Cartersville Sewer and Drain Guide for Homeowners

Who provides sewer service here

The Cartersville Water Department says the community's wastewater is collected in more than 170 miles of sewer lines and carried to its Water Pollution Control Plant, where it is treated to Georgia Environmental Protection Division standards before it goes into the Etowah River (Cartersville Water Department). The plant is a 15-million-gallon-a-day activated sludge facility, and the biosolids it produces are applied to farmland under a state-approved program (Cartersville Treatment Facilities).

A Distribution and Collection Division of 19 people maintains the water and sewer lines across Cartersville's 28-square-mile service area. They make sewer and water taps, renew and upgrade services, video sewer lines to check for blockages and replace old lines (Cartersville Distribution). The system also takes flow from a neighbor: Emerson's privately funded Red Top sewer sends sewage to Cartersville for treatment under an intergovernmental agreement that allows up to 1.1 million gallons a day (City of Emerson).

City code requires approval from the city manager for water and sewer lines outside the city limits (Cartersville Code § 24-41(e)), so service doesn't automatically follow a Cartersville mailing address. Check that your bill comes from the City of Cartersville.

Where your responsibility ends

Cartersville's code requires a service line cleanout next to the property line for maintenance. It then splits the work in two (Cartersville Code § 24-41(d)):

1. Clearing. The property owner must remove any obstruction in the service lateral throughout its entire length to the city main.
2. Repairs. The city repairs a defective service lateral from the cleanout to the city main if the cleanout is on or under city property. If it isn't, the city's repair section starts at the transition coupling or the property line, whichever is closer to the main.

In practice, a root ball under the street is your plumber's to clear, but a cracked or collapsed pipe in the city's section is the city's to repair. On the water side, the same section makes every service line from the meter box to the house the owner's responsibility. The cost of installing and connecting a new building sewer is also the owner's (Cartersville Code § 24-81(c)).

Who is responsible for the sewer line compares this with other Georgia utilities, and sewer cleanout location explains how to find the property-line cleanout. This page is general information, not legal advice; the Water Department can tell you which section of your lateral it treats as the city's.

If sewage backs up

The Distribution and Collection crews are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year, to respond to any water or sewer emergency (Cartersville Distribution); the Water Department page lists how to reach customer service (Cartersville Water Department). For something that isn't urgent, the city takes concerns through an online form and its My Cartersville app (Report A Concern).

Tell the crew where your property-line cleanout is; under the code, whether the city or your plumber handles the next step depends on what is wrong and where. Meanwhile, what to do in a sewer backup covers what to do inside, and sewer backup insurance in Georgia covers coverage.

Repairs, permits and inspections

The Cartersville Building Department reviews plans and issues permits for residential and commercial work, with plans reviewed by the Building Official and Fire Marshal. Contractors need a valid state license and a current city or county business license, specialty contractors such as plumbers must show both before a permit is issued, and homeowners applying for their own permits may be exempt from the business license requirement. Applications go through the city's OpenGov portal (Cartersville Building Department).

Sewer work has extra steps. All water and sewer taps must be made by, or under the supervision of, the Water Department (Cartersville Code § 24-41(c)). Uncovering, connecting to or altering a public sewer requires a written permit from the superintendent, and the connection is made under the superintendent's supervision (Cartersville Code § 24-81).

A lateral repair near the main means excavation, and Georgia 811 asks for a free locate request at least three business days before it; state law requires the request for mechanized digging (Georgia 811; Georgia dig law). Under that law, Cartersville's help in locating a lateral reaches only to the edge of the public right-of-way. How to hire a drain cleaning company in Georgia explains how to vet the plumber who does that work.

Grease, wipes and rainwater

City code forbids connecting roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer that drains to the public sewer (Cartersville Code § 24-81(h)). Grease interceptors are required at restaurants and other food businesses but not for residential users (Cartersville Code § 24-91(c)), so at home it comes down to keeping grease and wipes out of the drain; see what not to flush or pour.

Septic homes in this area

Cartersville won't extend water to a house that doesn't have either public sewer or a waste disposal system approved by the state health department (Cartersville Code § 24-41(a)). Septic permits and evaluations in Bartow County go through Bartow County Environmental Health, part of Northwest Georgia Public Health (NW Georgia Public Health offices).

Cities and communities served

Cartersville's sewer serves the city's 28-square-mile water and sewer service area. The table marks Cartersville as partly served because the city's pages don't say that area covers every address inside the city limits; your bill confirms whether you're on city sewer.

Next step

If your plumber finds a broken pipe, not just a clog, between the property-line cleanout and the main, call the Water Department before anyone digs. Under city code, that repair is the city's.