Canton, GA Sewer and Drain Service: Local Rules

Georgia Sewer clears, inspects and repairs the private side of sewer and water lines for homes served by the City of Canton Water and Sewer Department in Canton. When the trouble is in the city's part of the lateral past the right-of-way or property line, or in the public main, the city handles it, and we tell you when that is the call to make.

Canton runs its own water and sewer utility rather than relying on Cherokee County's water and sewerage authority. Its code draws the homeowner's share of the sewer line plainly: your part stops at the right-of-way or property line, and from there to the trunk sewer the lateral is the city's.

The City of Canton's Water and Sewer Department bills customers monthly for water and sewer, based on a monthly meter reading. The department answers customer issues daily and issues work orders for staff to investigate problems, and it directs water outages, leaks and sewer-related emergencies to the city's Operations Department (Canton Water and Sewer).

Canton's service area and the Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority's meet along lines set by a service delivery area agreement. In 2021, for example, Canton asked under that agreement to extend its water and sewer service delivery area into CCWSA's to serve three tracts north of Laurel Canyon (CCWSA board minutes, January 2021). The split can even differ by service: a 2020 letter from the city described one Fate Conn Road property with CCWSA water and Canton sewer, while another property on the same road had both services from the city (CCWSA board minutes, November 2020). Check which utility bills you for sewer. If it is CCWSA, see the Cherokee County page.

Canton's Building & Safety Services Department enforces the building code and runs permitting and inspections in the city. Inspections must be requested through the city's online permitting portal, which homeowners as well as contractors can register for, or in person at City Hall (Canton Building & Safety Services).

Before anyone digs on a Canton lot, Georgia 811 wants a free locate request at least three business days ahead, and state law requires one for digging with mechanized equipment. The locating help the city owes under that law covers laterals up to the edge of the public right-of-way, which in Canton is also where the city's part of the lateral begins (Georgia 811; Georgia dig law). If the job needs a permit, we tell you before work starts.

Canton's code bans connecting roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer that drains to the city system, unless the connection is approved under a discharge permit. When the city finds such a connection and notifies the owner, the owner must correct it at their own expense within 90 days, or the city may make the correction and bill the customer (Canton Code § 114-128).

The city's list of prohibited discharges also covers stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage and condensate unless the city manager specifically authorizes them, along with fats, oils or greases above a set concentration (Canton Code § 114-267). For household grease and wipes, see what not to flush or pour.

Inside Canton, septic tanks are prohibited except in the Governors Walk and Great Sky subdivisions or as the code's private-disposal article allows (Canton Code § 114-233). The code treats sewer as available to an existing single-family home when its main floor can drain by gravity to a sewer in a public right-of-way or easement within 300 feet, and it allows septic tanks on lots of two acres or more under set conditions, except in Governors Walk. Once the city sends written notice that sewer is available, the owner has three months to connect or must start paying a non-connected customer service charge (Canton Code § 114-234).

Septic site evaluations and permits in the area are handled by the county environmental health offices of the North Georgia Health District (NGHD Environmental Health); Cherokee County Environmental Health is on Bluffs Parkway in Canton (NGHD locations).

On the owner's side of the line, our technicians handle drain cleaning and main sewer line cleaning for backups, sewer camera inspection to find where a problem sits, sewer line repair and replacement of the private service line, cleanout installation and repair, and water line repair on your property. To book a visit, call Georgia Sewer at (404) 482-2527 or request service.