Septic or Sewer? How to Tell What Your Georgia Home Has

Check your water and sewer bill

The fastest clue is on your bill. Cobb County's water system tells customers that a sewer charge means the home is not on septic, and that no sewer fee means it likely has an onsite system (Cobb County Water System). EPA gives the same test: a home on septic shows no charge for sewer or wastewater service, or gets no utility bill at all (EPA).

Read the line items, not just the total. Sewer service in Georgia comes from many separate city departments, county departments and authorities, and their bills are laid out differently. If you can't tell, call the customer service number on the bill and ask whether your address has sewer service.

No water bill at all? EPA notes that many homes with septic systems also have a private well, and that a water line coming into the house without a meter usually means a well. If that's your situation, go straight to the county records.

Ask the county environmental health office for septic records

In Georgia, septic systems are permitted and inspected locally under statewide rules from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). A system can't be installed without a county construction permit, the application has to include plans showing where the system will go, and a copy of the county's final inspection report must go to the owner, builder or agent (Rule 511-3-1-.03).

DPH sends record requests to county environmental health offices rather than the state office, and its onsite sewage page links the list of county offices (DPH). Ask for anything on file for your address: the construction permit, the final inspection report and any repair permits. EPA notes that local permitting offices may also have a record drawing of the system as it was built, and that permits can show details such as the installation date and soil information (EPA).

A septic file for your address is strong evidence of septic, unless the home was later connected to sewer, so compare it with your bill. If the office finds nothing, don't treat that as proof of sewer service; ask the utility.

Look for clues outside, without opening anything

EPA lists a few signs you can check from the yard (EPA):

• a round access lid, often black or green, near where the main drain pipe leaves the house (tanks are usually about 10 feet from the building);
• a mound or small hill built for the drain field;
• a rural setting, or neighbors who all have septic systems.

Not seeing a lid doesn't rule out septic. DPH's manual requires a riser on a tank buried more than 12 inches deep, but the riser only has to come within 12 inches of finished grade, so even a newer lid can sit under the soil (DPH manual).

Don't open a tank to look inside. The same manual warns that gases building up in a septic tank can be toxic and explosive and can be fatal to pumpers, and it advises that no one enter a tank without proper protective equipment. If you need the tank found, EPA suggests asking your local permitting office for septic professionals who can locate it. If you decide to dig for a lid yourself, Georgia 811 asks you to submit a free locate request online or by dialing 811 at least three business days before you dig (Georgia 811).

What the answer changes for clogs and backups

If you're on septic, Georgia's rule makes the property owner responsible for operating and maintaining the system (Rule 511-3-1-.17). A backup may mean the tank needs pumping or the drain field is failing. EPA's warning signs include sewage backing up into drains, slow drains, gurgling pipes, soggy spots or sewage odors near the tank or field, and bright green, spongy grass there in dry weather (EPA). Repairs and replacements need a county permit and inspection (Rule 511-3-1-.03). The septic pumping guide covers maintenance and who may do the work.

If you're on public sewer, a backup can start in your home's own pipes or farther out. Which stretch of pipe is yours to deal with depends on your utility; who is responsible for the sewer line explains how to find out. To tell one clogged drain from a main-line problem, see signs of a main sewer line clog. If sewage is already coming up, follow what to do in a sewer backup.

If public sewer reaches your street

Georgia's septic rule calls for connecting to a public or community sewer when one is available within 200 feet of the property line or in a public right-of-way that borders the property. If an existing septic system fails and sewer is available, the rule calls for immediate connection, although a failing home system can be exempted if the county board of health finds it can be repaired to DPH's standards with enough area and usable soil (Rule 511-3-1-.03). How the county and your utility apply this to a home whose system still works is a question to put to both of them.

If you do switch, the old tank can't just be left in the ground as is. The rule requires the owner of a tank that is no longer used to have it pumped by a certified pumper and then either filled with sand, soil or rock or removed (Rule 511-3-1-.17).

Sewer often arrives through an extension project, and each utility runs its own. Cobb County's water system, for example, says many extensions start with a request from a group of homeowners whose septic systems are failing. A project moves ahead only if enough owners sign the petition and it is technically and financially feasible; residents share construction costs through fees, and each household also pays a plumbing company to install the line from the house to the sewer tap (Cobb County Water System). Ask your own utility how its policy works before assuming a new main means an easy hookup.

Next step

Find your latest water bill and look for a sewer line item. Then contact your county environmental health office, listed on DPH's onsite sewage page, and ask for the septic permit and final inspection report for your address; keep copies with your house papers. This guide is general information, not legal advice; your county environmental health office and your sewer utility can tell you what applies to your property.