.

Why requirements differ from project to project

What WASA needs to see depends on where you're building, whether a sewer is available, how the building will be used, and how large the development is. A single house on a sewered street and a housing development on unsewered land follow quite different paths.