Workers working with Basille USA are building a pump station at 10500 Biscayne Boulevard, where the Miami Shores Motel used to stand. That station is the last major piece of the Village's first residential septic-to-sewer project, the first one in Miami Shores' 90-plus-year history. The 99 homes it will serve in Shores Estates are already paying for it.
That gap between paying and flushing matters for anyone buying here. Biscayne Times reported in August 2026 that more than 90% of Miami Shores properties still run on septic tanks, citing the Village's 2022 strategic plan. So for most homes in the village, the real question is where the house sits in the sewer process, since septic is already the norm. Sewer gets built, billed, switched on and connected in separate steps. Each step runs on its own schedule, and different parties control them.
The Bill Came First
Shores Estates sits roughly between the Miami Shores Country Club, NE 107th and 108th streets, a shopping plaza anchored by Ross Dress for Less, Biscayne Boulevard and the Biscayne Canal. The new lines connect to the City of North Miami's wastewater system, not to county sewer.
According to Biscayne Times, construction was substantially finished in June 2026, apart from inspections and the pump station. The system wasn't running yet when the paper reported in August that homeowners were already paying $1,163 a year per home toward the new sewer lines. North Miami Assistant City Manager Katia M. Philippeaux confirmed to the paper that owners won't face a connection charge. Village Manager Esmond Scott said that's because staff applied $1 million left over from the project to those costs.
On paper, this is how assessment-funded infrastructure is supposed to work. Debt service starts when the money is spent, and service starts when the system is certified. For a buyer, it means a house can carry a sewer assessment for months before its toilets drain into the sewer, while it still depends on the septic tank in the yard.
Three Clocks, Run by Three Different Parties
Once a project like this starts, a Miami Shores home is on three separate schedules:
- The Village's assessment clock. In July 2025, a Village Council agenda included a resolution proposing non-ad valorem assessments for wastewater collection in Shores Estates. It covered a calculation method, a preliminary assessment roll, a public hearing and a collection method. This is the clock that started the $1,163 annual charge.
- The utility's notice clock. The Village's project page says connection timing will come from North Miami. Under Florida Statute 381.00655, a working septic system generally has 365 days to connect after written notice that public sewer is available. A system that needs repair to work properly gets 90 days. Miami-Dade County's septic guidance cites a 90-day County Code window after a Notice of Sewer Availability. Which window applies to a Miami Shores home on North Miami's system depends on who issues the notice. That's a question for the utility and the county, and nothing published answers it yet.
- The homeowner's private clock. The Village says homeowners hire their own licensed professional to connect to the new main and abandon the septic system once the main is complete and tested. Private-side costs vary by site.
For Shores Estates, Public Works Director Delroy Peters gave Biscayne Times the order of events:
"And then, once we close it out, then by next year we start talking about the connection."
He put project completion at December 2026. As of this October, that means about two months of closeout before connection talks begin in 2027. The assessment clock has already been running for a year or more.
What a Buyer Inherits Through Each Clock
The assessment terms are the least settled part of the process. The Village's project FAQ, which carries no date, describes paying the system off over time through a unified assessment. It gives no dollar amount, term, payoff procedure or rule on what happens at a sale, and it says the method was still under study. The $1,163 figure comes from Biscayne Times' reporting, not from a published final roll. Anyone under contract in Shores Estates would want the final assessment resolution and the property's tax record in hand, not the FAQ.
The village already has a precedent for how long these charges last. The NE 2nd Avenue business district has had a low-pressure sewer system with 27 grinder pumps for years. Its Water & Wastewater Fund still collects annual assessments for project debt and pump maintenance, according to the Village's FY2026 proposed budget. Once a sewer assessment is levied in Miami Shores, it doesn't end when construction does.
Homes still on septic come with their own rules. Miami-Dade Ordinance 22-83 has barred conventional Type 1 systems for new and fully replaced septic systems since January 1, 2023, and required existing systems to be registered by January 1, 2024. The ordinance isn't retroactive. It applies to new systems and full replacements, not routine repairs. The real cost exposure on an older septic house is a full replacement, because that's when the stricter standard applies.
We found no state or county rule that requires a septic inspection just because a house is sold. The county recommends inspection and pumping every three to five years, and requires haulers to hold a Miami-Dade Liquid Waste Transporters permit. Whether a septic inspection happens during a Miami Shores purchase is up to the buyer and the contract.
The Cost on the Private Side of the Property Line
Shores Estates owners won't pay a connection charge, but the private hookup is a separate expense. Here are the benchmarks the public record provides:
| Item | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Shores Estates annual sewer assessment | $1,163 per home | Biscayne Times, August 2026 |
| Shores Estates connection charge | None | North Miami, via Biscayne Times, August 2026 |
| Typical septic-to-sewer conversion | About $15,000 per homeowner | Miami-Dade WASD, current program page |
| Conversion cost range | $7,500 to $40,000, plus abandonment | FIU working-paper draft, August 2024 |
| Routine septic service | $250 to $500 every three to five years | FIU working-paper draft, August 2024 |
The paperwork includes a Department of Health pump-out-and-abandon permit, an RER allocation letter, a plumbing permit and WASD approval, according to the county's list of required connection documents.
The county's help comes with conditions. Miami-Dade's Septic-to-Sewer Financial Assistance Program offers up to $15,000 as grants, zero-interest loans or low-interest loans, first come, first served. Eligibility requires homestead status, current property taxes and an available sewer line nearby. Investment properties and multifamily buildings don't qualify. The county's page says any remaining loan balance is due when the home is sold or transferred. We found no confirmation that the program covers homes connecting to North Miami's system through a Village project rather than county sewer. A seller who took a county loan carries a balance that comes due at closing, and a buyer of a rental property starts out ineligible.
Southeastern Shores Is Next in Line
Village Manager Scott told Biscayne Times that the next project will cover 240 homes in southeastern Miami Shores. The money is coming together. In March 2026, the Village Council accepted an $8,713,614.01 Florida DEP grant for the Southeastern Shores conversion, plus an additional $2,000,000 for Shores Estates, according to the Village's April 2026 newsletter. The FY2026 proposed budget had already set aside $5 million of a $7 million Clean Water grant award to start funding that second area.
No construction schedule or parcel map for the southeast phase has been published. That leaves a buyer in that part of the village in the position Shores Estates owners were in before 2025. The house is on septic today, a funded project is headed its way, and the assessment terms, connection notices and private hookup costs are still to come. If Shores Estates is the model, the first of those to arrive will be a line on the tax bill.
Questions We Hear About Miami Shores Septic
Does sewer access mean a home is connected? No. The Village builds the main. The homeowner hires a licensed professional for the private connection and the septic abandonment, on a schedule triggered by the utility's notice.
Who provides water in Miami Shores? The City of North Miami, according to Village Manager Scott's comments in Biscayne Times. Shores Estates' new sewer lines also connect to North Miami's system.
Does the downtown sewer cover nearby homes? No. The NE 2nd Avenue business district system is separate from the residential conversion program and has its own assessments.
If you're weighing a Miami Shores home, the agents at Pine River Realty can help you find out which sewer stage a property is in before you write an offer. That includes checking for an assessment, a connection notice, county loan terms, and the condition of the tank in the yard. Book an appointment and bring the address.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
