Alpharetta, GA Sewer and Drain Service: Local Rules
Georgia Sewer cleans, inspects and repairs drains, sewer lines and water lines for homes in Alpharetta. Below: who to call first when sewage backs up, where your part of the line ends under the local provider's rules, and what we do about it.
Georgia Sewer — Drain & Sewer Specialists · Operated by Alpha Plumbing and Sewer, LLC
Alpharetta, GA at a glance
- County
- Fulton County
- Water and sewer
- Fulton County Department of Public Works
Utility rules and numbers checked October 24, 2026
Whose pipe is it in Alpharetta?
The public sewer in Alpharetta is run by Fulton County Department of Public Works. The provider answers for its main and its part of the line; the line on your side is the property owner's, and that is the part we work on. More on how the line is split: who is responsible for your sewer line.
Fulton County Department of Public Works
Public sewer in Alpharetta
If sewage is backing up or overflowing
- Sewer emergencies, North Fulton (customer service and after hours)(404) 612-3061
- Sewer emergencies, South Fulton(404) 612-3163
Where your part of the line ends
The lateral up to its connection with the public sewer is the property owner's and isn't part of the county system. Repairs to the part in the public right-of-way or a county easement are done by the county or an approved contractor, at the owner's cost.
Source: Fulton County Code § 82-195, read October 24, 2026“The building sewers or sewer service laterals up to the connection to the public sewer are the responsibility of the property owner and are not part of the sewerage system operated and maintained by the county.”
On your side of that line? That part is the work we do. Call (404) 482-2527 or send a request.
Our services in Alpharetta
Each job starts with a diagnosis; the service follows what we find.
Local rules in Alpharetta
What the city and its utilities publish about the jobs we do here, each with its source (checked in October 2026). The provider's full rules are on Fulton County.
When sewage backs up
- Fulton County's Emergency Repairs page lists a North Fulton sanitary sewer line that handles both customer service and after-hours calls, and asks callers for their name, phone number, location and a description of the problem (Fulton County).
- Fulton County Public Works helps remove a blockage in the right-of-way or a sewer easement only when there is a serious threat to public health, the owner's own plumber is on site, and the owner signs a release holding the county harmless (Fulton County).
Your sewer line and the public main
- Fulton County's code makes the sewer service lateral the owner's responsibility all the way to its connection with the public sewer and says it is not part of the county-operated system (§ 82-195) (Municode).
- Fulton County's lateral flyer says a clog, leak or break between the house and the property line is the owner's to repair even when the blockage lies under a public road right-of-way or in a sewer easement (Fulton County).
Cleanouts (2)
- Fulton County's requirements for lateral connections call for a cleanout at the edge of the public road right-of-way or county easement on the owner's side, cleanouts no more than 70 feet apart, and no structure within 5 feet of a cleanout (Fulton County).
- Under Fulton County's code, emergency county help with the stretch between the main and the cleanout is possible only where a cleanout exists at the edge of the right-of-way or easement, and the owner pays for it (§ 82-195) (Municode).
Roots and pipe defects (1)
- Fulton County says wipes, paper towels and hygiene products are often at the center of sewer clogs and backups, and that only pee, poop and toilet paper should be flushed (Fulton County).
Grease and what goes down the drain (2)
- Fulton County asks households to pour used cooking oil into a can, let it cool and throw it in the trash, and to put food scraps in the trash rather than the sink or garbage disposal (Fulton County).
- Fulton County's sewer-use code says grease, oil and sand interceptors are not required for residential users (§ 82-238) (Municode).
Permits (3)
- Alpharetta's Construction & Inspections staff in Community Development issue residential and commercial building permits along with plumbing, electrical, HVAC and low-voltage permits (alpharetta.ga.us).
- Alpharetta's Construction & Inspections page says inspection requests must be phoned in between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on the day the inspection is wanted, and the city accepts permit plans only electronically (alpharetta.ga.us).
- Alpharetta enforces Georgia's contractor licensing laws when issuing building permits, with exceptions such as a homeowner working on their own home (alpharetta.ga.us).
Digging in the street or right-of-way (3)
- Alpharetta requires a right-of-way encroachment permit application to be submitted and approved before any excavation in city right-of-way; the permit runs for 90 days, and the submission must include time-stamped photos of the whole work area (alpharetta.ga.us).
- Alpharetta's code adopts OSHA's excavation and trenching rules and bars any excavating or trenching until a city permit or authorization has been obtained and posted at the job site (§§ 8-70, 8-71) (Municode).
- Fulton County's lateral connection requirements state that the county's permit does not replace the city or state approval needed to work in the right-of-way (Fulton County).
Your water line (3)
- Fulton County Public Works says its North Fulton water system covers all of Alpharetta; the county owns the service line from the main to the meter, and the property owner owns the line from the meter to the building (Fulton County).
- Fulton County's lateral flyer puts a water leak between the meter and the main on the county and a leak between the house and the meter on the owner (Fulton County).
- Fulton County asks residents to report drinking-water emergencies north of the Chattahoochee River to its North Fulton water line (Fulton County).
Septic systems (2)
- The Fulton County Board of Health's environmental health program permits and inspects septic systems; one of its offices is the North Fulton Regional Health Center on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta (fultoncountyboh.com).
- Fulton County's code lets the county require a home on a street with public sewer to connect within 90 days of notice (§ 82-193) (Municode).
Other local rules (3)
- Alpharetta's code states that Fulton County owns and operates all sanitary sewer collection, maintenance and treatment in the city (§ 8-196) (Municode).
- Alpharetta's city services page sends residents to Fulton County's site to pay water and sewer bills (alpharetta.ga.us).
- Fulton County adjusts water and sewer bills for leaks that are non-routine and not preventable by proper maintenance, once the repair is finished and a Leak Adjustment Request Form with a repair statement is submitted (Fulton County).
Lead service line records in Alpharetta
Water utilities must keep a public record of what each service line is made of. What the categories and the utility's letter mean: lead service line check.
Fulton County Department of Public Works
Water utility
Lead service line inventory: Address lookup
Fulton County first published its inventory in October 2024 and is still working down its unknown lines; it mails yearly letters for lead and unknown lines and takes owners' own reports.
Look up your line The utility’s inventory page
Source: Fulton County, read October 24, 2026Who owns the water line
The county owns the line from the main to the meter; the owner owns it from the meter to the house.
Source: Fulton County, read October 24, 2026Nearby service areas
Drain or sewer trouble in Alpharetta?
Tell us what the drains are doing, where and since when.
Call (404) 482-2527Or send a service request online
Operated by Alpha Plumbing and Sewer, LLC
Sewage coming out of a manhole or at the street?
Who to call first
Fulton County Department of Public Works(404) 612-3061Sewer emergencies, North Fulton (customer service and after hours)
Drain or sewer trouble in Alpharetta?
Call and describe what is happening, where, and since when — the visit starts from there.
Georgia Sewer — Drain & Sewer Specialists · Operated by Alpha Plumbing and Sewer, LLC